WSU football: Wildcat star cut from list

The finalist list for the Walter Payton award, given annually to the nation's top Football Championship Subdivision player, was trimmed on Monday, and Weber State quarterback Cameron Higgins did not make the cut.

Higgins finished sixth out of 16 players who were on the finalist ballot. Finishing sixth was a big accomplishment for Higgins, who's only a sophomore. Of the five players ahead of him in the voting, four are seniors and one is a junior.

The top three vote-getters — Western Illinois running back Herb Donaldson, Appalachian State junior quarterback Armanti Edwards and James Madison running back Rodney Landers — are the finalists. The winner will be announced on Dec. 18.

Higgins said he finished about where he thought he would in the voting.

"That's what I was expecting, me being the underclassman and stuff like that," Higgins said. "I can do a lot better than what I did this season. I've got to train harder. I can be better next year. This is good motivation to work harder this next offseason."

Higgins has had a phenomenal year in his first full season as a starter. In 13 games, Higgins has completed 67 percent of his passes for 4,207 yards. He's thrown 36 touchdown passes and just 12 interceptions. His passer rating is 172.8.

Higgins also played well against Montana, Weber State's opponent in the FCS quarterfinals on Saturday. He completed 20-of-31 passes for 237 yards and four touchdowns in the Wildcats' 45-28 win over the Grizzlies on Oct. 4.

Coach Ron McBride said this won't be the last people hear of Higgins being in contention for the prestigious Walter Payton award.

"Next year, he should be favored to win it," McBride said.

ETEUATI MAKING IMPACT: Receiver/returner Bryant Eteuati, suspended three games late in the season after he was charged with various felonies, showed he's getting back to game speed in the Wildcats' 49-35 win over Cal Poly.

Early in the fourth quarter, after the Mustangs had trimmed Weber State's lead to 35-28, Eteuati returned a kickoff 44 yards to Cal Poly's 43-yard line. The return took some of the life out of the Cal Poly crowd, and set up a six-play scoring drive that Higgins capped with a 1-yard run.

Eteuati only had three catches for 16 yards on offense, but finished with a total of 137 all-purpose yards in the contest.