Link to Stats Perform FCS All-America Team Story & Complete List

Eric Barriere has joined the who's-who of Eagle first team All-America quarterbacks.
 
The Eastern Washington University quarterback -- and one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Award to be announced later this week – became the seventh first team All-American in school history as Stats Perform announced its NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America team on Monday (May 10).
 
In addition, wide receiver Talolo Limu-Jones was picked for the second team, becoming the first Eagle All-American at that position since 2016 when a trio of Eagles were honored – Cooper Kupp, Kendrick Bourne and Shaq Hill.
 
Both Barriere and Limu-Jones were unanimous All-Big Sky Conference first team selections in the 2020-21 season, and Barriere was the Offensive Player of the Year. They led Eastern to a 5-2 record and the first round of the FCS Playoffs in the 2020-21 season, including a five-game winning streak to end the regular season.
 
Limu-Jones ended the season fourth in FCS in receiving yards per game (108.4) and was is ninth in receptions per game (6.9, total of 48). He now has 42 games of experience (nine as a starter), and has 90 career catches for 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns – an average of 17.8 per reception (currently sixth in school history). He has averaged a touchdown every 6.0 career catches,
 
He ended the regular season with three-straight performances with at least 140 receiving yards, and had a least a 66-yard catch in all three games. He caught four passes for 140 yards and a 66-yard touchdown reception versus Idaho on April 10 in EWU's come-from-behind 38-31 victory. On April 3 in a 32-22 win over 11th-ranked UC Davis on April 3, Limu-Jones had career highs with 154 yards receiving on 10 catches, including a key 77-yard TD in the third quarter which was his career long. He also scored on a 21-yard TD reception.
 
The list of former EWU first team All-Americans at quarterback is impressive – Gage Gubrud, Vernon Adams Jr., Bo Levi Mitchell, Matt Nichols, Erik Meyer and Harry Leons. Mitchell and Meyer turned their honors into Payton Awards in 2011 and 2005, respectively, and Barriere hopes to have his named etched to a trophy this week.
 
Barriere finished fifth in the voting as a junior in the 2019 season, and he made his case for the award in the 2020-21 campaign by passing for at least 300 yards in five of six regular games and having at least 400 yards of total offense in three of them. In the other game, he had 284 passing/324 total offense in barely over two quarters of action in a 62-10 romp.
 
Through seven games, Barriere ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense (sixth, 369.0 per game), passing offense (seventh, 348.4), passing touchdowns (second, 19) and points responsible for (ninth, 17.4 per game). In the 2020-21 season, he completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 2,439 yards, 19 touchdowns and 2,583 total yards of offense.
 
"He's been phenomenal," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "His play-making ability, ability to escape rush and ability to extend plays has been second-to-none. And we've had a first-hand glimpse of some great ones here. But Eric's development has been thorough and consistent."
 
In his illustrious 38-game career, Barriere is now 20-9 as a starter, including 13-0 at home. In the FCS Playoffs he went over the 10,000-yard mark for total offense in his career with a current total of 10,102 – including 8,739 through the air. He ranks fifth in school history in both categories, as well as his career total of 75 TD passes. He's now fourth with 93 total touchdowns responsible for. Eastern career records in those categories are 13,308, 12,616, 110 and 121.
 
Barriere has completed 60.3 percent of his passes in his career (646-of-1071), good for 8,739 yards, 75 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, and has rushed 287 times for 1,363 net yards and 18 more TDs. He had a passing efficiency rating of 146.9 as a sophomore, 151.6 in 2019 and a 148.1 mark in his career to currently rank fifth in school history. Barriere has surpassed the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback -- he now has 1,363 with Vernon Adams Jr. closing his career with 1,232. Eastern is 19-1 when Barriere has rushed for at least 21 yards, with the lone loss coming at Sacramento State (10/5/19) when he finished with 103.
 
 
 

More on the Payton Award . . .

 
The other finalists for this year's Payton Award  are quarterback Cole Kelley of Southeastern Louisiana and running back Julius Chestnut of Sacred Heart. That trio was among the 16 finalists previously announced for the Payton, named for the legendary running back and in its 34th season. The winner will be announced on an FCS National Awards show to air on Bally Sports Regional Networks (formerly Fox Sports Regional Networks) on Saturday, May 15, and all three finalists will be featured in interviews conducted earlier that day. Voting was conducted prior to the postseason.
 
Past recipients of the Heisman of the FCS include Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, Jimmy Garoppolo and Cooper Kupp. Kupp was EWU's latest recipient in 2015, with other former Eagles honored including Erik Meyer (2005) and Bo Levi Mitchell (2011). Also, the most recent recipient in 2019, former North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance, was the No. 3 pick overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Draft on April 29, 2021.
 
"It means a lot because this is a special award that many great players before me have been a part of and won," said the 6-foot, 200-pound Barriere, who is from Inglewood, CaIif. "I'm very thankful for the honor."
 
Chestnut (Northeast) and Kelley (Southland) also received the offensive player of the year award in their respective conferences, with Barriere and Chestnut guiding their teams to the FCS Playoffs. All three were a Stats Perform national offensive player of the week during the regular season.
 
"Eric Barriere is the best player in America -- he is the most dynamic player at this level and we've known that for some time," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best earlier this season. "He played really, really well for a four or five game stretch. We are all lucky that Eric is part of our Eastern Washington football team for many reasons – not just because of his play on the field but also who he is as a person."
 
"If I was to win, it would be a huge honor for the school because we have had a few previous players win this award previously," Barriere added. "If I could become a part of that it would be a blessing."
 
Chestnut, a 6-1, 215-pound junior, rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown in a playoff loss as well. It followed a four-game regular season in which he led the FCS in rushing yards per game (179.3) and all-purpose yards per game (222.0) and ranked second in points per game (17.0) and fourth in yards per carry (7.7).
 
Kelley, a 6-7, 260-pound senior, played in seven regular-season games, leading the FCS in passing yards (2,662), completions (210), total offensive yards (2,708) and total touchdowns (27). He also was in the top five in pass attempts (305, second), TD passes (18, tied for third) and completion percentage (68.9, fifth).
 
A 40-member national media panel voted on the Payton Award following the unprecedented 2020-21 regular season, which spanned the fall and spring semesters.
 
2020-21 Walter Payton Award Voting Results
A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point.
1. TBA, May 15
2. TBA, May 15
3. TBA, May 15
4. Jakob Herres, WR, VMI: 1-4-5-2-4-44
5. Otis Weah, RB, North Dakota: 1-1-5-2-5-33
6. Aqeel Glass, RB, Alabama A&M: 1-1-2-4-7-30
7. Dejoun Lee, RB, Delaware: 0-4-1-1-1-22
8.(tie) Juwon Farri, RB, Monmouth: 0-2-1-2-5-20
8.(tie) Pierre Strong Jr., RB, South Dakota State: 0-2-1-3-3-20
10. Liam Welch, QB, Samford: 0-1-3-1-4-19
11.(tie) Percy Agyei-Obese, RB, James Madison: 1-0-2-1-1-14
11.(tie) Tyler Hudson, WR, Central Arkansas: 0-1-1-2-3-14
13. Quay Holmes, RB, ETSU: 0-1-2-1-1-13
14. Keith Pearson, WR, Presbyterian: 0-0-0-4-1-9
15. DeAngelo Wilson, WR, Austin Peay: 0-1-1-0-1-8
16. Tim DeMorat, QB, Fordham: 0-0-0-1-0-2