STEPHENVILLE, Texas – The national award for the offensive player of the year has a Tarleton State running back on its preseason watch list, announced on Tuesday.
 
Texan RB Tylan Hines is on the Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List, announced by Stats Perform. There are 30 players on the preseason watch list for the Payton, presented annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.
 
The award, in its 40th anniversary, is affectionately known as the Heisman of the FCS, named for legendary running back Walter Payton, who starred at Jackson State as part of his Hall of Fame career. Past recipients include Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, Jimmy Garoppolo and Cooper Kupp.
 
Hines is one of 11 running backs nationally on the preseason watch list, along with 11 quarterbacks and eight wide receivers.
 
Hines is entering his second season in Stephenville. After getting injured on Tarleton State's first drive of the 2025 campaign which caused Hines to miss the Texans' next nine games, he shined in the team's final four games, two coming in the FCS Playoffs. Hines totaled 490 rushing yards (122.5 rushing yards per game) with three rushing touchdowns on 78 carries (6.3 YPC) over the final four games. He had a season-high 215 rushing yards and a touchdown in Tarleton State's UAC co-championship clinching win against Austin Peay in the regular season finale, then opened the FCS Playoffs with 120 rushing yards in the Texans' win against North Dakota.
 
All 13 FCS conferences are represented on the watch list, which includes 10 past finalists.
 
The full 2026 Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List can be seen below:
 
Quarterbacks
Keali'I Ah Yat, Montana
Andrew Body, Alabama State
Beau Brungard, Youngstown State
Devin Farrell, Rhode Island
Collin Hurst, West Georgia
Justin Lamson, Montana State
Chase Mason, South Dakota State
Chris Parson, Austin Peay
Ty Pennington, Northern Arizona
Dante Reno, Yale
DJ Williams, Southern Illinois
 
Running Backs
Dason Brooks, Idaho State
Ness Davis, Duquesne
Victor Dawson, Illinois State
MJ Flowers, Tennessee Tech
Eli Gillman, Montana
Carson Gresock, Gardner-Webb
Tylan Hines, Tarleton State
Adam Jones, Montana State
Ja'briel Mace, Villanova
Charles Pierre Jr., South Dakota
Luke Yoder, Lehigh
 
Wide Receivers
Marquis Buchanan, Rhode Island
Taco Dowler, Montana State
Samuel Gbatu Jr., UC Davis
Gavin Lochow, Dayton
Sam Milligan, Bucknell
Bugs Mortimer, Stephen F. Austin
Chance Peterson, North Carolina Central
Brayden Smith, Mercer
 
The Walter Payton Award was first presented in 1987. More players can join the watch list before a national media panel selects the winner after the regular season from a group of finalists.