Monday, December 19, 2016
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Stetson senior defensive back Donald Payne was one of only 26 athletes named to the 2016 Walter Camp Football Championship Subdivision All-America team, Monday. The team was selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the Football Championship Subdivision schools and certified by the accounting and auditing firm, Marcum LLP.
It is the second time Payne has received All-America honors, following his 2014 selection, from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and he was one of four repeat All-Americans on this year's team. He was joined as a repeat All-American by Eastern Washington wide receiver Cooper Kupp, Duquesne linebacker Christian Kuntz and The Citadel defensive back Dee Delaney.
Last month, Payne became the first PFL athlete to be named Defensive Player of the Year three times during their career. He ranked third among FCS defenders with 7.4 solo tackles per game, ranked fifth in total tackles per game (11.4) and was 17th in tackles for loss per game (1.6).
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team. Visit www.waltercamp.org for more information.