Former Arkansas quarterback Cole Kelley won the Walter Payton Award on Saturday as the best offensive player in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision.
Kelley, who is in his second season at Southeastern Louisiana, is the 34th player to win the Payton Award, which is named for the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back who played college football at Jackson State.
Before 1995, the Payton Award was presented to the most outstanding player in the FCS, but was changed to recognize the best offensive player after the Buck Buchanan Award was created for the nation’s best defensive player. Past winners of the Payton Award include Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook and Jimmy Garoppolo.
Kelley received 16 first-place votes and edged Eastern Washington quarterback Eric Barriere for the award.
"It was surreal and I got goosebumps when I heard my name announced," Kelley said in a release on the Southeastern Louisiana athletics website. "I was thinking about how many people helped me get to this point, especially my family and all my coaches. I wouldn't have made it to this point without all the support from (SLU head) Coach (Frank) Scelfo and (SLU offensive coordinator) Coach (Greg) Stevens."
Kelley led the FCS with 2,662 passing yards and was fourth nationally with 18 touchdown passes during the 2020 season, which was played this spring due to the covid-19 pandemic. He also rushed for 7 touchdowns and caught 2 touchdowns in 7 games.
The Associated Press named Kelley second-team All-America earlier this week.
Southeastern Louisiana (4-3) missed the FCS playoffs following a 55-48 loss to Southern Illinois in the season finale. Kelley competed 34 of 42 passes for 418 yards and accounted for 5 touchdowns during the loss.
"Cole's statistics speak for themselves and I'll put his numbers against anybody's in the country,” Lions coach Frank Scelfo said. “But to understand his real value to our program, you have to go beyond the box score. It's Cole's leadership and command of the locker room, the way he's developed those traits is what has allowed him to develop into such a special player and someone who deserves to win the Walter Payton Award."
Kelley, a 6-7, 260-pounder from Lafayette, La., who earned the nickname “Steamboat” during his time at Arkansas, played two seasons for the Razorbacks in 2017 and 2018, and started six games under former head coaches Bret Bielema and Chad Morris.
Kelley started four games while filling in for injured starter Austin Allen in 2017. He led Arkansas to a pair of comeback victories that season, including a 38-37 win at Ole Miss after the Razorbacks trailed 31-7.
The 24-point comeback was the largest in Arkansas’ history.
Kelley also led a comeback win over Coastal Carolina the following week, but he struggled in blowout losses to Auburn and Alabama.
Kelley started twice early in Morris’ inaugural season in 2018, but was intercepted four times during a 44-17 loss to North Texas and was relegated to spot duty the rest of the season.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Chad Morris' first season as Arkansas' head coach.