Two members of the Holy Cross football team have been named finalists for the Walter Payton Award, as announced by Stats Perform on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The award, given annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football, is presented by FedEx Ground.

Senior quarterback Matthew Sluka and senior wide receiver Jalen Coker, two of the best offensive players in program history and one of the best quarterback-receiver duos in FCS this year, were both selected as finalists. The duo paced a Crusader offense that ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense and total offense. 

Sluka is now a two-time finalist for the award after earning the same honor in 2022. In 2023, he completed 122 of his 197 passes (62%) for 1,728 yards and 20 touchdowns. On the ground, he rushed for 1,247 yards – third most in single-season program history – and nine touchdowns. He set a Division I single-game record for rushing yards by a quarterback, tallying 330 yards on the ground against Lafayette on Oct. 21. 

In his Holy Cross career, in which he guided the Crusaders to four Patriot League titles as the starting quarterback, Sluka totaled 3,583 rushing yards and 38 rushing touchdowns – both ranking second-most in program history. He additionally threw for 5,916 yards, ranking sixth in school history. His 59 career touchdown passes are fifth-most ever at Holy Cross. 

Coker had the most touchdown receptions in all of FCS, with 15 on the year; his 1,040 receiving yards ranked fifth in the nation. He caught at least one touchdown in all but one game this season. 

He set a number of program records this year, with Coker's 15 single-season touchdowns ranking as the most in single-season program history. In his Crusader career, Coker totaled 2,715 receiving yards and 31 touchdown receptions, both the most in school history. 

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