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Bridgewater, NJ — Two rookie NEC football standouts were named to the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Jerry Rice Award Watch List. Central Connecticut sophomore running back Davon Smith, Jr. (Baltimore, MD/Mervo) and Chicago State first-year quarterback Ashton Pannell (Long Beach, CA/Millikan) made the cut for the award, which is presented annually to the top rookie in the FCS.
 
This year’s Stats Perform Jerry Rice Award Watch List runs 30 deep – matching the largest in the FCS freshman player of the year award’s 16-year history in the Division I subdivision.
 
The Jerry Rice Award is named after the legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver who starred in the FCS at Mississippi Valley State University. Past recipients include Cooper Kupp, Chase Edmonds, Trey Lance, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.
 
True and redshirt freshmen are eligible for the Jerry Rice Award. A national media panel will select the winner from a group of finalists following the regular season.
 
Smith, Jr. literally hit the ground running for the Blue Devils. Claiming his first NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Rookie of the Week honor following a season debut that saw him rack up 142 all-purpose yards at nationally ranked North Dakota, he tacked on NEC another award after he put up 92 rushing yards in a tightly contested battle at then-ranked No. 1 Montana State. 
 
Smith Jr.’s dominant play in Central Connecticut’s last two wins — a stretch where he has combined for 382 rushing yards and five touchdowns, including the eventual game-winning score in a 43-40 shootout at Mercyhurst on Saturday — landed him back-to-back NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Rookie of the Week awards on Oct. 12 and Oct. 19.
 
His four NEC accolades lead all NEC rookies. In addition, Smith, Jr.’s three-touchdown performance against the Lakers earned national recognition, as he was pegged the Stats Perform FCS National Freshman Player of the Week on Oct. 19.
 
Knocking on the door of the century mark, Smith, Jr. leads the NEC and is 12th in the FCS in rushing yards per game with 98.0. Among FCS rookies, he is third in rushing yards per contest while his 7.35 yards per career are good for fourth in the FCS and first among all rookie running backs.
 
The lone freshman quarterback on Chicago State’s roster, Pannell immediately emerged as the Cougars’ top choice to navigate the squad through their inaugural season, and he has not disappointed. The Long Beach, CA native is averaging 223.4 yards through the air to rank third on the circuit, while his league-leading 150 completions and 21.43 completion-per-game clip are good for 17th among all FCS signal callers. 
 
Pannell, who has thrown for multiple scores in four of seven games this season, has racked up 13 touchdown tosses to rank second in the NEC and 22nd in the nation.
 
His 77-yard touchdown connection to senior wide receiver Chris Edmonds at Butler last month is currently the longest toss in the NEC this season while the 292 passing yards that he racked up at Tarleton State earlier this month are the sixth-most by a quarterback in the league this year.