PHILADELPHIA – Rising junior wide receiver Jared Richardson was named to the Stats Perform FCS Walter Payton Award Watch List on Tuesday morning.  
 
Richardson joins 35 others on the preseason watch list, presented annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.
 
The award, in its 38th 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 and Trey Lance.
 
Richardson joins Brown QB Jake Willcox as the only Ivy Leaguers on the watch list.
 
The wideout put together an impressive sophomore campaign in 2023, his first look at wide receiver and part of the Quakers' offense. Richardson appeared in nine games, leading the team in receptions (67), receiving yards (788), and receiving touchdowns (8), finishing second among Ivy receivers in all three categories.
 
A first-team All-Ivy honoree, Richardson earned Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors twice, the first of which came on the heels of a 12 catch for 139 yards performance at Bucknell with a pair of TDs. In a win at defending Ivy champion Yale, he set Penn's single-game receptions record with 17 for 191 yards and a touchdown. The yardage was the eighth-most in a single game in program history and most in four years.
 
Richardson finished the 2023 season with four 100-or-more receiving yard games, finishing the season with six catches, 138 yards and a season-high three touchdown grabs vs. Princeton.
 
Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded Richardson as the No. 18 overall wide receiver in FCS last season.
 
Penn opens its 2024 slate on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Delaware before returning to Franklin Field for its home opener Sept. 28 vs. Colgate at 1 p.m.
 
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