PHILADELPHIA – Presented annually to the National Offensive Player of the Year in Division I FCS college football, senior wide receiver Jared Richardson was named a finalist for the Walter Payton Award on Tuesday afternoon.
 
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, Tennessee.
 
Richardson joins fellow Ivy Leaguers Jaden Craig (Harvard) and Josh Pitsenberger (Yale) as finalists for the prestigious honor.
 
Richardson started all 10 games and produced one of the top receiving seasons in program history. He led the nation and the Ivy League with 8.0 catches per game and finished second nationally at 103.3 receiving yards per game. His 1,033 yards and 12 touchdowns both paced the Ancient Eight, with the TD total standing as the third-highest single-season mark in Penn history.
 
He became just the sixth Quaker to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in a season—and the first since 2017—while recording two three-touchdown outings (Columbia, Harvard) and two more two-score games (Lehigh, Marist). Richardson is the only player in school history with more than two career games of three receiving touchdowns.
 
He posted five 100-yard performances, including a career-best 190 yards on 15 receptions against Marist. Richardson finishes his career ranked third all-time at Penn in receiving yards (2,505), fourth in receptions (193), and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (27).
 
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