Louisiana College Athletes Win FCS Football Top Awards

Stats Perform announced two of Louisiana's collegiate athletes, Cole Kelley (Southeastern Louisiana) and Jordan Lewis (Southern), as the winners of 2020-21 NCAA FCS top awards on Saturday.

Stats Perform announced two of Louisiana's collegiate athletes, Cole Kelley (Southeastern Louisiana) and Jordan Lewis (Southern), as the winners of 2020-21 NCAA FCS top awards on Saturday.

COLE KELLEY - QUARTERBACK

Kelley, 6-7 and 260 pounds, won the 2020-21 Stats Perform FCS Walter Payton Award for being the nation's best offensive player. Cole is originally from Lafayette, LA, and played high school football at Teurlings Catholic High School.

The senior quarterback became the 34th recipient of the Walter Payton Award, named after the Hall of Fame running back of the Chicago Bears.

Credit: Stats Perform

In his outstanding 2020-21 season, Kelley threw 146/222 passes for 1,852 yards, 12 touchdowns, 370.6 yards per game, and four interceptions. He included rushing for 211 yards and four touchdowns on the season.

Cole Kelley completed his collegiate career at Southeastern Louisiana after transferring out of the University of Arkansas program in 2018. Kelley played 18 games at SLU, where he passed for 2,669 yards, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions. The quarterback found the endzone 14 times on the ground.

Walter Payton played at an HBCU school, Jackson State University. In 2021, Jackson State hired Hall of Fame defensive back Deion Sanders, as the program's head coach.

Credit: Stats Perform

JORDAN LEWIS - DEFENSIVE END

Southern University Jaguars' Jordan Lewis was named the 2020-21 Stats Perform FCS Buck Buchanan Award. The defensive pass rusher totaled 15 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks during five games in the 2021 spring session of FCS football.

His former head coach, Dawson Odums, proudly stated, “He’s relentless in pursuit of the ball.” 

Lewis is the first SWAC player to earn the Buck Buchanan award honors - ironic, since Buchanan attended a SWAC school, Grambling.

"Lewis, a 6-3, 195-pound junior from Ocala, Florida, ranked No. 1 in the regular season in tackles for loss (15), tackles for loss per game (3.0), tackle yardage for loss (82), sacks (10.5), sacks per game (2.1) and sack yardage (73). The Southwestern Athletic Conference’s defensive player of the year finished with 27 overall tackles (19 solo), posting season highs of 11 tackles, five tackles for loss, four sacks, and a forced fumble in a victory at Alabama State." Stats Perfom PR

The 2020-21 Stats Perform FCS Buck Buchanan Award, which for the 26th straight season honored the defensive player of the year in college football’s Division I subdivision. 

Junious "Buck" Buchanan played for legendary college coach Eddie Robinson at HBCU's Grambling State University. Buchanan was drafted No. 1 overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1963 AFL Draft and pick No. 265 by the New York Giants in the 1963 NFL Draft. 

Buchanan became the first black college athlete selected No. 1 overall in professional football. He was honored with inductions into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

On Saturday, May 15, the FCS Awards show was televised nationally on Bally Sports (formerly Fox Sports).

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