Two Black College Players on 2026 Buchanan, Payton Watch Lists
The 2026 Watch Lists for Stats Perform FCS postseason awards honoring black college football legends Junius “Buck” Buchanan of Grambling and Walter Payton of Jackson State are again notably short on current black college players.
The Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the national defensive player of the year in Div. I FCS college football, has just two black college players among its 30 athletes – South Carolina State redshirt junior linebacker Jordan Franklin and Alabama State junior defensive back Ta’Shaun Sims. Franklin is the MEAC’s preseason defensive player of the year.
The 30-player preseason watch list for the 2026 Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football, also has just two black college players on the list – Alabama State graduate senior quarterback Andrew Body and North Carolina Central redshirt junior wide receiver Chance Peterson. Body and Peterson are the SWAC and MEAC preseason offensive players of the year respectively. Three black college players each were on last year’s Watch Lists.
All four on the Watch List are also on the STATS Perform HBCU Player of the Year Watch List (see STAT CORNER).
Franklin (6-2, 205), picked as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) preseason defensive player of the year, totalled 62 total tackles a year ago (42 solos), 14th best in the MEAC, but is one of the returning tackles leaders in the conference. He also had 12 tackles for -52 yards in losses including two sacks. He also excelled as a pass defender with six break-ups and two interceptions.
Sims (6-0, 188) was credited with nine passes defended in 12 games in 2025 and tied for the SWAC lead with five interceptions, tied for fifth in the FCS. He had 36 tackles and one sack.
Body (6-2, 205), winner of the 2025 STATS Perform HBCU Player of the Year Award, returns for his redshirt senior year after putting up big numbers in just eight games. Body led the SWAC in both rushing (708 yards, 88.5 ypg., 4 TDs) and passing (2,112 yards, 202.9 ypg., 24 TDs, 1 int.).
Peterson (5-9, 154) had 48 receptions for 720 yards and one score for the Eagles in 2025.
The Buchanan Award enters its 32nd season in 2026 after beginning in 1995. The Payton Award, first presented in 1987, is in its 40th season.
Six black college players have taken home the Buchanan Award with Tennessee State defensive end Terrell Allen the most recent. He won the award in 2023. Other winners are Florida A&M linebacker Isaiah Land (2021), Southern defensive end Jordan Lewis (2020), Norfolk State linebacker Deon King (2015), Bethune-Cookman defensive back Rashean Mathis (2002) and North Carolina A&T edge rusher Chris McNeil (1997).
Grambling running back Walter Dean (1990) and Alcorn State quarterback Steve McNair (1994) are the only black college winners of the Payton Award.
Stats Perform also gives out several other awards named for black college legends – the Jerry Rice Award (for FCS Freshman Player of the Year), the Eddie Robinson Award (for FCS Coach of the Year), the HBCU National Player of the Year and the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The first Jerry Rice Award Watch List is released during the season by STATS FCS. The FCS coach of the year award is unveiled incrementally with mid-season/finalist updates and a recipient announcement after the regular season.
Each award will be handed out at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Presentation.
FCS Football Central Not Yet Announced 2026 Aeneas Williams Award Preseason Watch List
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame (OSHOF) has not released the 5th Annual Aeneas Williams Award Preseason Watch List presented annually to the top Division I HBCU defensive back by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and the Chickasaw Nation.
Named after Southern University product and Pro Football Hall of Famer Aeneas Williams, the list includes 15 of the nation’s best defensive backs in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Division I college football. Southern redshirt junior Herman Brister III was on last season’s Watch List.
South Carolina State grad cornerback Jarod Washington won the 2025 Aeneas Williams Award. After going undrafted and having tryouts with Kansas City and Tampa Bay, Washington was added to the Minnesota Vikings’ preseason camp last week. James Burgess Jr. from Alabama State won the Aeneas Award in 2024.
The preseason watch list is selected by a screening committee in partnership with DraftHBCUPlayers and the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award. This list is not final, and players who have outstanding seasons may be added to the semifinalists and finalists lists as the season progresses.
