By Tiffany Williams –
KINGSTON, R.I. — Forget preseason hype. Forget offseason rankings. Forget the endless debates over who belongs among the Football Championship Subdivision’s elite.
Rhode Island has the receipts.
And now, two of the Rams’ biggest stars are officially in the race for one of the highest individual honors in FCS football.
Senior quarterback Devin Farrell and senior wide receiver Marquis Buchanan have been selected to the 30-player preseason watch list for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually by Stats Perform to the national offensive player of the year in FCS football.
The recognition places Rhode Island’s dynamic offensive duo squarely in the national spotlight before the 2026 season even begins.
It also sends a clear message across the subdivision.
The Rams are no longer the hunters.
They’re the hunted.
Devin Farrell enters his senior season following one of the finest quarterback performances in Rhode Island football history.
The first-team All-CAA selection completed 267 of 410 passes for 3,745 yards and 24 touchdowns during the 2025 campaign while adding 78 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Those numbers were not simply productive.
They were historic.
His passing yardage and touchdown totals ranked as the third-highest single-season marks in Rhode Island history.
Nationally, Devin Farrell finished seventh in passing yards per game at 267.5, ranked 13th in passing efficiency and 13th in total offense.
Those are the statistics of a quarterback who didn’t simply manage games.
He dictated them.
Every defense knew Rhode Island wanted to throw the football.
Very few found a way to stop it.
Standing on the other end of many of those completions was perhaps the most dangerous receiver in all of FCS football.
Marquis Buchanan wasn’t just good in 2025.
He set the standard.
The senior wide receiver earned first-team All-America honors after catching 78 passes for 1,337 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
No receiver in the Football Championship Subdivision accumulated more receiving yards last season.
His 78 receptions also became the fifth-highest single-season total in Rhode Island history.
Those numbers alone justify Walter Payton Award consideration.
His career totals make an even stronger argument.
Marquis Buchanan enters his final collegiate season with 202 receptions and 3,099 receiving yards.
He is on pace to finish among the top 10 receivers in CAA history in both categories, placing himself alongside some of the conference’s greatest offensive playmakers.
The chemistry between Devin Farrell and Marquis Buchanan has transformed Rhode Island into one of the most explosive passing offenses in the nation.
Elite quarterbacks become more dangerous with elite receivers.
Elite receivers become even more productive with elite quarterbacks.
Rhode Island has both.
That combination helped propel the Rams to their second consecutive CAA championship in 2025 and another appearance in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
It also landed both players among the finalists for last season’s Walter Payton Award.
Now they return for one final run.
The timing couldn’t be more significant.
The Walter Payton Award celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026.
Often referred to as the Heisman Trophy of FCS football, the award has recognized some of the greatest players ever to compete outside the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Its list of past winners and standout recipients reads like a who’s who of football talent.
Steve McNair.
Tony Romo.
Brian Westbrook.
Jimmy Garoppolo.
Cooper Kupp.
Every player named to this year’s preseason watch list understands exactly what joining that company would represent.
The competition, however, will be relentless.
Returning Walter Payton Award winner Beau Brungard of Youngstown State is attempting to become only the third two-time winner in the history of the award.
Only Armanti Edwards of Appalachian State and Jeremiah Briscoe of Sam Houston State have previously accomplished that feat.
The quarterback field also includes Keali’I Ah Yat of Montana, Andrew Body of Alabama State, Collin Hurst of West Georgia, Justin Lamson of Montana State, Chase Mason of South Dakota State, Chris Parson of Austin Peay, Ty Pennington of Northern Arizona, Dante Reno of Yale and DJ Williams of Southern Illinois.
The running back position features Dason Brooks, Ness Davis, Victor Dawson, MJ Flowers, Eli Gillman, Carson Gresock, Tylan Hines, Adam Jones, Ja’briel Mace, Charles Pierre Jr. and Luke Yoder.
Among wide receivers, Marquis Buchanan joins Taco Dowler, Samuel Gbatu Jr., Gavin Lochow, Sam Milligan, Bugs Mortimer, Chance Peterson and Brayden Smith.
Every one of those players begins the season believing the Walter Payton Award can become theirs.
Only one ultimately will.
While Rhode Island dominates the offensive conversation, the CAA also continues proving it possesses some of the nation’s premier defensive talent.
Four CAA standouts have been selected to the 30-player preseason watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually by Stats Perform to the national defensive player of the year in FCS football.
Rhode Island junior linebacker Rohan Davy earned a place on the prestigious watch list after another dominant campaign.
Davy recorded 101 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and five quarterback hurries while earning second-team All-CAA honors.
Those statistics reveal a defender capable of impacting every phase of a football game.
He consistently stopped running plays behind the line of scrimmage.
He pressured quarterbacks.
He created negative plays.
He forced offenses to account for him on virtually every snap.
Elon junior linebacker Brodie Carroll also earned Buck Buchanan Award consideration.
Carroll finished 2025 with a team-leading 104 tackles while adding 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Triple-digit tackles have become the benchmark for elite linebackers.
Brodie Carroll reached that milestone while consistently producing game-changing plays.
Stony Brook senior linebacker Anthony Ferrelli joins the preseason watch list after leading his team with 109 tackles.
Ferrelli also recorded 6.5 tackles for loss while adding an interception and a forced fumble during the 2025 season.
Week after week, he became the centerpiece of the Stony Brook defense.
Monmouth junior safety Jaeden Jones completes the CAA’s Buck Buchanan Award representatives.
Jones earned AFCA second-team All-America recognition after producing a team-high 118 tackles while contributing 5.0 tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble.
Very few safeties approach those tackle numbers.
Jaeden Jones did exactly that while remaining one of the conference’s most complete defensive players.
The Buck Buchanan Award has honored the nation’s top defensive player since 1995 and enters its 32nd season in 2026.
Combined with the Walter Payton Award watch list, the preseason honors paint a remarkably clear picture of the CAA entering the new season.
Rhode Island possesses two legitimate candidates for the nation’s top offensive honor.
The conference places four defenders on the Buck Buchanan Award watch list.
Multiple players are returning finalists.
Several already own All-America recognition.
Others are coming off career seasons.
None of those honors guarantee success once the season begins.
Preseason watch lists don’t complete passes.
They don’t catch touchdowns.
They don’t make tackles.
They don’t win conference championships.
Those accomplishments still have to be earned every Saturday.
For Rhode Island, however, the expectations have never been clearer.
Devin Farrell enters the season carrying the responsibility of leading one of the nation’s most dangerous offenses.
Marquis Buchanan returns as the most productive receiver in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Rohan Davy anchors a defense expected to compete at the highest level.
The Rams have already proven they belong among the nation’s elite.
Now comes the difficult part.
Living up to the standard they created.