STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State football head coach Todd Whitten has led the Texans to four straight winning seasons at the NCAA Division I level through their reclassification period, and his team capped it off with their best year yet, an 8-3 overall record and 4-2 conference mark, good for second place in the United Athletic Conference.
 
For his efforts, Whitten has been named one of 20 finalists for the 2023 Eddie Robinson Award, which is given annually to the national coach of the year in Division I FCS college football.
 
"Todd Whitten is an exceptional coach and this is a tremendous honor to be named a finalist for the national coach of the year, which he rightfully deserves," Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Lonn Reisman said. "There is no other coach in the country who could have led this program to this amount of success through reclassification. He has been and remains one of the best head coaches in the nation."
 
This year alone, Whitten's group finished in the top-20 in scoring offense and total offense, despite not having a single senior starter on that side of the ball. Defensively, his group was dynamic, finishing in the top-25 in yards per play, sacks and defensive touchdowns.
 
The award, first presented in 1987 and in its 37th season, is named for legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson.                                                                                                                                       
 
All 13 FCS leagues, comprised from 15 conferences overall, are represented by a Robinson Award finalist. The winner, to be selected by a national voting panel, will be announced on Dec. 7 and honored at the FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas – the eve of the FCS championship game.
 
Besides Whitten, the other finalists for this year's award are Mark Ferrante (Villanova), Greg Gattuso (UAlbany), Bobby Hauck (Montana), Clay Hendrix (Furman), Tre Lamb (Gardner-Webb), Tim Murphy (Harvard), Bob Nielson (South Dakota), Trei Oliver (North Carolina Central), Tim Rebowe (Nicholls), Danny Rocco (VMI), Jimmy Rogers (South Dakota State), Pete Rossomando (Lamar), Jerry Schmitt (Duquesne), Larry Scott (Howard), Willie Simmons (Florida A&M), Todd Stepsis (Drake), John Troxell (Lafayette), Scotty Walden (Austin Peay), Chris Wilkerson (Eastern Illinois).
 
Past recipients of the Eddie Robinson Award include Mark Duffner, Erk Russell, Chris Ault, Jim Tressel, Houston Nutt, Andy Talley, Paul Johnson, Joe Glenn, Mike Ayers, Jerry Kill, Jerry Moore, K.C. Keeler, Deion Sanders, John Stiegelmeier and two-time recipients Mickey Matthews, Sean McDonnell and Craig Bohl.