Complete Stats Perform Release

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Sacred Heart first-year running back Mitchell Summers has been named one of 25 finalists nationwide for the Stats Perform FCS Jerry Rice Award, presented annually to the FCS Freshman of the Year. 

The national winner, selected by a panel of voters from across the country, will be announced on Dec. 3 and honored at the Stats Perform National Awards Show on Jan. 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Summers has been a driving force for the Pioneers all season, emerging as one of the top young playmakers in the FCS. The freshman standout has compiled 1,071 rushing yards on 198 carries, averaging an impressive 5.4 yards per attempt while scoring 12 touchdowns. His breakout performance came in the victory over Howard, where he erupted for a career-high 243 yards and two touchdowns, including an electrifying 80-yard score. That effort earned him both the Stats Perform FCS National Freshman Player of the Week honor and the New England Football Writers Gold Helmet Award.

His consistency has been just as impactful. Summers delivered a key 147-yard outing in the win over Merrimack, pushing him past the 1,000-yard mark and cementing his place in the SHU record book. His production, efficiency, and big-play ability earned him a spot on the Jerry Rice Award Watch List earlier this season, alongside former Pioneer standouts Tyrese Chambers (WR), Julius Chestnut (RB), and RJ Noel (QB). `

Sacred Heart concluded its 2025 campaign with an 8–4 record, highlighted by a perfect 6–0 mark at Campus Field—the program's first undefeated home season since 2021. The eight-win season is also the Pioneers' best since 2021, when SHU captured back-to-back Northeast Conference Championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, falling 13–10 in a hard-fought match up against Holy Cross.