University of Tennessee at Chattanooga running back Ailym Ford was named a finalist for the 2019 Jerry Rice Award on Monday. That award goes to the national freshman of the year in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
Ford led the Mocs with 1,081 rushing yards this season, finishing 9 yards shy of the school freshman record set by Mike Smith in 1977 when he was sidelined with an injury on Nov. 9 at Samford.
Ford had six games with 100-plus yards rushing, including a 200-yard game against East Tennessee State. His 108.1 rushing yards per game led all freshmen in the FCS and were second in the Southern Conference and No. 11 in the nation overall. He also tied for the team lead with nine rushing touchdowns.
Ford is the fourth Moc to be a Rice Award finalist. Terrell Robinson was 21st in the voting in 2011, Jacob Huesman was fourth in 2012 and Lucas Webb was 16th in 2014.
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