LJ Phillips Jr. entered the season as the #2 option out of the USD Coyotes backfield.

The Redshirt Sophomore back had limited opportunities in his first two seasons in Vermillion, logging just 46 carries in 2023 and 2024 combined.

It wouldn't be long until Phillips Jr. would be relied upon to be 'the guy' in the Coyote backfield with the unfortunate injury to Charles Pierre Jr.

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Phillips took the job and ran with it from there. After officially taking over the job as starter ahead of the Northern Colorado game, the Wichita native took flight.

In the 10 games since, Phillips has amassed 1,483 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. His success thus far has allowed him to land on the Walter Payton Award Watch List, and now the finalist list:

VERMILLION, S.D. — Redshirt sophomore running back L.J. Phillips Jr. has made himself a national name this season, stepping into the starting role back in week three, being named a finalist for the 2025 Walter Payton Award.

Phillips Jr. has played in all 12 games this season with 10 starts. All season long he has paced the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in carries and rushing yards, finishing the regular season slate with 1,556 yards on 250 carries, averaging 6.22 yards per rush.

He's the only running back in the conference to notch 200+ carries, 1,000 rushing yards, 100+ yards per game, and a 6.0 or better yards per rush average. He's just one of two rushers in the league in total, joined by Youngstown State quarterback Beau Brungard.

His breakout game came in his first career start against Northern Colorado (Sept. 13) where he rushed for 301 yards on 35 carries. A week later, he set another career-high with four rushing scores against Drake (Sept. 20).

Entering the FCS Playoffs this weekend, the Wichita native sits top-10 nationally in four rushing categories: total yards, carries, yards per game, and rushing touchdowns (15).

He became just the third USD back in the DI FCS era to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, while becoming the quickest to do so in just eight games. He's set a new Division I era record with his 1,500+ yards to date, while having seven 100-yard rushing games. He currently sits tied second in the DI era for most career 100-yard rushing games (7).

Phillips Jr. is one of 30 finalists for the award this season, with each of the 13 FCS conferences represented by a finalist.

Nine running backs highlights the 30 finalists from across the national with Phillips Jr. the only one from the MVFC. In total, the MVFC has five total finalists. MVFC champion North Dakota State leads the conference with two finalists.