BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- Alabama A&M’s Aqeel Glass and Alcorn State’s Felix Harper have been named to the Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List.

Glass rewrote the record books this past season as he went 67-of-113 for 1,084 yards passing and 13 touchdowns during the regular season. One of 16 finalists for the prestigious Walter Payton Award as the national’s top FCS player, Glass was also twice named Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Player of the Week.

He would also add National Player of the Week honors from Stats Perform FCS and BOXTOROW. In large part due to his performance, the Bulldogs delivered the first undefeated regular season for the program since 1966, won the SWAC East Division for the first time since 2011, while also winning the league championship game with a 40-33 win over UAPB.

After helping lead the Braves to an eight-win regular season highlighted by a 6-1 mark in conference play in 2019, Alcorn State quarterback Felix Harper was selected as the 2019 SWAC Offensive Player of the Year.

Harper took the league by storm that season after taking over as the Braves starter at quarterback. Harper tallied 29 touchdowns in 2019 to go along with 167 completions, 2,387 passing yards good for a 167.9 efficiency rating.  

A complete listing of the watch list is listed below.

Quarterbacks
Aqeel Glass, Alabama A&M (2020-21 finalist)
Felix Harper, Alcorn State (2019 finalist)
Eric Barriere, Eastern Washington (2019 and 2020-21 finalist)
Juwan Carter, Norfolk State
Jack Cook, Dayton
Zerrick Cooper, Jacksonville State (2019 finalist)
Tim DeMorat, Fordham (2020-21 finalist)
Draylen Ellis, Austin Peay
Cole Kelley, Southeastern Louisiana (2020-21 recipient)
E.J. Perry, Brown
Eric Schmid, Sam Houston
Breylin Smith, Central Arkansas
Daniel Smith, Villanova (2019 finalist)
Cameron Ward, UIW
Liam Welch, Samford (2020-21 finalist)

Running Backs
Percy Agyei-Obese, James Madison (2020-21 finalist)
Julius Chestnut, Sacred Heart (2019 and 2020-21 finalist)
Josh Davis, Weber State
Elijah Dotson, Sacramento State
Juwon Farri, Monmouth (2020-21 finalist)
Geno Hess, Southeast Missouri
Quay Holmes, ETSU (2020-21 finalist)
Dejoun Lee, Delaware (2020-21 finalist)
Jah-Maine Martin,North Carolina A&T (2019 finalist)
Karl Mofor, Albany
Pierre Strong Jr., South Dakota State (2020-21 finalist)
Otis Weah, North Dakota (2020-21 finalist)
Devin Wynn, Furman

Wide Receivers
Samuel Akem, Montana
Avante Cox, Southern Illinois
Dai’Jean Dixon, Nicholls
Jequez Ezzard, Sam Houston
Jakob Herres, VMI (2020-21 finalist)
Tyler Hudson, Central Arkansas (2020-21 finalist)
Christian Watson, North Dakota State

More players can join the watch list during the regular season, and a national media panel will select the winner following it.  First awarded in 1987, the Payton has watched past winners such as Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, Jimmy Garoppolo, Cooper Kupp and Trey Lance move on to the NFL.

Also this season, Stats Perform will present the Buck Buchanan Award (FCS defensive player of the year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS freshman player of the year), Eddie Robinson Award (FCS coach of the year) and Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams. 

Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Tennis. 

Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball. 

Follow the SWAC
For complete coverage of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, please follow the SWAC on social media at @TheSWAC (Twitter), @TheSWAC (Facebook), and @TheSWAC (Instagram) or visit the official home of the Southwestern Athletic Conference at www.swac.org.

COURTESY SWAC COMMUNICATIONS