FCS ADA Story & Complete List
 
Garnering his biggest award to date, Eastern Washington University quarterback Eric Barriere has been selected as the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Offensive Player of the Year as selected by the FCS Athletic Director's Association.
 
The senior from Inglewood, Calif., was also the quarterback listed on the organization's prestigious and unique All-America team, which includes just one player at 11 different positions, plus a player of the year on offense and defense. The awards, chosen in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), were selected by a pool of 48 voters representing nine different FCS leagues and nine different institutions within each league.
 
Barriere joins Cooper Kupp as Offensive Player of the Year, as the current Los Angeles Ram was selected in both 2015 and 2016, as well as the top wide receiver in the nation.  The fourth Eagle to be named to the squad in its eight years of existence was kicker Roldan Alcobendas in 2018.
 
In all, 55 different schools representing 12 of the 13 FCS conferences have been honored all-time by the FCS ADA.
 
Previously, Barriere has been honored as a first team All-American by both Associated Press (May 12) and Stats Perform (May 10). Barriere was joined on the Stats Perform squad by wide receiver Talolo Limu-Jones (second team).
 
On Saturday (May 15), the legendary Walter Payton Award will be announced on the eve of the NCAA Division I Championship game between South Dakota State and Sam Houston. Barriere is one of three finalists, and the award will be announced at 11 a.m. Pacific time that day.
 
Barriere was a unanimous All-Big Sky Conference first team selection in the 2020-21 season and was the league's Offensive Player of the Year. He 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
 
 

NCAA Football Championship Subdivision FCS Athletic Director's Association All-Star Team

 
QB Eric Barriere, Eastern Washington (Big Sky)
RB Julius Chestnut, Sacred Heart (NEC)
WR Jakob Herres, VMI (SoCon)
TE Trae Barry, Jacksonville State (OVC)
OL Cordell Volson, North Dakota State (MVFC)
PK Ethan Ratke, James Madison (CAA)
DL Jordan Lewis, Southern (SWAC)
LB Colby Campbell, Presbyterian (PFL)
DB Nicario Harper, Jacksonville State (OVC)
RS Devron Harper, Gardner-Webb (Big South)
P Garret Wegner, North Dakota State (MVFC)
 
Offensive Player of the Year:  QB Eric Barriere, Eastern Washington
Defensive Player of the Year:  DL Jordan Lewis, Southern
 
 
 
 

More on the Payton Award . . .

 
In addition to the announcement of the winner on Saturday, May 15 at 11 a.m. Pacific time, Stats Perform is producing a special FCS Awards show to be aired at various times and dates on Bally Sports Regional Networks (formerly Fox Sports Regional Networks) and other outlets. A complete list of outlets will be distributed later this week by Stats Perform (https://theanalyst.com/na/sport/american-football/fcs/). A program for the event is available at: https://theanalyst.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/2020-21-FCS-Awards-Program.pdf.
 
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. 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."
 
"He's been phenomenal," said 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."
 
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