NATCHITOCHES – Ranked among national leaders in five NCAA statistics as he's helped Northwestern State win four of its last five games and move into the Southland Conference championship picture, the Demons' record-setting senior quarterback, Zach Adkins, is among 30 players who have been named to the "watch list" for the College Football Performance Awards FCS National Performer of the Year Trophy.
 
The list includes 24 quarterbacks and six running backs, said CFPA director Brad Smith. Among them are four other Southland Conference standouts:  McNeese State quarterback Daniel Sams; Bryan Bennett, the Southeastern Louisiana quarterback; Stephen F. Austin running back Gus Johnson; and Lamar quarterback Caleb Berry.
 
Adkins will lead NSU Saturday evening at Central Arkansas in a key 6 p.m. Southland contest. The Demons are 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the league after knocking off No. 24 Sam Houston State last Saturday. The Bears are 4-4 overall but 3-1 in the Southland as they rank 10^th nationally with a 40-points per game average.
 
A Riverside, Cal., native who broke seven NSU passing records last year, Adkins ranks ninth nationally with his 66.2 completion percentage this season. He has thrown for 1,537 yards and 15 touchdowns, 10^th nationally.
 
His 21.6 completions per game ranks 16^th nationally. He is 18^th in points responsible for (100) and 20^th in average points responsible for (14.3) in this week's FCS statistics covering 121 teams.
 
Adkins has led a pair of fourth-quarter comebacks, helping the Demons score 20 points in the final period for a 30-27 triumph at Conference USA West Division leader Louisiana Tech on Sept. 20, then helping produce 10 points in the final six minutes in a 31-27 victory over Sam Houston State, which has been in the last three FCS playoff fields.
 
The 2013 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year, he was the Louisiana Sports Writers Association's state offensive player of the week after completing a school-record 19 straight passes in a 30-of-35 outing with four touchdowns in a 51-27 rout of Southern on Sept. 13 in Baton Rouge.  Adkins was 17 of 17 in the second quarter, just three completions shy of a 1999 NCAA record for most completions in a quarter. His 85.7 percent aim against the Jaguars was close to the FCS record of 91.4 (32-35) set last year by Quinn Epperly of Princeton.
 
He is closing in on his own school record for touchdown passes in a season (21). Already twice this year, he has tied the single-game record with four scoring passes.
 
His season pass yardage mark is 2,712 last year.