Three SoCon players Named Finalists for 15th Annual Jerry Rice Award

Stats Perform Release

Furman's James Named Jerry Rice Award Finalist

James, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound product of Apopoka, Fla., caught a team leading 65 passes for 796 yards and seven touchdowns and also rushed for a score this season for the Paladins, setting new school freshman records in all three categories despite missing three games due to injury.

His 65 catches ranked fourth overall, 796 receiving yards seventh all-time, and seven touchdowns tied for eight  all-time in a season among all Paladin receivers.
Mercer's Atkinson Among Lists Of Finalists For Jerry Rice Award

Atkinson, a native of Rolesville, N.C., and a product of Rolesville High School, has completed 68.1 percent (250-for-367) of his pass attempts this season and has already broken school single-season records for passing completions (250), attempts (367), yards (3,448) and touchdowns (34). He has thrown for 300 or more yards in eight of his 10 starts this season, including a school record 533 yards amid Mercer's 62-0 home win over VMI on October 25. He has also, thrice, matched the program's single-game superlative for passing touchdowns with five scoring tosses against Samford, VMI and Chattanooga.
 
Atkinson currently ranks second among all FCS signal callers in passing yards, passing yards per game (344.8), passing touchdowns and completions per game (25.00), while ranking third, nationally, in points responsible for per game (21.0), total offense per game (345.8) and yards per pass attempt (9.40).

Wofford's Darius Malcom Jr. Named Finalist for Jerry Rice Award

Malcolm, a second-year freshman from Atlanta, Georgia, is third on the team in total tackles with 76. He has 13 pass break-ups and 4.0 tackles for loss. Among SoCon leaders, he is 16th in total tackles and first in pass break-ups. He is also ranked 15^th in the nation in pass break-ups.