PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Sports Network) - Southern Illinois University senior running back Arkee Whitlock, Northern Arizona quarterback Jason Murietta and New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos have been selected as the top three finalists for the 2006 Walter Payton Award.

The Walter Payton Award, along with the Buck Buchanan (I-AA defensive player of the year) and Eddie Robinson (I-AA coach of the year) Awards, will be presented at the 20th Annual I-AA College Football Awards in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Dec. 14.

More than 110 ballots were cast for the Payton, which goes to I-AA's top player.

Murrietta, a senior from Glendale, Ariz., threw for 2,827 yards with 34 touchdown passes and only five interceptions for the 6-5 Lumberjacks, who won four of their final five games.  Murrietta was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career for his efforts. Murrietta's 94 career touchdown passes rank second in Big Sky history, and his 10,726 career passing yards place him sixth in conference annals.

Santos, a junior from Bellingham, Mass., completed the regular season with 2,681 passing yards and 23 touchdowns and added 12 rushing touchdowns to lead New Hampshire to an 8-3 record and its third consecutive playoff berth.  Santos was named the Atlantic 10 Football Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year. He threw for 318 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to victory against Hampton in the first round of the playoffs, and New Hampshire will travel to Massachusetts in a quarterfinal game on Saturday.

A native of Rock Hill, S.C., Whitlock ran for 1,541 yards and 21 touchdowns during the regular season to lead the Salukis to an 8-3 record and their fourth consecutive playoff berth.  He turned it on at the end of the year with 568 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in the month of November. Whitlock kept his strong play going in the first round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship, where he tallied 207 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Salukis past UT Martin, 36-30. SIU advanced to the quarterfinals and will travel to Montana Saturday.

In a week's time, Whitlock was invited to play in the 2007 Cornerstone Bancard Hula Bowl, rushed for 207 yards and four TDs against UT-Martin, and named a Payton Award finalist.

The 2005 Walter Payton Award went to Eastern Washington quarterback Erik Meyer.

Former winners Tony Romo (2002, Eastern Illinois, Dallas Cowboys), Brian Westbrook (2001, Villanova, Philadelphia Eagles), Adrian Peterson (1999, Georgia Southern, Chicago Bears), Brian Finneran (1997, Villanova, Atlanta Falcons), and Steve McNair (1994, Alcorn State, Baltimore Ravens) are among those serving in the NFL.

Voting, which is based on regular season performance only, was conducted among 112 media members and media relations professionals covering I-AA/FCS.

The top three finalists (in terms of votes received) for the Walter Payton Award are annually invited to attend the presentation of the Awards, with the winner of the Payton not announced until the event.

2006 WALTER PAYTON AWARD VOTING
NAME (SCHOOL) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Total
Jason Murrietta (Northern Arizona) ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ???
Ricky Santos (New Hampshire) ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ???
Arkee Whitlock (Southern Illinois) ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ???
Marcus Mason (Youngstown State) 19 10 11 7 13 195
David Ball (New Hampshire) 10 13 9 9 7 154
Josh Johnson (San Diego) 9 9 6 7 14 127
Tyler Thigpen (Coastal Carolina) 3 6 8 3 8 77
Justise Hairston (Cent. Conn. State) 6 4 3 5 10 75
Clifton Dawson (Harvard) 4 4 5 2 8 63
Steve Baylark (Massachusetts) 3 6 2 4 8 61
Pierre Rembert (Illinois State) 1 5 6 6 4 59
Kevin Richardson (Appalachian State) 2 4 5 4 4 53
Steve Walker (North Dakota State) 4 1 3 3 5 44
Justin Rascati (James Madison) 2 2 1 8 4 41
Jerome Felton (Furman) 1 1 2 4 2 25
D.D. Terry (Sam Houston State) 0 2 1 3 2 19