CONWAY, Ark. _ University of Central Arkansas running back Darius Hale is officially the second-best freshman in the country at the FCS level, finishing as runnerup in the voting for the 2021 Stats Perform Jerry Rice Award on Monday.

    The award, named for the legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, who played at Mississippi Valley State University from 1981-84, goes to the national freshman player of the year in Division I FCS. A 50-member, national media panel selects the Rice Award after the regular season, with the 2021 award going to Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who is also the head coach at JSU.
    
    Sanders finished with 169 total votes, including 17 first-place votes. Hale had 131 total votes, with 10 first-place nods.

    "I am very excited for Darius,'said UCA head coach Nathan Brown, who himself was a finalist for the 2008 Walter Payton Award that goes to the top offensive player in FCS. "Obviously I would have loved him to win the award, but to come in second in the voting is a major accomplishment. This shows the type of players we have been able to recruit in recent years. Two of the last three years we have had a Jerry Rice award finalist with Darius and (wide receiver) Tyler Hudson two years ago.'

    Hale, a 5-foot-11, 215-pounder from Pearland, Texas, rushed for 1,015 yards and had 17 rushing touchdowns, along with one receiving touchdown. Hale finished second in the nation in rushing touchdowns, behind a player who played two more games. His rushing yardage is the fourth-best for a UCA freshman in school history and his 17 rushing touchdowns is the best by a UCA running back since Brent Grimes had 19 in 2009.

    "This is the start of a very special career for Darius,' said Brown. "We have had discussions since the season ended and I know he is hungry for more and will continue to work to be the best version of himself he can be.'

    Hale was the ASUN Freshman of the Year, a first-team All-ASUN selection and was a three-time ASUN Freshman of the Week this season. Hale turned in the second-best single-game rushing effort in UCA history with 253 yards on 22 carries (11.5 average per carry) and had four touchdowns in UCA's win over Lamar.
 

2021 JERRY RICE AWARD VOTING
1. Shedeur Sanders, QB, Jackson State: 17-14-6-4-2-169
2. Darius Hale, RB, Central Arkansas: 10-10-10-5-1-131
3. Josiah Silver, DE, New Hampshire: 9-10-5-2-2-106
4. Zevi Eckhaus, QB, Bryant: 3-2-4-6-7-54
5. James Conway, LB, Fordham: 3-1-7-5-2-52
6. RJ Martinez, QB, Northern Arizona: 3-0-7-4-4-48
7. Jalyn Witcher, LB, Presbyterian: 1-2-0-5-7-30
8. Rodney Dansby, LB, Houston Baptist: 1-2-2-2-4-27
9. Collin Guggenheim, RB, Nicholls: 1-2-1-3-3-25
10. Tyler King, LB, Stony Brook: 0-2-2-5-0-24
11. Demeatric Crenshaw, QB, Youngstown State: 1-0-2-1-0-13
12. Jacari Carter, WR, Merrimack: 0-1-1-0-5-12
13.(tie) Andrew Body, QB, Texas Southern: 0-1-1-1-1-10
13.(tie) Elijah Burris, RB, Hampton: 1-1-0-0-1-10
15. Drae McCray, WR, Austin Peay: 0-1-1-0-1-8
16. Dominick Poole, CB, The Citadel: 0-1-0-1-1-7
17.(tie) Andreas Keaton, S, Western Carolina: 0-0-0-2-1-5
17.(tie) Tyson Thompson, WR, Houston Baptist: 0-0-0-1-3-5
19. Nate Bennett, WR, Portland State: 0-0-0-1-2-4
20.(tie) Bryce Norman, LB, Southeast Missouri: 0-0-0-0-3-3
20.(tie) Sy'Veon Wilkerson, RB, Delaware State: 0-0-1-0-0-3
22.(tie) Thor Griffith, DT, Harvard: 0-0-0-1-0-2
22.(tie) C.J. Tillman, LB, Campbell: 0-0-0-1-0-2