OGDEN, Utah – Weber State running back Josh Davis was named National Freshman of the Year and the recipient of the Jerry Rice Award which is presented by STATS to the nation’s top freshman.

Davis becomes the first Wildcat in school history to receive National Freshman of the Year honors and is only the third player from the Big Sky Conference to earn the honor.

The Alta High School product will be presented the Jerry Rice Award at the STATS FCS Banquet on Friday, January 4 in Frisco, Texas.

Davis was critical in Weber State’s success this season where they finished with a 10-3 record, share of the Big Sky Conference title and a top-three national ranking before being eliminated by Maine in the FCS quarterfinals last week.

Just a few highlights from the National Freshman of the Year, Weber State’s Josh Davis @Davis20Josh on his record-setting season.

Davis won the Jerry Rice Award from @FCS_STATS as the nation’s top freshman. https://t.co/hsJxQgBqvN#WeAreWeber #BigSkyFB

— Weber State Football 🏈 (@weberstatefb) December 11, 2018

The Sandy native played 12 games for Weber State and set the school freshman record with 1,362 yards, which is ranked sixth most yards in a season in school history. He racked up all of those yards on 250 carries and nine touchdowns on the ground.

Davis finished the 2018 season with a 113.5 yards per game average which is 12th best in the country and third in the conference. He had seven games where he rushed over 100 yards and two games over 200 yards.

His best game was 225 yards and two touchdowns against in-state rival Southern Utah. In the passing game, Davis caught 30 passes for 193 yards. He did it all as he had 14 punt returns for 224 yards and one touchdown.

NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR!

Congratulations to Weber State’s Josh Davis who has won the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the country!

➡️https://t.co/Zb0HplaylQ#WeAreWeber #BigSkyFB @FCS_STATS @Davis20Josh pic.twitter.com/1fvpFrfK7y

— Weber State Football 🏈 (@weberstatefb) December 11, 2018

His 1,779 all-purpose yards was the most ever by a Weber State freshman and seventh most in a season in school history.

After the regular season concluded, Davis was named Big Sky Freshman of the Year, which is the first time a Weber State player has been given that award. He also was named first team All-Big Sky Conference while also being awarded the STATS National Freshman of the Week award twice.

“This is such a prestigious honor for Josh and for Weber State football,” said Wildcat head coach Jay Hill. “He worked so hard this year and took on such a load for us, and was an absolute warrior for us this season. He had an incredible freshman year and has a very, very bright future.”

Davis is the second Wildcat football player ever to win a national award from STATS, joining Jamie Martin who won the Walter Payton award in 1991.