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Photo by: Chip DeLorenzo
Willcox Named Finalist for Walter Payton Award
11/21/2023 12:30:00 PM | Football
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Brown senior quarterback Jake Willcox has been named one of 30 finalists for the Walter Payton Award, Stats Perform announced on Tuesday. The award is given annually to the offensive player of the year for all of FCS Football and is presented by FedEx Ground.
Willcox is the only player from the Ivy League selected as a finalist.
Willcox finishes the 2023 regular season leading all of FCS Football with 292.4 passing yards per game and ranks second in total offense with 301.7 yards per contest. His total passing yards (2,924) ranks sixth in single-season program history and his 456 pass attempts are the second most in single-season program history, just 11 shy of the record held by Head Coach James Perry from 1999. He completed 62.50 percent of his passes, the sixth-highest single season mark in program history.
Willcox also ranks third in the league and 44th nationally in points responsible for per game with 11.4. He helped lead the Bears to the team's best record since 2015 and its highest Ivy League finish since 2016. He eclipsed the 350-yard mark in passing in four of the first five games of the season and threw 18 touchdown passes on the year, including a career-high four against Central Connecticut State. He orchestrated a last-minute touchdown drive in the season-opener at Bryant, completing the game-winning pass with 13 seconds remaining, and completed the game-tying 51-yard touchdown pass in the final minute to tie Princeton, a game the Bears went on to win in overtime. His performance in both of those games earned him a Gold Helmet from the New England Football Writers and was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week after his performance in the season-opener against Bryant.
BROWN UNIVERSITY SPORTS FOUNDATION
The Brown University Sports Foundation (BUSF) is the lifeblood of the athletics program, and exists to enhance the student-athlete experience through philanthropic support from alumni, parents, fans and friends. A gift through the Sports Foundation makes an immediate impact on today's Brown Bears and helps them to be their best in the classroom, in competition and most importantly in the community. To learn more about supporting the Bears, please click here.
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Willcox is the only player from the Ivy League selected as a finalist.
Willcox finishes the 2023 regular season leading all of FCS Football with 292.4 passing yards per game and ranks second in total offense with 301.7 yards per contest. His total passing yards (2,924) ranks sixth in single-season program history and his 456 pass attempts are the second most in single-season program history, just 11 shy of the record held by Head Coach James Perry from 1999. He completed 62.50 percent of his passes, the sixth-highest single season mark in program history.
Willcox also ranks third in the league and 44th nationally in points responsible for per game with 11.4. He helped lead the Bears to the team's best record since 2015 and its highest Ivy League finish since 2016. He eclipsed the 350-yard mark in passing in four of the first five games of the season and threw 18 touchdown passes on the year, including a career-high four against Central Connecticut State. He orchestrated a last-minute touchdown drive in the season-opener at Bryant, completing the game-winning pass with 13 seconds remaining, and completed the game-tying 51-yard touchdown pass in the final minute to tie Princeton, a game the Bears went on to win in overtime. His performance in both of those games earned him a Gold Helmet from the New England Football Writers and was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week after his performance in the season-opener against Bryant.
BROWN UNIVERSITY SPORTS FOUNDATION
The Brown University Sports Foundation (BUSF) is the lifeblood of the athletics program, and exists to enhance the student-athlete experience through philanthropic support from alumni, parents, fans and friends. A gift through the Sports Foundation makes an immediate impact on today's Brown Bears and helps them to be their best in the classroom, in competition and most importantly in the community. To learn more about supporting the Bears, please click here.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
For the latest on Brown Athletics, please follow @BrownU_Bears on Twitter, @BrownU_Bears on Instagram, like BrownUBears on Facebook and subscribe to the BrownAthletics YouTube channel.
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