Villanova Quarterback John Robertson's successful first season has been noticed by the nation's sportswriters as the Wildcat was honored with the 2012 Jerry Rice Award.
The Jerry Rice award is given to the best rookie player in FCS annually, as voted on by a media panel for The Sports Network. The awards include the Walter Payton Award, given to the best offensive player, the Buck Buchanan Award for the best defensive player, and the Eddie Robinson Award that recognizes the best coach in the subdivision. Last year, they introduced the Jerry Rice Award, which recognizes the best freshman (or redshirt freshman) performance each season.
Robertson ignited the Wildcats' offense, starting in the second half of the season-opener against Temple, and helped carry them to an 8-4 record, a share of the CAA Football championship, and a trip to the playoffs. In rushing for 1,021 yards this season, he became only the fifth Wildcat to break the 1,000 yard mark (his teammate Kevin Monangai was the fourth) and was the first quarterback to do it on the Main Line. He also ran for 14 touchdowns and passed for 14 more, completing 152 of 253 passes for 1,965 yards.
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