• Complete Jerry Rice Award Release and Voting Totals
In results of voting for the 2020-21 Jerry Rice Award, presented by Stats Perform to the FCS National Freshman of the Year, Austin Peay quarterback
Draylen Ellis finished tied for sixth while Tennessee State running back
Devon Starling finished ninth out of 16 finalists.
The award, first presented in 2011, is named after the legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver and former FCS All-American and will be presented on an FCS National Awards show to air on Bally Sports Regional Networks (formerly Fox Sports Regional Networks) on Saturday, May 15. A 40-member national media panel voted on the award following the 2020-21 regular season.
Ellis picked up five second-place votes, one third-place vote, four fourth-place votes and two fifth-place votes to tally 33 points. Starling received one first-place vote, one second-place, one third-place, three fourth-place and one fifth-place vote to end up with 19 points. Incarnate Word quarterback Cameron Ward was the winner of the award, finishing with 147 points.
Taking over as the Govs starting quarterback at the beginning of conference play, Ellis impressed out of the gate with 214 total offensive yards and two touchdowns in his career's first game Tennessee Tech, which earned him the first of his four OVC Newcomer of the Week honors. In the Governors double-overtime win at Southeast Missouri, Ellis had his breakout moment and tossed for a school-record six touchdowns. The very next week, Ellis posted a career-high 305 passing yards against UT Martin and became the first Austin Peay quarterback to throw for 300-plus yards since JaVaughn Craig did it as a freshman in 2016. Ellis also threw for four more touchdowns in the Governors loss to UT Martin. In the Govs final game against rival Murray State, Ellis threw for 227 yards, two touchdowns, and recorded his second rushing touchdown to lead Austin Peay to its second-straight win against a top-25 ranked program.
Starling was the OVC Co-Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-OVC selection this season. He started only four games this season but still managed to rush for 648 yards on 124 carries, leading all freshmen nationally. He scored three touchdowns while averaging 5.2 yards per carry and 92.6 yards per game. Starling led all OVC rushers and ranked 12th nationally.