Portland State quarterback Kieran McDonagh placed in eighth in the balloting for the 2012 Jerry Rice Award, given to the nation's top freshman football player at the NCAA I FCS level. Villanova redshirt freshman quarterback John Robertson garnered 56 of 145 first-place votes to win the Jerry Rice Award.
McDonagh placed eighth on the 20-player ballot compiled from the top freshmen in the nation. He had three first-place votes, seven second-place votes, six third-place votes, 10 fourth-place votes and eight fifth-place votes among the 145 ballots.
A 6-2, 240-pound true freshman from Skyview High School in Vancouver, WA, McDonagh had the most productive season ever by a Viking freshman QB. He was a catalyst for a Viking offense that ranked third in the Big Sky Conference in scoring (34.8 points per game) and total offense (438.7 yards per game). The Vikings were 16th in the nation in both scoring and total offense.
For his part, McDonagh averaged 235.7 yards of total offense per game. He completed 171 of 314 passes for 2,187 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. McDonagh ran 89 times for 406 yards and nine touchdowns. He also had a 22-yard touchdown reception while starting all 11 contests for the Vikings. His 2,187 passing yards were the most ever by a freshman at PSU (previous mark: Neil Lomax, 1,670 yards in 1977).
McDonagh earned National Freshman of the Week honors on Oct. 6 after leading the Vikings to a 77-10 win over Idaho State. He was 15-23 passing for 280 yards and a touchdown, rushed 10 times for 66 yards and four touchdowns, and caught a 22-yard touchdown pass.
Robertson helped fuel Villanova's turnaround as a dual-threat signal-caller in 2012. He started 10 games in the regular season, rushing for 936 yards and 13 touchdowns and passing for 1,830 yards and 14 touchdowns. Add in the FCS playoffs and he finished the season rushing for 1,021 yards and 14 touchdowns and passed for 1,965 yards. The Wildcats had the best turnaround in the FCS regular season - six wins - to go 8-3 and earn a share of the CAA title and the conference's automatic playoff bid.
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2012 Jerry Rice Award Voting
|
|
Name
|
School
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
5th
|
Total
|
|
1. John Robertson
|
Villanova
|
56
|
17
|
10
|
12
|
10
|
412
|
|
2. Sawyer Kollmorgen
|
UNI
|
25
|
34
|
18
|
19
|
8
|
361
|
|
3. Sean Price
|
Appalachian St
|
18
|
25
|
21
|
20
|
19
|
312
|
|
4. Jacob Huesman
|
Chattanooga
|
10
|
16
|
10
|
17
|
15
|
193
|
|
5. Zak Browning
|
"Southern Utah "
|
8
|
8
|
22
|
13
|
11
|
175
|
|
6. Vernon Adams
|
Eastern Wash
|
12
|
12
|
12
|
8
|
13
|
173
|
|
7. T.J. Lally
|
South Dakota St
|
1
|
5
|
15
|
9
|
8
|
96
|
|
8. Kieran McDonagh
|
Portland St
|
3
|
7
|
6
|
10
|
8
|
89
|
|
9. Terrick Colston
|
Delaware St
|
5
|
2
|
3
|
5
|
4
|
56
|
|
10. James Cowser
|
Southern Utah
|
1
|
3
|
6
|
4
|
9
|
52
|
|
11. Elandon Roberts
|
Morgan St
|
1
|
4
|
5
|
2
|
6
|
46
|
|
12. Jeff Williams
|
Delaware
|
0
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
12
|
46
|
|
13. Josh Woodrum
|
Liberty
|
0
|
4
|
3
|
7
|
0
|
39
|
|
14. Scott Lathrop
|
SE Missouri St
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
27
|
|
15. J.J. Raffelson
|
Western Ill
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
5
|
4
|
26
|
|
16. Jameer Jackson
|
North Dakota
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
21
|
|
17. Jake Hutson
|
Valparaiso
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
10
|
19
|
|
18. Reese Hannon
|
Furman
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
12
|
|
19. Luke Hagy
|
Cornell
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
10
|
|
20. Luke Rhodes
|
William & Mary
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
10
|
