NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale quarterback
Nolan Grooms will begin the 2023 season in contention for one of the most prestigious awards in all of FCS football. Grooms has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Walter Payton Award, presented by FedEx Ground and given annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.
Grooms is coming off an outstanding 2022 season that saw him win the Asa S. Bushnell Cup as the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year. He also earned first team All-Ivy recognition after excelling both with his feet and his arm in helping lead the Bulldogs to an outright Ivy League championship. Grooms finished second in the league in rushing with 726 yards while also throwing for 1,660 yards. He accounted for 20 total touchdowns with 14 through the air and six by way of the ground. His top rushing performance came against Princeton when he carried 20 times for 152 yards and his top passing game came against Columbia when he threw for 346 yards and four touchdowns.
Grooms took over as Yale's starting quarterback midway through the 2021 season. He led the Bulldogs with 1,569 passing yards and 14 touchdown passes. In a victory at Brown, he threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bulldogs kick off the 2023 season on Sept. 16 against Holy Cross at Yale Bowl, Class of 1954 Field.
