Philadelphia, PA -- (Sports Network) - Running back Herb Donaldson of Western Illinois, Appalachian State signal caller Armanti Edwards and quarterback Rodney Landers of James Madison were announced on Monday as the three finalists for the 22nd Walter Payton Award.

The Payton Award, which is voted on by a panel of sports information directors, writers and broadcasters covering FCS football, goes to the top player in the sub-classification.

The winner will be named on Dec. 18 in Chattanooga, TN at The Sports Network's annual awards banquet. The 22nd Eddie Robinson Award and the 14th Buck Buchanan Award will be handed out to the top coach and top defensive player in FCS at the Chattanooga Marriott, the night before the NCAA Division I Football Championship game.

In alphabetical order below are a list of three finalists' accomplishments:

Herb Donaldson (Western Illinois): Donaldson led all of FCS in rushing with an average of 162 yards per game. The 5-11, 225-pound senior piled up 1,784 yards, 21 touchdowns and a 5.5 average per carry, on the way to becoming the leading career rusher in Western Illinois and Missouri Valley Football Conference history with 4,746 yards. He also caught 13 passes for 76 yards and one TD. Donaldson established three single-game and six career marks at WIU and broke five conference records. Donaldson has 51 touchdowns in his career and 5,042 all-purpose yards.

Armanti Edwards (Appalachian State): Edwards, the dual-threat quarterback for the Mountaineers, is the NCAA leader in passing efficiency (178.99) and ranks seventh nationally in total offense (3,517 yards). Having already taken Appalachian State to back-to-back national championships, the 6-0, 184-pound junior has the Mountaineers back in the hunt for another crown following a season which he passed for 2,579 yards with 938 more on the ground (5.1 average) and a combined 39 touchdowns. With 62 more rushing yards, Edwards can join Brad Smith of Missouri as only the second player in NCAA Division I history to rush for over 1,000 yards and pass for more than 2,000 in two separate seasons.

Rodney Landers (James Madison): Landers led JMU to a No. 1 ranking, and has the Dukes in contention for their second national championship in five years. The 6-1, 220-pound senior ranks seventh nationally in rushing (128.6 yards per game, 1,543 yards, 6.9 average) and has passed for 1,362 yards, with a combined 33 touchdowns. He has completed 97-of-153 passes (63%), with 18 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Landers has 2,905 yards of total offense this season and 6,107 for his career.

Wide receiver Ramses Barden of Cal Poly finished fourth in the voting, with Central Arkansas quarterback Nathan Brown fifth and Weber State quarterback Cameron Higgins sixth. San Diego wide receiver John Matthews was seventh, Liberty running back Rashad Jennings placed eighth, Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph was ninth and running back/returnman Larry Warner of Southern Illinois placed 10th.

The Walter Payton Award was established in 1987 by The Sports Network. Several previous winners have gone on to outstanding professional careers in football, including Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois), Brian Westbrook (Villanova), Adrian Peterson (Georgia Southern), Jerry Azumah (New Hampshire), Brian Finneran (Villanova), Dave Dickenson (Montana), Steve McNair (Alcorn State), and Dave Meggett (Towson). Jayson Foster of Georgia Southern, now a member of the Denver Broncos, was the 2007 Payton Award winner.

Below is the voting breakdown for the 2008 Walter Payton Award, minus the totals for the three finalists:

2008 WALTER PAYTON AWARD VOTING - Top-three in alphabetical order

NAME (SCHOOL)...........................1st..2nd..3rd..4th..5th...Total

Herb Donaldson (Western Illinois)

Armanti Edwards (Appalachian State)

Rodney Landers (James Madison)

Ramses Barden (Cal Poly).................4..8..11..15..12...127

Nathan Brown (Central Arkansas)..........1..7..6..9..18...89

Cameron Higgins (Weber State)............3..8..3..7..9...79

John Matthews (San Diego)................2..6..6..6..4...70

Rashad Jennings (Liberty)................1..3..5..9..9...59

Dominic Randolph (Holy Cross)............2..2..7..1..4...47

Larry Warner (Southern Illinois).........1..4..1..3..7...37

Chris Pizzotti (Harvard).................1..2..4..3..2...33

William Ford (South Carolina State)......1..3..0..4..4...29

Andre Roberts (The Citadel)..............2..0..0..6..4...26

Rhett Bomar (Sam Houston State)..........0..0..5..2..4...23

Terrell Hudgins (Elon)...................0..0..4..2..4...20

David Sinisi (Monmouth)..................0..1..1..1..4...13

*Jonathan Dally (Cal Poly)...............0..1..1..0..0...7

*Josh Vaughan (Richmond).................0..1..0..1..0...6

*write-in votes