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(STATS) - Check off another winner of the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award reaching the NFL.
The national freshman of the year award debuted in 2011, and on Saturday 2014 winner Chase Edmonds became the third of the first four recipients to be drafted into the NFL, picked by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round.
The 5-foot-9, 205-pound Edmonds was a three-time FCS All-American before he was plagued by injuries as a senior. Possibly targeted to play a change-of-pace role with the Cardinals, Edmonds is the Patriot League's all-time record-holder in rushing yards (5,862), all-purpose yards (7,374) and touchdowns (74).
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said, "He's a shifty runner, makes good lateral cuts. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, which you like. When he's had the ball in his hands, low center of gravity, good leg drive and a very determined football player."
Edmonds became Fordham's first draft pick since 2010 and its highest since 1943.
Former Towson running back Terrance West, who won the first Rice Award in 2011, and former Eastern Washington wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the 2013 recipient, also are in the NFL. The only other Rice recipient who isn't still playing collegiately is former Villanova quarterback John Robertson, who after winning top freshman honors in 2012, went on to win the 2014 STATS FCS Walter Payton Award as the national offensive player of the year.
