Senior quarterback Tony Romo was named the 16th winner of the Walter Payton Award Dec. 19 at the Division I-AA College Football Awards held in Chattanooga, Tenn. He received 24 first-place votes and 268 points to beat out Villanova senior quarterback Brett Gordon (245 points) and Grambling sophomore quarterback Bruce Eugene (234).

“I was shocked,” Romo said. “I really thought the kid from Villanova was going to win.”

Romo said when he arrived in Chattanooga he heard people talking about his performances against Division I-A opponents Hawaii (30-53, 319 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Kansas State (23-35, 169, 1 touchdown).

“As it came closer to the time of the awards, I felt better about my chances,” Romo said.

Romo’s performance against Hawaii and Kansas State were a big factor in his selection.

“He had two pretty good games against pretty good I-A teams that went to bowl games,” Moss said. “And if you represent I-AA well (against I-A teams), the voters will think well of you.”

Romo’s record with the Panthers (8-3 in the regular season) and steady play was another factor in his selection according to Moss.

“Winning was a major factor in him winning the Payton award,” Moss said. “His consistency too; he never had a bad game, the defense didn’t matter, the quality of opponent didn’t matter. That is something voters took notice of.”

Romo broke Eastern and OVC passing records in single season touchdown passes, 34, and career touchdown passes, 85. He finished the season eighth in the nation in passing efficiency, completing 63.4 percent of his passes. He threw for 3,165 yards this season to end his collegiate career with 8,212 yards, second best in Eastern and OVC history.

“He avoided ups and downs his entire career,” Eastern offensive coordinator Roy Wittke said. “He played very consistently for us.”

Romo is the seventh quarterback to win the award, but the first quarterback to win since Montana’s Dave Dickerson won in 1995.

Romo is the first player from Eastern to win the highest honor in I-AA football. He is also the only player in Ohio Valley Conference history to win the award, which was established in 1987 by The Sports Network.

“Tony is a tremendous young man to be around,” Wittke said. “He is very positive. He approached the game and played the game with a tremendous amount of passion and enjoyed it. He had a lot of fun doing it.”

The Payton award will be added to Romo’s list of awards along with being named First Team All-American and the only person in history to be named OVC offensive ‘Player of the Year’ three times.

First runner-up Gordon led Villanova to the third round of the Division I-AA playoff, where the team lost to McNeese St. In the regular season, Gordon led the Wildcats to a 9-3 record. He completed 308 of 459 passes for 3,482 and 29 touchdowns.

“Brett Gordon also had a great year. He stepped up in the playoffs, but unfortunately voting is conducted during the regular season,” The Sports Network Executive Director of I-AA Football Tony Moss said. “Had the playoffs been considered, I think he would have won, but that’s not fair to the guys that don’t make the playoffs.”

Gordon dealt with being runner-up for the award with class according to Moss. Following the awards ceremony he sat in the hotel bar and signed autographs for fans.

“To Brett Gordon’s credit, the next day in the Philadelphia Inquirer, he was quoted saying ‘Tony Romo had a sensational year.'”

Romo spent the day after the awards writing thank you letters to the Walter Payton Award Voters, before he left for Florida to workout with 13 other collegiate athletes who signed with the sports agency International Management Group.

“I thought it was important to thank the voters and show that I appreciated it,” Romo said.

Romo along with Marshall’s Byron Leftwich are the only two quarterbacks in IMG’s camp.

Romo feels good about his chances in the NFL draft in April.

“I’m feeling good, I just keep throwing and my confidence just keeps going up and up,” Romo said.

Moss also believes Romo will do well in the NFL.

“Tony’s not going to be the type of guy to be drafted to start right away,” Moss said. “He’ll hold a clipboard for a year or two and then work his way up the ladder.”

One team that could make a good fit for Romo is the Chicago Bears. The team needs help at the quarterback position and has two other Payton Award winners, cornerback Jerry Azuma and running back Adrian Peterson.

“I’d be more than happy to go to Chicago,” Romo said.