Ralph Rucker IV Named to Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List
7/29/2025 12:00:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. --- Ralph Rucker IV is one of 30 FCS standouts named to the 2025 Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List Stats Perform announced on Tuesday. The fifth-year finds himself on the watch list after being a finalist for the award last season.
Rucker is one of 10 quarterbacks and one of two Patriot League players to find their name on the list with the other being wide receiver Treyvhon Saunders from Colgate.Â
The award, which is in its 39th season, is presented annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football. Known as the Heisman of the FCS, the honor is named after the legendary running back Walter Payton, who was a star at Jackson State as a part of his Hall of Fame career. All 13 FCS conferences are represented on the list which includes nine past finalists, including Rucker.Â
2024 was a standout season for Rucker, a Lucas, Texas native who transferred to Bucknell from Oklahoma before the 2023 campaign. He earned five Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week awards, including four in a row to close out the season and he was Bucknell's first Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year since Hall-of-Famer Rich Lemon in 1994. Rucker also became Bucknell's first First Team All-PL quarterback since Daris Wilson in 2004.Â
Rucker broke over 10 Bucknell records during the 2024 season. He threw for 300+ yards four times and his .672 completion percentage on the season set a new school record, just above the previous mark of .671 by Marcello Trigg in 2008. He led the Patriot League in passing yards, passing touchdowns and passing efficiency, as he finished the year with 25 TD passes and only seven interceptions.
Rucker capped off a record-setting season with one of the best performances of his career in the Bison's 48-34 win over Colgate. He finished 31-for-45 for 457 yards and five touchdown passes. Bucknell previously had never had a 400-yard passer in any game in team history. Rucker set the previous mark of 387 against Colgate last season, giving him 824 yards in two career games against the Raiders.
The game against Colgate was Rucker's second straight five-touchdown game, tying the school record, He also set new Bucknell records for TD passes in a season (25) and career (46). Scott Auchenbach had held the Bucknell career mark of 42 touchdown passes since 1989. Rucker also broke the Bucknell single-season record for passing yards with 2,826 and his career total of 5,363 in just two seasons ranks second all-time.
The reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year and Walter Payton Award Finalist decided to return to the Bison using his fifth year of eligibility and continue playing for Bucknell for the 2025 season. He looks to build upon his record-setting 2024 stint with another record-breaking season under center.
This season's Walter Payton Award recipient will be announced at the Stats Perform National Awards Presentation on Jan. 3, 2026 in Nashville, Tenn.
Read more about the full watch list at theanalyst.com.Â
