NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Duquesne wide receiver
Joey Isabella has been named a finalist for the 2025 Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS football.
FULL RELEASE
Isabella finished the regular season tied for first in the FCS with 13 receiving touchdowns. He recorded career-best totals in receptions (63), yards (839) and touchdowns (13) to close out a standout career on the Bluff. The Mayfield, Ohio, native ranks third all-time at Duquesne with 163 career receptions and is one of only five Dukes to reach 30 career touchdown catches.
This season, Isabella led the NEC in receptions, yards and touchdowns. He closed his career with a five-catch, 108-yard performance in the win at Robert Morris, including a 71-yard touchdown — the Dukes' longest pass play of the season. Isabella tallied three 100-yard games in 2024 (120 at FBS Pitt, 153 vs. nationally ranked Lehigh, and 108 at RMU) and scored in nine of 12 games, finishing with multiple touchdown grabs in three contests, including three against New Haven.
Isabella is the second Duke in three seasons to be named a Walter Payton Award finalist, joining former quarterback
Darius Perrantes in 2023. The 2025 watch list includes 30 finalists across 13 FCS conferences. The winner, selected by a national voting panel, will be announced at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show on Jan. 3 in Nashville.
The Dukes also have a national finalist for the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in running back
Shawn Solomon, Jr. For more on that honor,
click here.
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