WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced Monmouth University's Josh Derry and Rodney Nelson as finalists for its 2025 FCS Player of the Year award, the organization announced Wednesday afternoon.
 
This marks the third season for the award, as Monmouth running back Jaden Shirden was the first recipient following the 2025 season.
 
Derry, one of three wide receivers on the watch list, leads the Hawks with 988 yards and 12 touchdowns on 66 receptions through 11 games. He has five games of 100+ receiving yards and ranks fourth in FCS for receiving yardage. The junior wideout has tied two Monmouth program records this season: notching four touchdown catches in a single game at Fordham and hauling in 12 touchdown grabs for the season, tying Miles Austin's program record that was set in 2003.
 
Nelson currently leads FCS with 1,733 rushing yards, which ranks second all-time by a Monmouth Hawk in a single season. Nelson's career high 18 rushing scores are the most in the CAA and rank third in FCS. The Hawks are 9-0 this season in games where Nelson has rushed for 100 yards or more. The redshirt sophomore also ranks atop FCS with 1,953 all-purpose yards and has been named CAA Offensive Player of the Week three times while earning a National Offensive Player of the Week by STATS Perform FCS in Week 10.

The winner of the Walter Camp FCS Player of the Year award will be determined in mid-December. You can support Derry and Nelson's case to win the award through this year's Fan Vote page at www.votegridiron1880.com.
 
Derry, Nelson and the Hawks take on UAlbany in their final home game of the regular season this Saturday, Nov. 22 at noon. The game will be broadcast live on FloCollege and SNY. Tickets can be purchased at MonmouthHawks.com/Tickets.
 
ABOUT WALTER CAMP
Considered the "Father of American Football," Walter Camp introduced the play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side in 1880. Nine years later, Mr. Camp, then the Yale University head coach, selected the first-ever college football All-America team. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team. Visit www.waltercamp.org for more information.
 
The Walter Camp Football Foundation Fan Vote is live! Fans, families, and alumni can now support our players by casting a vote at www.votegridiron1880.com. The platform features real-time Walter Camp Impact Rankings and NIL valuations alongside performance data. Vote daily and help elevate our athletes to national recognition with the Walter Camp Football Foundation — curators of the America's oldest college football All- America team, which will be announced in early December.
 
The Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football's most prestigious awards, and its 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients dating back to 1935. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.