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Bridgewater, NJ — Stats Perform has announced a standout list of 30 finalists for the 2025 Walter Payton Award, which is presented to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football. 
 
The NEC landed two finalists in Central Connecticut senior running back Elijah Howard (Knoxville, TN/The Baylor School (Virginia Tech)) and Duquesne graduate wide receiver Joey Isabella (Mayfield, OH/Mayfield).
 
The award, in its 39th season and affectionately known as the Heisman of the FCS, is named for legendary running back Walter Payton, who starred at Jackson State as part of his Hall of Fame career. Past recipients include Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, Jimmy Garoppolo, Cooper Kupp, Taylor Heinicke and Trey Lance. 
 
All 13 FCS conferences are represented by a finalist. The winner, to be selected by a national voting panel, will be announced at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show on Jan. 3 in Nashville.
 
Fueled by a clutch — and explosive — outing in Central Connecticut’s regular season finale against Mercyhurst, a win that solidified the Blue Devils’ status as the NEC’s AQ to the NCAA FCS Playoffs, Howard ran his way to the 2025 NEC rushing title.
 
Going off for 163-yard rush yards on 25 carries, including his 1,000th of the season midway through the afternoon, the Knoxville, TN native racked up 188 all-purpose yards after adding 25 receiving yards. Howard scored three times in the outing, reaching the end zone twice on the rush before securing the 35-28 win with the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, an eight-yard touchdown catch from classmate Brady Olson. 
 
That outing put an exclamation point on the NEC’s first 1,000-yard rushing campaign since 2023. With 1,078 rushing yards and 98.0 rushing yards per game, Howard ranks 13th in the nation in both categories. In addition, his 11 rushing scores are good for 24th in the FCS.
 
In three seasons at Central Connecticut, Howard has accumulated 3,002 rushing yards for an average of 91.0 per game. In addition, he has 24 career touchdowns. Among active career FCS leaders, he is sixth in rushing yards, third in rushing yards per game, fifth in all-purpose yards (3,908), third in all-purpose yards per game (118.42) and 18th in rushing touchdowns.
 
Isabella put a bow on a sensational career in the Steel City. He became the fifth Duke to finish with 30 receiving touchdowns while his 163 career receptions were good for third in the program’s record book. In addition, his 2,411 career receiving yards are good for 11th among all active FCS wideouts and his 30 touchdown receptions rank second behind Illinois State’s Daniel Sobkowicz (33).
 
The graduate student and Buckeye State product put up career-best numbers as a graduate student. He finished as the national leader in touchdown catches with 13, while his league-leading 69.9 receiving yards per game and 5.25 receptions per game were good for 37th and 28th in the nation, respectively.
 
In Duquesne’s final game of the season, a thrilling 20-17 walk-off win over fellow Steel City foe Robert Morris, Isabella racked up 108 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown, on five receptions. It marked the third time this season that he eclipsed the century mark in receiving yards.