Draft Insiders' Digest Premier NFL Draft and Free Agency Publication
Walter Payton 2011 “Watch List”
RB Walter Payton - Bears (Jackson St.)
D.J. McNorton Named to Walter Payton Award Watch List
The Payton Award will celebrate its 25th anniversary this season and be presented to the FCS' outstanding player at the national awards banquet Thursday night, Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas.
North Dakota State running back D.J. McNorton was named to the 2011 Walter Payton Award Watch List announced this summer. McNorton is one of 20 athletes on the Watch List for the FCS’s top individual honor. McNorton rushed for 1,559 yards on 280 carries during the 2010 season. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry and ran for 15 TDs. He ranked 14th in rushing in the final NCAA FCS statistics, averaging 111.4 yards per game. He was also ranked 15th in scoring with 8.14 points per game and 18th in all-purpose yards with 144.21 yards per game. McNorton also caught 25 passes for 433 yards and four touchdowns. A 2010 All-Missouri Valley Football Conference second team selection, McNorton has been named 2011 Consensus Draft Services FCS Preseason Honorable Mention All-America and to the 2011 College Football Performance.com Running Back Watch List.
North Dakota State finished the 2010 season 9-5 and reached the NCAA Division I FCS quarterfinals before falling to eventual national champion Eastern Washington in overtime, 38-31.
NDSU opens the 2011 season against Lafayette College at 6 p.m. Sept. 3 in the Fargodome.
2011 Walter Payton Award Watch List
DeAndre Presley, Sr., QB, Appalachian St
DeNarius McGhee, So., QB, Montana St
Casey Therriault, Sr., QB, Jackson St
Mike Brown, Sr., QB, Liberty
B.J. Coleman, Sr., QB, Tenn-Chattanooga
Josh McGregor, Sr., QB, Jacksonville
Bo Levi Mitchell, Sr., QB, Eastern Washington
Tirrell Rennie, Sr., QB, Northern Iowa
Casey Brockman, Jr., QB, Murray St
Thomas DeMarco, Jr., QB, Old Dominion
Brad Sorensen, Jr., QB, Southern Utah
Nate Eachus, So., RB, Colgate
Jonathan Grimes, Sr., RB, William & Mary
Mike Mayhew, Sr., RB, North Carolina A&T
D.J. McNorton, Sr., RB, North Dakota St
Jamaine Cook, Jr., RB, Youngstown St
Andrew Pierce, So., RB, Delaware
Eric Breitenstein, Jr., FB, Wofford
Chris Summers, Sr., WR, Liberty
Brandon Kaufman, Jr., WR, Eastern Washington