Following a record-setting season and career, Morehead State senior quarterback Austin Gahafer is one of 25 finalists for the Walter Payton Award, which many consider the Football Championship Subdivision equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.
The national awards, which also include the Buck Buchanan Defensive Player of the Year, the Jerry Rice Freshman of the Year and the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, are administered by STATS, LLC.
A national panel of voters began to select the STATS FCS legacy awards on Monday. The awards will be bestowed on Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas in conjunction with the FCS National Championship game.
Gahafer, a native of Louisville, was 254-for-458 for a Pioneer League-best 3,404 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2016. His yardage total ranks as the second-highest single-season total in program history, topping the 3,244 yards he had as a junior in 2015. He ranks fourth in the nation in total passing yards and fifth in yards per game (309.5).
Gahafer, the 2015 PFL Offensive Player of the Year, wrapped up his prolific career as the MSU and PFL career leader in passing yards (11,918), completions (1,096), attempts (1,844) and total offense (12,239).
He ranks second all-time among FCS quarterbacks in career attempts and fifth in completions. Gahafer also holds the MSU career record for touchdown passes with 85 and was responsible for 99 career touchdowns through the air and on the ground. He had 17 career games with 300+ passing yards.
Earlier this season, he set the MSU single-game passing record with 465 yards and five scores at Butler on Nov. 5. He also owns the third-highest single-game passing mark with 458 yards at Valparaiso his freshman campaign in 2013.
