CHICAGO, Ill. — In the middle of a breakout season,
Derek Ganter Jr. is already making a name for himself at the national level. Ganter Jr. was named to the Stats Perform 2024 Jerry Rice Award watch list, honoring the top freshman in the FCS.
To be eligible for the Jerry Rice Award, the player must be considered a freshman by his conference and be in his first academic year or second if he did not surpass four regular-season games played in their true freshman season.
The Jerry Rice Award winner will be announced on Dec. 4 and honored at the Stats Perform National Awards Banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.
Ganter Jr. leads the Eagles with 52.0 total tackles, making 33 solo. He has 2.5 for a loss, adding three pass breakups. He ranks 12th in the conference in total tackles, averaging 7.4 per game that ranks 10th.
The Pasadena, Calif. native posted a career game on Saturday against UC Davis, finishing with a career-best 11 tackles including six solo. In the third quarter against the Aggies, Ganter Jr. recorded his first career sack. He also forced his first career fumble in the game as well.
As a true freshman last season, Ganter Jr. played in four games, recording 12 total tackles with eight solo, adding two pass breakups. His 2023 highlight was against Weber State, when he broke up a pass at the end of the game to secure the win.
Ganter Jr. would be EWU's second Jerry Rice Award winner in program history. Cooper Kupp won the award in 2013 as a true freshman. Vernon Adams Jr. was included in the Award's voting list in 2012.
The redshirt-freshman is one of four players from the Big Sky on the list along with Sacramento State's Carson Conklin (QB), Montana State's Adam Jones (RB) and Idaho's Jack Wagner (QB)
Eastern Washington is on the road to Moscow, Idaho this week to face the No. 11/12 Vandals on Saturday (Oct. 26), with kickoff at 6 p.m.
Season and single game tickets for the 2024 football season are now available. Ticket packages can be purchased online via your Paciolan account, over the phone at 509-359-6059, or by emailing tickets@ewu.edu.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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