Cullowhee, N.C. – Even with being sidelined by a season-ending injury with four games remaining in the 2024 regular season, Western Carolina junior QB Cole Gonzales – the Southern Conference’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – was today listed among 35 national finalists for the 2024 Walter Payton Award, given to the national offensive player of the year in NCAA Division I FCS college football and announced by Stats Perform. It is the second straight year that the Catamount signal-caller has graced the finalist ballot, finishing a program-best 17th in last year’s national vote.
