• Complete Jerry Rice Award Release

Lindenwood wide receiver Rico Bond and Charleston Southern wide receiver Rashawn Cunningham are two of 25 finalists nationally for the Jerry Rice Award, presented by Stats Perform to the FCS National Freshman of the Year. 

True and redshirt freshmen are eligible for the Jerry Rice Award, which is now in its 15th season. A player must be considered a freshman by his conference in his first academic year or second if he did not surpass four regular-season games played in the true freshman season (the NCAA redshirt rule).  The Rice Award is named after legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, who starred in the FCS at Mississippi Valley State University. Past recipients include Cooper Kupp, Chase Edmonds, Trey Lance, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.

Bond led the Lindenwood team with 60 catches in 12 games, finishing with 694 yards and a team-best six touchdowns. He had a season-best 119 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a victory over Stony Brook. He had eight catches in that contest, a total that he also equaled against Gardner-Webb. Bond added seven catches for 102 yards and a touchdown against FBS foe Appalachian State. His 5.0 receptions/game ranked second in the OVC-Big South and third nationally among freshmen. He was named OVC-Big South Freshman of the Week three times during the year.

Cunningham led Charleston Southern with 33 catches for 604 yards and seven touchdowns in his debut season. His seven receiving touchdowns were second-most in the OVC-Big South and were third nationally among freshmen. He averaged 18.3 yards per reception, which was 27th nationally and fifth in the FCS among all freshmen. Against UT Martin he hauled in seven passes for 216 yards and a touchdown; it marked the fifth-most by a FCS player in 2025, the third-most in CSU history and fourth-most in OVC-Big South single-game history. Cunningham had a touchdown in five of the final six games of the season, including two in a victory at Western Illinois.

The Jerry Rice Award recipient, to be selected by a national voting panel, will be announced on December 3 and honored at the Stats Perform National Awards Banquet on January 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.  Other awards at the banquet are the Walter Payton Award (FCS Offensive Player of the Year), Buck Buchanan Award (FCS Defensive Player of the Year), Eddie Robinson Award (FCS Coach of the Year), HBCU Player of the Year and the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year. 

2025 Jerry Rice Award Finalists
Offensive Players
Braden Atkinson, Mercer, QB, 6-1, 215 (Southern Conference)
Chase Bingmon, Prairie View A&M, RB, 5-9, 185 (Southwestern Athletic Conference) 
Rico Bond, Lindenwood, WR, 6-1, 177 (OVC-Big South Football Association)
Jaqai Carter, Robert Morris, WR, 6-0, 160 (NEC Football)
Landen Clark, Elon, QB, 6-0, 186 (CAA Football)
EJ Colson, UIW, QB, 6-1, 190 (Southland Conference)
Rashawn Cunningham, Charleston Southern, WR, 6-2, 205 (OVC-Big South Football Association)
Brooks Davis, Montana, WR, 6-0, 174 (Big Sky Conference)
Tony Diaz, UTRGV, WR, 5-11, 176 (Southland Conference)
Xai’Shaun Edwards, Houston Christian, RB, 5-9, 195 (Southland Conference)
Matt Fogler, Colgate, WR, 6-3, 200 (Patriot League)
Nick Herman, Drake, RB, 5-11, 190 (Pioneer Football League)
Andrew Indorf, Towson, QB, 6-1, 195 (CAA Football)
Evan James, Furman, WR, 5-11, 170 (Southern Conference)
Raymond Moore III, Morgan State, QB, 6-4, 180 (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Tre Page III, Tarleton State, RB, 5-9, 180 (United Athletic Conference)
Caden Pinnick, UC Davis, QB, 6-0, 200 (Big Sky Conference)
Josh Robinson, Princeton, WR, 5-7, 165 (Ivy League)
Mitchell Summers, Sacred Heart, RB, 5-7, 155 (FCS Independent)
Defensive Players
Chase Hatton, Marist, S, 5-11, 208 (Pioneer Football League)
Jaiden Haygood, UTRGV, LB, 6-0, 215 (Southland Conference)
Lamont Lester Jr., Monmouth, DE, 6-2, 230 (CAA Football)
Darius Malcolm Jr., Wofford, DB, 5-11, 175 (Southern Conference)
Montreze Smith Jr., Austin Peay, LB, 5-11, 204 (United Athletic Conference)
Nic Yatsko, Indiana State, DB, 6-1, 200 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)



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