Chase Edmonds Named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year

Patriot League Release
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The 2015 awards have started to come in for Fordham University sophomore running back Chase Edmonds who was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year today by a vote of the conference coaches.
 
Edmonds isn't the only Ram earning Patriot honors as he is joined by eight teammates on the 2015 All-Patriot League team. Joining Edmonds in earning First Team honors are graduate student linebacker Stephen Hodge, senior offensive lineman Garrick Mayweather, Jr., junior defensive back Jihaad Pretlow and junior placekicker Makay Redd. Picking up Second Team accolades are senior defensive back JQ Bowers, sophomore offensive lineman Anthony Coyle, senior tight end Phazahn Odom and sophomore linebacker Niko Thorpe, while Pretlow was also named to the second team as a return specialist.
 
Edmonds, the 2014 Jerry Rice Award winner and Patriot League Rookie of the Year, continued his amazing exploits this fall, rushing 248 times for 1,643 yards and 20 touchdowns while also catching 31 passes for 383 yards and five scores. He leads the Patriot League and is second in the NCAA FCS in rushing touchdowns and he leads the league and is third in the NCAA FCS in rushing yards and rushing yards/game (149.4). Edmonds also leads the league and is fourth in the NCAA FCS in all-purpose yards/game (184.18) and leads the nation in scoring (13.6 points/game).
 
Against Lehigh on October 24, Edmonds set the Patriot League and school single game rushing record with 347 yards on 31 carries with three touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 55 yards and a score in the game to bring his all-purpose yards total to 402, breaking his own Patriot League record of 385 all-purpose yards set in last year's NCAA Championship game at New Hampshire.
 
Over his career, Edmonds has rushed for 3,481 yards and 43 touchdowns, both second best on the Fordham career lists.

Hodge, the 2013 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, returned to form in 2015 after missing all of last season with an injury. He has amassed 109 total tackles, 61 solo, this fall, including 10.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also has three interceptions, returning one for a score, three pass breakups, two quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He is third in the Patriot League and 28^th in the NCAA FCS in total tackles/game (9.9) and fourth in the league and 28th in the nation in solo tackles/game (5.5).
 
Mayweather, who also earned First Team All-Patriot League honors last fall, was a mainstay on the offensive line for the Rams in 2015, starting all eleven games at left guard. He helped guide the Fordham offense, a unit that leads the Patriot League and is eighth in the NCAA FCS in scoring, averaging 38.4 points per game, and second in the league and 24th in the NCAA FCS in passing yards/game (267.2). The 2015 Rams are also third in the conference and 34^th in the NCAA FCS in rushing yards/game (189.5).
 
Pretlow, a transfer from Temple who is in his first year at Fordham, is fourth on the squad with 65 total tackles, 46 solo, including 3.0 for loss. He leads the team and is third in the Patriot League, 25th in the NCAA FCS, with 12 passes defended and he also has two interceptions and one fumble recovery.
 
As a kickoff returner, Pretlow has 29 returns for 749 yards (25.8 yards/return) with one touchdown, an 87-yarder versus Holy Cross. He leads the Patriot League and is ninth in the NCAA FCS in kickoff return average.
 
Redd has connected on eight of his 12 field goal attempts on the season and 40 of his 44 PATs. He booted a 54-yard field goal, one yard shy of the school record, against Monmouth, and connected on a game-winning three-pointer with eight seconds remaining at Penn. He leads all Patriot League kickers in scoring with 64 points.
 

Bowers, who started all eleven games at strong safety, is third on the squad with 71 total tackles, 54 solo, including 5.0 for loss and 1.0 sack. He is tied for the team lead with three interceptions, fourth in the Patriot League, and also has four pass breakups.
 
Coyle, a two-year starter on the offensive line, lines up next to Mayweather at left tackle where he blocks for the Fordham offense, a unit that leads the Patriot League and is eighth in the NCAA FCS in scoring, averaging 38.4 points per game, and second in the league and 24th in the NCAA FCS in passing yards/game (267.2). The 2015 Rams are also third in the conference and 34^th in the NCAA FCS in rushing yards/game (189.5).
 
Odom, who took over for graduated All-American Dan Light at tight end, enjoyed a solid first year as a starter, catching 31 passes for 407 yards (13.1 yards/catch) and six touchdowns. The six touchdowns receptions ties Odom with Light and Stephen Skelton for the school record by a tight end.
 
Thorpe, who moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore this fall, is second on the team with 72 total tackles, 44 solo, including 9.5 for loss and 5.0 sacks. He also has six quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He is sixth in the Patriot League in sacks/game (0.55), tied for sixth in tackles for loss/game (0.95) and 13th in tackles/game (6.6).
 
The #14/15 Rams will open play in the NCAA FCS Championships on Saturday, November 28, as they travel to Chattanooga, Tennessee to take on the #7/8 Chattanooga Mocs at 1:00 p.m. It is Fordham's third straight appearance in the NCAA FCS Championship.