Share
Youngstown State quarterback Beau Brungard won the 2025 Walter Payton Award as the best offensive player in FCS football, beating out fellow top-three finalists Cole Payton (North Dakota State) and Taron Dickens (Western Carolina). Brungard is the first Youngstown State player to win the award in its 39-year history. Brungard received the Payton Award two days before the 2025-26 FCS Championship game.
PAYTON AWARD: Complete history of the top FCS offensive honor
In 12 regular season games, the Penguin quarterback completed 254 of 368 passes (69 percent) for 2,917 yards, 23 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He also ran for 1,378 yards and 24 touchdowns, leading Youngstown State to the FCS playoffs.
Beau finds Alex McDonald for his first passing TD of the day!
Great movement in the pocket to buy time and find McDonald.#GoGuins pic.twitter.com/fryEZG5lcz
— Youngstown State Football (@ysufootball) November 22, 2025
Brungard is the 28th quarterback to win the Payton Award — the most of any position — since the award debuted in 1987. Quarterbacks have won the Payton Award in each of the last 10 seasons and 21 of the last 22 seasons, with wide receiver Cooper Kupp’s 2015 win being the lone exception.
🗣️ “How did he see Austin Bray?”
📺ESPN+#GoGuins pic.twitter.com/pqdBTOvOWI
— Youngstown State Football (@ysufootball) November 15, 2025
As the 2025 Walter Payton Award winner, Brungard joins an elite fraternity of FCS greats including Steve McNair (Alcorn State, 1994), Adrian Peterson (Georgia Southern, 1999), Brian Westbrook (Villanova, 2001), Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois, 2002), Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington, 2015) and more.
MORE AWARDS: Buck Buchanan Award history | Jerry Rice Award history
Top moments
See some more of Brungard’s top moments from 2025 below.
Houdini Brungard doing what he does best! 🐧🏈#GoGuins pic.twitter.com/gC84tSRHdM
— Youngstown State Football (@ysufootball) November 1, 2025
UNTOUCHED TO THE 🏠
Penguins lead 14-0!#GoGuins pic.twitter.com/ptzcjvjeD4
— Youngstown State Football (@ysufootball) November 22, 2025
One of those plays you dream of in the back yard.
Brungard 🏈 Walters🏈 Brungard#GoGuins pic.twitter.com/ktPH1ErO51
— Youngstown State Football (@ysufootball) October 25, 2025
Stan Becton joined NCAA.com in 2021 and has since served as a college football, FCS football, track and field, cross country and HBCU beat reporter. He has covered numerous NCAA championship events, including the FCS Championship, DI Track & Field Championships and Men’s Frozen Four. Additionally, he has covered the College Football Playoff and HBCU sporting events like the Celebration Bowl, MEAC/SWAC Challenge and Legacy Classic. Stan graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, earning a degree in Professional Writing and playing football as a five-year letterman. You can follow him on Twitter @stan_becton.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.
One player to watch from every first-round FCS football playoff team
While you recover from Thanksgiving feasts and Black Friday hauls, make sure you keep an eye out for these players on FCS teams during the first-round slate.
Predicting every at-large team to the 2025 FCS playoffs
We’re hours away from the 2025 FCS football playoff selection show. 13 at-large spots remain. Here’s who Stan Becton thinks will make the field.
2025 FCS playoff bracket predictions entering the final month of the season
Here’s what the 2025 FCS football playoff bracket is shaping up to look like entering the final month of the season.