Philadelphia, PA – Voting for the Jerry Rice Award won't be easy considering all the good candidates.
The possibilities grew on Thursday as quarterbacks Scott Lathrop of Southeast Missouri State and Kieran McDonagh of Portland State, running back Jake Hutson of Valparaiso, and linebackers Elandon Roberts of Morgan State and Jeff Williams of Delaware joined the Rice Award Watch List.
The Rice Award, in its second year, honors the national freshman of the year in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Lathrop, 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, has the ball in his hands on every offensive play for Southeast Missouri State and often doesn't give it up. He's carried the ball at least 16 times in seven games. Overall, he's rushed for 603 yards on 157 carries with six touchdowns. He's also thrown for six touchdowns.
McDonagh, 6-1, 240, has the size of a middle linebacker, but he's best at making opposing defenses uncomfortable with his dual-threat abilities. Portland State's quarterback leads all FCS freshmen with 259.7 yards of total offense per game. A national freshman of the week selection earlier this season, McDonagh has thrown for 13 touchdowns and rushed for eight more.
Hutson, 5-6, 180, is hard to catch as he weaves his way in and out of defenses. He earned national freshman of the week honors when he totaled 248 rushing yards and 323 all-purpose yards with three touchdowns against Campbell in Valparaiso's first win of the season. He has 629 rushing yards and averages 105.4 all-purpose yards per game.
Roberts, 6-1, 225, is an example of everything being big in Texas. He's come east from Port Arthur to become Morgan State's leading tackler as a true freshman. With 83 tackles in nine games, he is on pace for the century club. He collected a career-high 16 tackles against Delaware State.
Williams, 6-2, 210, is a redshirt freshman who has added nearly 25 pounds to his frame since arriving at Delaware. He's been a force at outside linebacker this season, registering 13 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks to rank first in CAA Football in both statistics. He also is second on the Blue Hens with 58 tackles.
The Rice Award is named for legendary wide receiver Jerry Rice, who was a two- time first-team All-American in the FCS (then Division I-AA) at Mississippi Valley State. The award will be voted on by a national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries following the regular season, and presented at the FCS Awards Banquet and Presentation on Dec. 17 in Philadelphia.
Nominees for the Jerry Rice Award Watch List:
Vernon Adams, Eastern Washington, Quarterback, 6-0, 180
8 games: 49 carries, 259 yards; 103-for-162, 1,357 yards, 14 TD, 6 INT, 155.05 passing efficiency; 202 ypg of total offense
Zak Browning, Southern Utah, Linebacker, 5-11, 215
9 games: 102 tackles (60 solo) - 11.3 tpg, 4.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 3 PBU, 1 FR, 4 FF
Reese Hannon, Furman, Quarterback, 6-2, 201
8 games: 135-for-214, 6 TD, 5 INT, 132.67 passing efficiency; 202.4 ypg of total offense
Ryan Heaston, Missouri State, Running Back, 5-10, 174
7 games: 84 carries, 424 yards; 15 receptions, 173 yards
Jacob Huesman, Chattanooga, Quarterback, 6-1, 190
9 games: 150 carries, 727 yards, 6 TD; 132-for-200, 1,244 yards, 11 TD, 5 INT, 131.40 passing efficiency; 219 ypg of total offense
Jake Hutson, Valparaiso, Running Back, 5-6, 180
9 games: 126 carries, 629 yards, 6 TD; 23 receptions, 174 yards; 949 all- purpose yards (105.4 per game)
Jameer Jackson, North Dakota, Wide Receiver, 6-3, 233
10 games: 49 receptions, 636 yards, 6 TD, 13.0 ypc, 63.6 ypg
Miles Killebrew, Southern Utah, Strong Safety, 6-3, 201
10 games: 60 tackles (39 solo), 5 PBU, 1 FR, 1 BK, 2 TD
Sawyer Kollmorgen, Northern Iowa, Quarterback, 6-2, 215
9 games: 152-for-264, 2,027 yards, 18 TD, 7 INT, 139.27 passing effiency; 231.9 ypg of total offense
T.J. Lally, South Dakota State, Linebacker, 6-0, 225
9 games: 75 tackles (53 solo) - 8.3 tpg, 7 TFL, 6 sacks, 2 INT, 2 QBH, 1 FR, 2 FF
Scott Lathrop, Southeast Missouri State, Quarterback, 5-10, 175
9 games: 157 carries, 603 yards, 6 TD; 80-for-138, 908 yards, 6 TD, 5 INT
Kieran McDonagh, Portland State, Quarterback, 6-1, 240
9 games: 146-for-261, 2,004 yards, 13 TD, 9 INT, 129.98 passing efficiency; 72 carries, 333 yards, 8 TD; 259.7 ypg of total offense
Sean Price, Appalachian State, Wide Receiver, 6-5, 210
8 games: 58 receptions, 914 yards, 8 TD, 15.8 ypc, 114.3 ypg
J.J. Raffelson, Western Illinois, Linebacker, 6-3, 235
9 games: 85 tackles (37 solo) - 9.4 tpg, 2.5 TFL, 2 PBU
Luke Rhodes, William & Mary, Linebacker, 6-2, 230
9 games: 66 tackles (28 solo), 4 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 QBH, 1 FF
Elandon Roberts, Morgan State, Linebacker, 6-1, 225
9 games: 83 tackles (48 solo) - 9.2 tpg, 7 TFL, 1 INT
John Robertson, Villanova, Quarterback, 6-1, 200
9 games: 136 carries, 741 yards, 10 TD; 114-for-187, 12 TD, 5 INT, 143.99 passing efficiency; 248.6 ypg of total offense
Andre Stubbs, Youngstown State, All-Purpose, 5-6, 160
8 games: 967 all-purpose yards (120.9 per game), 2 TD
Jeff Williams, Delaware, Linebacker, 6-2, 210
9 games: 58 tackles (35 solo), 13 TFL, 6.5 sacks, 2 PBU, 1 FR, 1 FF
Josh Woodrum, Liberty, Quarterback, 6-3, 210
9 games: 151-for-216 (69.9 percent), 1,646 yards, 10 TD, 8 INT, 141.79 passing effiency
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.