Lindenwood running back Steve Hall was the OVC-Big South Freshman Offensive Player of the Year last season. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
Lindenwood University football player Steve Hall received another preseason honor recently, when he was named on the Walter Payton Award Watch List.
The Walter Payton Award is presented annually to the NCAA Division I-FCS national offensive player of the year.
Hall, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound dynamo at running back entering his sophomore season, is coming off a tremendous freshman year in 2024. Last year, the St. Louis native, who played his high school ball at MICDS, was the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association’s Offensive Freshman of the Year, after rushing for 808 yards and scoring five touchdowns.
Lindenwood’s Steve Hall was the FCS’s National Freshman of the Week, after rushing for 259 yards and scoring four touchdowns in the Lions’ win over Western Illinois last season. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Hall also led the conference with a 7.3 yards per carry average. Over the course of last season, Hall was named Big South-OVC Freshman of the Week four different times and was the FCS National Freshman of the Week, following a Week 9 performance in which he rushed for 259 yards and scored four touchdowns in Lindenwood’s 49-38 win over Western Illinois.
At the end of last season, Hall was also recognized as the conference Freshman of the Year by Phil Steele, an All-American by Football Central and was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award.
Lindenwood will begin the 2025 season on Thursday, August 28, when the Lions will travel to Minnesota to take on the University of St. Thomas.
2025 LINDENWOOD LIONS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | At | Opponent | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 28, 2025 (Thursday) | Away | St. Thomas | St. Paul, Minn. | |
| September 6, 2025 (Saturday) | Away | Appalachian State | Boone, N.C. |  |
| September 13, 2025 (Saturday) | Away | Charleston Southern | Charleston, S.C. | |
| September 20, 2025 (Saturday) | Home | Stony Brook | Hunter Stadium | |
| September 27, 2025 (Saturday) | Away | Miami (OH) | Oxford, Ohio | |
| October 4, 2025 (Saturday) | Home | Tennessee-Martin | Hunter Stadium | |
| October 18, 2025 (Saturday) | Home | Tennessee Tech | Hunter Stadium | |
| October 25, 2025 (Saturday) | Home | Gardner-Webb | Hunter Stadium | |
| November 1, 2025 (Saturday) | Away | Tennessee State | Nashville, Tenn. | |
| November 8, 2025 (Saturday) | Away | Western Illinois | Macomb, Ill. | |
| November 15, 2025 (Saturday) | Home | Eastern Illinois | Hunter Stadium | |
| November 22, 2025 (Saturday) | Away | Southeast Missouri State | Cape Girardeau, Mo. | |