PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Northern Arizona senior quarterback Michael Herrick is one of five Big Sky Conference players named to the initial 2010 Walter Payton Award Watch list, The Sports Network announced on Monday.

Herrick joins Eastern Washington running back Taiwan Jones, Montana running back Chase Reynolds, Grizzly quarterback Andrew Selle and Weber State quarterback Cameron Higgins were among the 20 players selected.

The Walter Payton Award is given annually to the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. Big Sky Conference players have captured the honor six times, most recently by Eastern Washington quarterback Erik Meyer in 2005.

This year's award is being sponsored by Fathead.com. The winner will be announced on the eve of the Division I National Championship game in Frisco, Texas.

Herrick, Higgins and Reynolds are three of seven 2009 finalists back on the list.

Herrick, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior from Valencia, Calif., finished ninth in voting in 2009 after throwing for 3,356 yards, the fifth-best total in the nation, with 22 touchdowns.

Herrick recorded four of the top 20 single-game passing performances in school history in 2009, including nine games with 200 or more yards on the season and five games with 300 or more yards. He ranked third in the Big Sky and 15th in the nation in passing efficiency at 149.5 and second in the Big Sky and is sixth overall nationally in total offense (298.3).

Higgins, a 6-2, 215-pound senior from Kai, Hawai'i, has been a Payton finalist each of the past two seasons. He was 10th in voting in 2009, after throwing for 3,321 yards and 30 touchdowns. Higgins, the 2008 Big Sky Offensive MVP, enters his senior campaign with 9,762 passing yards and 83 touchdown passes.

Reynolds, a 6-foot, 195-pound senior from Drummond, Mont., rushed for 1,502 yards and 22 touchdowns as a junior, finishing 13th in Payton voting. The past two seasons, Reynolds has rushed for 3,075 yards and 44 touchdowns. Montana has advanced to the Division I National Championship each of the past two seasons.

Selle, a 6-2, 219-pound senior from Billings, Mont., led the Big Sky in passing efficiency in his first full season as a starter. He completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 3,043 yards with 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

Jones burst onto the scene in his first season as a running back. The 6-1, 200-pound junior from Antioch, Calif., rushed for 1,213 yards and 15 touchdowns. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry, and finished second in the nation in all-purpose yards with an average of 195.4 per game.

The Sports Network also presents the Buck Buchanan and Eddie Robinson Awards, which are sponsored by Fathead. The Buchanan honors the FCS defensive player of the year and the Robinson goes to the FCS coach of the Year.

2010 Walter Payton Award Watch List (July 12, 2010)

K.J. Black, QB, Prairie View A&M

Thomas DeMarco, QB, Old Dominion

Pat Devlin, QB, Delaware

Chris Evans, RB, Samford

Jonathan Grimes, RB, William & Mary

Michael Herrick, QB, Northern Arizona

Cameron Higgins, QB, Weber State

Ben Ijalana, OT, Villanova

Taiwan Jones, RB, E. Washington

Malcom Long, QB, South Carolina State

Kyle Minett, RB, South Dakota

Devon Moore, RB, Appalachian State

Jeremy Moses, QB, Stephen F. Austin

Chase Reynolds, RB, Montana

Scott Riddle, QB, Elon

Andrew Selle, QB, Montana

Matt Szczur, WR/Ret., Villanova

Tyson Poots, WR, Southern Utah

Steve Valentino, Sr., Dayton

Chris Whitney, QB, Villanova