(August 27, 2003) – Fordham University’s Kirwin Watson (Sunrise, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) was named to The Sports Network’s “Payton Watch” and is now in consideration for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the top player in I-AA football. The Sports Network, I-AA college football’s most widely recognized information service, also sponsors the Buck Buchanan Award that is presented annually to the top defensive player in I-AA. The “Payton Watch” and “Buchanan Watch” pages, which can be found at The Sports Network’s website (www.sportsnetwork.com) keep track of the quest for the 17th Walter Payton Award and the 9th Buck Buchanan Award. The honors will be presented at the 17th annual I-AA College Football Awards on Thursday, December 18th in Chattanooga, TN, on the eve of the 2003 I-AA National Championship. The Eddie Robinson Award, honoring I-AA’s top coach, and the Sports Network Cup, bestowed upon the nation’s best I-AA mid-major program, will also be presented on December 18th. Watson is one of five players in this year’s initial pool who appeared on last year’s final Walter Payton Award ballot, joining Bruce Eugene (Grambling State), Ryan Fuqua (Portland State), Allen Suber (Bethune-Cookman) and Chaz Williams (Georgia Southern). Watson, the 2003 Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and 2002 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, finished tenth in the voting last year for the Walter Payton Award, presented to the top I-AA Offensive Player. He was also named Third Team All-America by The Sports Network, the Associated Press, and the Football Gazette last fall. This year, Watson has been named the Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year as well as preseason All-American by The Sports Network and the Football Gazette. A First Team All-Patriot League selection the past two seasons, Watson is the most prolific running back in Fordham football history. Last year, he set school records for rushing yards in a season when he gained 1,467 yards on 285 carries. The 1,467 yards was the fourth best total in Patriot League history and currently sits in eighth place on the league’s all-time rushing list with 3,140 yards. The 2003 team captain is also just 107 yards shy of becoming Fordham’s all-time leading rusher. Fordham, ranked 13th in both the Sports Network and ESPN/Sportsticker preseason polls, is coming off its most successful season on the I-AA level as they finished the 2002 season with a 10-3 overall record, 6-1 in the Patriot League. They tied with Colgate for the Patriot League championship and received the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA I-AA playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, the Rams defeated Northeastern, the Atlantic 10 champion, before falling to Villanova in the quarterfinals. Fordham finished the 2002 season ranked 12th in the final Sports Network poll and 15th in the final ESPN/Sportsticker poll. Head coach Dave Clawson, who was named the 2002 Schutt Sports I-AA National Coach of the Year, returns eight starters on offense and seven more on defense, including eight All-Patriot League selections. The Rams open the 2003 season on Saturday, August 30th, when they host C.W. Post College on Jack Coffey Field at 1:00 PM.