The Walter Payton Award is given to the top offensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision and could find its way into senior running back Miguel Maysonet’s hands.
Stony Brook athletics had come up with a campus-wide campaign for the senior, who leads the FCS in rushing with 1,502 yards and 16 total touchdowns.
He is among 20 nominees for the award and is the first Seawolf to be nominated.
Stony Brook has come up with a twitter handle, @Maysonet4Payton and will use the hashtag, #Maysonet4Payton.
The campaign also includes a website, Maysonet4Payton.com and will have highlights, quotes and statistics.
Maysonet is second in all-purpose yards with 199.11 yards per game and fourth in scoring with 10.67 per game.
He is also the leading rusher in the FCS with 129.2 yards per game and yard per carry with 7.03.
The senior is also in the top 10 in career yards and rushing touchdowns with 41.
Past Walter Payton Award winners include Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, former quarterback Steve McNair and retired running back Brian Westbrook.
It will be tough for Maysonet, as he is going up against some of the top players in the country.
Among the nominees is runningbacks, Sharkir Bell of of Indiana State and Tim Flanders of Sam Houston State.
Also nominated are quarterbacks Taylor Heinicke of Old Dominion and Brad Sorensen of Southern Utah, and Aaron Mellette, a wide-receiver from Elon.
All of these players were named Top FCS players to watch for the 2012 season, by the NCAA.
Maysonet will have one more game to improve his stats, on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Liberty.
He has broken career records this season with 32 attempts against Army, yards with 233 against Coastal Carolina and longest rush of 84 yards against Central Connecticut.
The award is given to honor the late Walter Payton, who starred for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League.
Payton also played for Jackson State University in college before being drafted.
He also has another award named after him, the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, given to NFL players, who volunteer and give back.
