Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Javon Williams Jr. finishes third in Jerry Rice Award voting, Jeremy Chinn 17th in Buck Buchanan Award voting
12/11/2019 | 11:00:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The votes are in for two national FCS awards, and Southern Illinois running back Javon Williams Jr. finished third in the voting for the Jerry Rice Award (top freshman), while safety Jeremy Chinn placed 17th in the Buck Buchanan Award (top defender) voting.
North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance won the Jerry Rice Award, while the winner of the Buchanan Award won't be announced until the eve of the National Championship game on Jan. 10.
A southern Illinois native from nearby Centralia, Williams Jr. rushed for 17 touchdowns and caught two more -- his 19 total touchdowns leads all Division I freshmen (FBS included). He finished with 1,038 rushing yards (second nationally among freshmen) and 1,359 all-purpose yards (3rd nationally among freshmen). Williams averaged 6.4 yards per carry and also passed for 160 yards and two more touchdowns. Williams is SIU's second-ever finalist for the Jerry Rice Award. Teammate Anthony Knighton was a finalist for the award and finished 11th in 2017.
Chinn, who has already accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl, ended his storied SIU career with 243 tackles, 13 interceptions, 31 passes defended, and six forced fumbles. After being named a freshman All-American in 2016, he was All-MVFC in both 2017, 2018 and 2019. SIU went 7-3 with Chinn on the field in 2019. He is the fourth Saluki to earn a spot as a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, joining Alexis Moreland (16th in 2003), Brandin Jordan (9th in 2009) and Korey Lindsey (21st in 2010).
A national panel of 156 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries voted for the awards after the regular season. Voters selected a Top 5 on their ballot. A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point.
Jerry Rice Award Results
1. Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State: 116-20-9-2-0-691
2. Jeff Undercuffler, QB, UAlbany: 14-52-27-14-8-395
3. Javon Williams Jr., RB, Southern Illinois: 6-19-28-20-13-243
4. Tristan Wheeler, LB, Richmond: 0-8-14-29-11-143
5. Ailym Ford, RB, Chattanooga: 5-9-12-13-9-132
6. Omar Brown, CB, Northern Iowa: 1-8-13-11-10-108
7. Nick Eaton, DE, UC Davis: 3-9-11-3-15-105
8. Tyler Hudson, WR, Central Arkansas: 1-3-7-17-18-90
9. John Bachus III, QB, UT Martin: 3-6-5-8-12-82
10. Hajj-Malik Williams, QB, Campbell: 1-7-7-7-13-81
11. Keegan Shoemaker, QB, Lafayette: 1-3-8-5-10-61
12. Jacob Dobbs, LB, Holy Cross: 1-4-0-6-13-46
13. Xavier Gipson, WR, Stephen F. Austin: 1-0-5-5-8-38
14. Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim, WR, Alabama A&M: 0-2-4-5-7-37
15. Ian Corwin, QB, Drake: 2-2-3-1-1-30
16. Tyrese Chambers, WR, Sacred Heart: 0-3-1-3-1-22
17. Jacob Roberts, LB, North Carolina A&T: 0-1-1-3-2-15
18. Jake Stebbins, LB, Cornell: 1-0-1-3-0-14
19. Jalen Leary, RB, Stetson: 0-0-0-1-5-7
20. Tra Fluellen, S, Houston Baptist: 0-0-0-0-0-0
Buck Buchanan Award Results
Top 3 finalists: Ron'Dell Carter (James Madison), Sully Laiche (Nicholls State), Dante Olson (Montana)
4. Zach Hall, LB, Southeast Missouri: 11-15-12-13-16-193
5. Derrek Tuszka, DE, North Dakota State: 7-16-14-11-5-168
6. Kordell Jackson, S, Austin Peay: 4-13-12-13-10-144
7. John Daka, DE, James Madison: 11-7-7-9-9-131
8. Brandon Easterling, S, Dayton: 10-8-3-3-10-107
9. Elerson Smith, DE, Northern Iowa: 3-3-13-9-8-92
10. Eli Mencer, LB, UAlbany: 3-4-4-8-10-69
11. Christian Rozeboom, LB, South Dakota State: 2-6-4-9-4-68
12. Anthony Adams, DB, Portland State: 3-4-7-2-5-61
13. Bryson Armstrong, LB, Kennesaw State: 3-1-5-9-3-55
14.(tie) Da'Jon Lee, LB, Saint Francis: 0-3-6-8-7-53
14.(tie) Bryce Sterk, DE, Montana State: 2-5-4-4-3-53
16. Greg Liggs Jr., CB, Elon: 1-3-3-8-5-47
17. Jeremy Chinn, S, Southern Illinois: 2-2-2-7-6-44
18. Cam Gill, LB, Wagner: 2-4-1-1-5-36
19. Willie Eubanks Jr., LB, The Citadel: 1-3-3-0-3-29
20. Isiah Swann, CB, Dartmouth: 1-1-2-3-4-25
21.(tie) Aaron Patrick, DE, Eastern Kentucky: 2-0-1-4-2-23
21.(tie) Keith Woetzel, LB, Lehigh: 0-3-3-1-0-23
23. Rico Kennedy, LB Morgan State: 1-0-2-2-1-16
24. Nick Wheeler, DE, Colgate: 2-0-0-0-1-11
25. Artevius Smith, S, ETSU: 0-1-1-1-1-10
26. Solomon Muhammad, LB, Alcorn State: 1-0-0-0-4-9
North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance won the Jerry Rice Award, while the winner of the Buchanan Award won't be announced until the eve of the National Championship game on Jan. 10.
A southern Illinois native from nearby Centralia, Williams Jr. rushed for 17 touchdowns and caught two more -- his 19 total touchdowns leads all Division I freshmen (FBS included). He finished with 1,038 rushing yards (second nationally among freshmen) and 1,359 all-purpose yards (3rd nationally among freshmen). Williams averaged 6.4 yards per carry and also passed for 160 yards and two more touchdowns. Williams is SIU's second-ever finalist for the Jerry Rice Award. Teammate Anthony Knighton was a finalist for the award and finished 11th in 2017.
Chinn, who has already accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl, ended his storied SIU career with 243 tackles, 13 interceptions, 31 passes defended, and six forced fumbles. After being named a freshman All-American in 2016, he was All-MVFC in both 2017, 2018 and 2019. SIU went 7-3 with Chinn on the field in 2019. He is the fourth Saluki to earn a spot as a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, joining Alexis Moreland (16th in 2003), Brandin Jordan (9th in 2009) and Korey Lindsey (21st in 2010).
A national panel of 156 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries voted for the awards after the regular season. Voters selected a Top 5 on their ballot. A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point.
Jerry Rice Award Results
1. Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State: 116-20-9-2-0-691
2. Jeff Undercuffler, QB, UAlbany: 14-52-27-14-8-395
3. Javon Williams Jr., RB, Southern Illinois: 6-19-28-20-13-243
4. Tristan Wheeler, LB, Richmond: 0-8-14-29-11-143
5. Ailym Ford, RB, Chattanooga: 5-9-12-13-9-132
6. Omar Brown, CB, Northern Iowa: 1-8-13-11-10-108
7. Nick Eaton, DE, UC Davis: 3-9-11-3-15-105
8. Tyler Hudson, WR, Central Arkansas: 1-3-7-17-18-90
9. John Bachus III, QB, UT Martin: 3-6-5-8-12-82
10. Hajj-Malik Williams, QB, Campbell: 1-7-7-7-13-81
11. Keegan Shoemaker, QB, Lafayette: 1-3-8-5-10-61
12. Jacob Dobbs, LB, Holy Cross: 1-4-0-6-13-46
13. Xavier Gipson, WR, Stephen F. Austin: 1-0-5-5-8-38
14. Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim, WR, Alabama A&M: 0-2-4-5-7-37
15. Ian Corwin, QB, Drake: 2-2-3-1-1-30
16. Tyrese Chambers, WR, Sacred Heart: 0-3-1-3-1-22
17. Jacob Roberts, LB, North Carolina A&T: 0-1-1-3-2-15
18. Jake Stebbins, LB, Cornell: 1-0-1-3-0-14
19. Jalen Leary, RB, Stetson: 0-0-0-1-5-7
20. Tra Fluellen, S, Houston Baptist: 0-0-0-0-0-0
Buck Buchanan Award Results
Top 3 finalists: Ron'Dell Carter (James Madison), Sully Laiche (Nicholls State), Dante Olson (Montana)
4. Zach Hall, LB, Southeast Missouri: 11-15-12-13-16-193
5. Derrek Tuszka, DE, North Dakota State: 7-16-14-11-5-168
6. Kordell Jackson, S, Austin Peay: 4-13-12-13-10-144
7. John Daka, DE, James Madison: 11-7-7-9-9-131
8. Brandon Easterling, S, Dayton: 10-8-3-3-10-107
9. Elerson Smith, DE, Northern Iowa: 3-3-13-9-8-92
10. Eli Mencer, LB, UAlbany: 3-4-4-8-10-69
11. Christian Rozeboom, LB, South Dakota State: 2-6-4-9-4-68
12. Anthony Adams, DB, Portland State: 3-4-7-2-5-61
13. Bryson Armstrong, LB, Kennesaw State: 3-1-5-9-3-55
14.(tie) Da'Jon Lee, LB, Saint Francis: 0-3-6-8-7-53
14.(tie) Bryce Sterk, DE, Montana State: 2-5-4-4-3-53
16. Greg Liggs Jr., CB, Elon: 1-3-3-8-5-47
17. Jeremy Chinn, S, Southern Illinois: 2-2-2-7-6-44
18. Cam Gill, LB, Wagner: 2-4-1-1-5-36
19. Willie Eubanks Jr., LB, The Citadel: 1-3-3-0-3-29
20. Isiah Swann, CB, Dartmouth: 1-1-2-3-4-25
21.(tie) Aaron Patrick, DE, Eastern Kentucky: 2-0-1-4-2-23
21.(tie) Keith Woetzel, LB, Lehigh: 0-3-3-1-0-23
23. Rico Kennedy, LB Morgan State: 1-0-2-2-1-16
24. Nick Wheeler, DE, Colgate: 2-0-0-0-1-11
25. Artevius Smith, S, ETSU: 0-1-1-1-1-10
26. Solomon Muhammad, LB, Alcorn State: 1-0-0-0-4-9
Players Mentioned
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