Rutgers running back Antwan Raymond was honored with the 2025 Jon Cornish Trophy on Wednesday. The annual award recognizes the top Canadian player in NCAA football. Hailing from Montreal, Raymond is the first Quebec-born player to receive this accolade. During the season, Raymond showcased impressive stats with 1,241 rushing yards at a 5.1-yard average, scoring 13 touchdowns. Additionally, he contributed 18 receptions for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
Raymond, a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award, which honors the best running back in the NCAA, had a standout game against Maryland, rushing for 240 yards on 41 carries earlier in the season. He joins Chuba Hubbard in 2019 and Chase Brown in 2022 as the third running back to win the Jon Cornish Trophy. Both Hubbard, now with the Carolina Panthers, and Brown, playing for the Cincinnati Bengals, have transitioned to the NFL.
Expressing his gratitude, Raymond commented, “It’s an honor to be recognized alongside running backs like [Chase] Brown and Chuba [Hubbard] by winning this award.” The runner-up for the award was Ottawa’s Akheem Mesidor, a defensive lineman at Miami. Other finalists included Ty Benefield from Vancouver (safety, Boise State), Nuer Gatkuoth from Edmonton (defensive lineman, Wake Forest), and Jett Elad from Rutgers (safety, Mississauga, Ont.).
Raymond leads a notable Canadian presence at Rutgers, alongside teammates like Elad, Dariel Djabome, Djbril Abudo-Rahman, and Farrell Gnagno. Reflecting on the camaraderie within the Canadian contingent on the team, Raymond stated, “It means a lot, with the other Canadians on this team. We all support each other when it feels like we’re far away from home.”
Jon Cornish, a former standout running back at Kansas and a two-time Grey Cup champion with the Calgary Stampeders, was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2019. Jim Mullin, the trustee/chair of the Cornish Trophy, highlighted Raymond’s exceptional performance, stating, “In a year where the dominant defensive players from Canada played on the defensive side of the ball, Antwan Raymond emerged as the standout candidate. His performance convinced the selection committee that he deserved unanimous recognition as the top Canadian player in NCAA football.”