UC Davis’ Caden Pinnick Named Jerry Rice Award Finalist

No. 8 UC Davis football redshirt freshman quarterback Caden Pinnick has been named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award.

BY UC DAVIS ATHLETICS

Nov 24, 2025, 2:06 PM

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No. 8 UC Davis football redshirt freshman Caden Pinnick has been named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, putting him among the best 25 freshmen in the nation.

Pinnick becomes the first Aggie to be named a Jerry Rice Award finalist since Rex Connors earned the nod in 2022. A multi-national player of the week and conference player of the week honoree, Pinnick ranks among the top quarterbacks in the nation across several categories.

During the season, Pinnick tied a conference record with three straight Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week awards, and twice he was named a National Offensive Player of the Week.

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Caden Pinnick has been named a Jerry Rice Award Finalist!!

📰 – https://t.co/0tInPYied1 #GoAgs | #Shredville pic.twitter.com/UwLQ3dehAk

— UC Davis Football (@UCDfootball) November 24, 2025

The Aggie quarterback ended the year among the best quarterbacks in the Big Sky Conference, racking up 2,527 total passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, and an average of 252.7 passing yards per game in 10 starts. He had a season completion percentage of 71 percent, rushed for 312 yard,s and scored three times on the ground.

In the conference, Pinnick finishes the regular season leading in passing yards per completion, passing efficiency, points responsible for per game, and yards per pass attempt. While also finishing top five in the conference in completion percentage (second), completions per game (fifth), passing touchdowns (second), passing yards (fifth), passing yards per game (fifth), points responsible for (third), and total offense (second).

Nationally, he ended the season ranked fifth in passing efficiency, 10th in passing yards per game, 12th in passing touchdowns, and 24th in total passing yards.

The Rice Award, celebrating its 15th anniversary season, is named after legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, who starred in the FCS at Mississippi Valley State University. Past recipients include Cooper Kupp, Chase Edmonds, Trey Lance, Cam Ward, and Shedeur Sanders.

The Jerry Rice Award includes true and redshirt freshmen, and all 13 FCS conferences are represented by a finalist. The recipient, to be selected by a national voting panel, will be announced on Dec. 3 and honored at the Stats Perform National Awards Show on Jan. 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.