The Jerry Rice Award honors the FCS national freshman player of the year and boasts a rich history of winners. North Dakota State running back CharMar Brown is the 2024 recipient, selected from a group of 25 finalists.
It took until the second half of his 10th game before North Dakota State running back CharMar Brown had his first gain of at least 20 yards.
And yet, the redshirt freshman was dominating opponents already – physically as well as on the stats sheet.
Brown’s steady production and power running style have been calling cards while he’s earned the 2024 Jerry Rice Award, which goes to the national freshman player of the year in college football’s Division I FCS subdivision. Selected from 25 finalists by a 56-member national voting panel, he will be honored at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.
The 14th annual Jerry Rice Award is named after the legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver, who played on the FCS level at Mississippi Valley State. Brown, who’s known as “Marty,” joins Trey Lance (2019) as a second NDSU recipient – the first FCS program with more than one. Other past recipients on the distinguished list of winners include Cooper Kupp, Chase Edmonds, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.
NDSU and Brown faced Sanders, the former Jackson State quarterback who’s in his second season at Colorado, when they opened their 2024 campaign. Brown carried the ball twice on the Bison’s opening possession and gained 10 overall touches in the game, so coach Tim Polasek and his staff knew they were on to something.
Brown has gone on to lead all FCS freshmen in carries (189), rushing yards (965) and touchdowns (14). With his downhill running style, the 5-foot-11, 214-pound back from Omaha, Nebraska, has gained 100+ rushing yards four times, had 80+ in three other games, and scored in all but three games while the Bison have gone 10-2 and earned the No. 2 seed in the national playoffs.
He’s averaging 5.1 yards per carry, but since he broke off that 28-yard run against Murray State, he’s found a second gear. The Missouri Valley Football Conference’s freshman and newcomer of the year had four runs of 20+ yards in the final three games of the regular season – a troubling sign for opposing defenses.
The Jerry Rice Award voting was close. Brown edged Montana State running back Adam Jones, 183 points to 178.
In addition to the Rice Award, the Walter Payton Award (FCS Offensive Player of the Year), Buck Buchanan Award (FCS Defensive Player of the Year), Eddie Robinson Award (FCS Coach of the Year), Urban Edge Network HBCU+ National Player of the Year and FedEx Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be presented at the Stats Perform national banquet.
2024 Jerry Rice Award Voting
Following is a breakdown of the voting results. 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. The final number is the combined point total.
- 1. CharMar Brown, RB, North Dakota State: 21-13-6-3-2-183
- 2. Adam Jones, RB, Montana State: 16-18-6-4-0-178
- 3. Carson Conklin, QB, Sacramento State: 10-5-11-7-1-118
- 4. Andrew Zock, DL, Mercer: 2-7-7-11-4-85
- 5. Sanders Ellis, LB, Tennessee State: 1-1-5-4-9-41
- 6. Mark Hamper, WR, Idaho: 1-2-3-4-3-33
- 7. David Avit, RB, Villanova: 0-1-4-1-7-25
- 8. Derek Ganter Jr., S, Eastern Washington: 0-0-4-4-2-22
- 9. Elijah Owens, QB, Indiana State: 1-2-0-2-2-19
- 10. Collin Hurst, QB, Presbyterian: 1-1-1-1-4-18
- 11. C.J. Coombes, S, Wofford: 1-1-1-1-2-16
- 12. Travis Terrell Jr., RB, Jackson State: 0-1-2-2-1-15
- 13. Jaden Green, RB, Lehigh: 0-0-3-1-3-14
- 14. Christopher Jean, CB, Central Connecticut State: 0-2-0-0-5-13
- 15. Taron Dickens, QB, Western Carolina: 0-0-1-3-2-11
- 16. Jason Collins Jr., RB, Morgan State: 1-0-0-1-2-9
- 17. Josh Anglin, LB, North Alabama: 0-1-1-0-1-8
- T18. Steve Hall, RB, Lindenwood: 1-0-0-0-1-6
- T18. Finn Lappin, P, McNeese: 0-0-1-1-1-6
- T20. Tariq Thomas, RB, Bucknell: 0-0-0-2-1-5
- T20. Matthew Traynor, LB, Richmond: 0-0-0-2-1-5
- 22. Charles Battaglia, LB, Stonehill: 0-1-0-0-0-4
- 23. Drew VanVleet, QB, Dayton: 0-0-0-1-1-4
- 24. Malachi Henry, WR, Central Arkansas: 0-0-0-1-0-2
- 25. Matt Childs, RB, Brown: 0-0-0-0-1-1
Follow all of our FCS football coverage, including on X, Facebook and Instagram.
