CAA Football Weekly Awards - Oct. 27
Rob Washburn
RICHMOND, Va. (October 27, 2025) – CAA Football has announced its weekly award winners for Week 9 of the 2025 season. Monmouth sophomore running back Rodney Nelson and New Hampshire sophomore quarterback Matt Vezza shared Offensive Player of the Week honors while Maine graduate linebacker Christian Thomas was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Week. North Carolina A&T junior kick/punt returner Elijah Kennedy was named Special Teams Player of the Week and Maine freshman running back Rashawn Marshall was selected as the Rookie of the Week.
CAA Football Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Rodney Nelson, So., RB, Monmouth (Owings Mills, Md./Franklin)
Nelson rushed for a career-high 233 yards and four touchdowns on 33 carries (7.1 ypc) in Monmouth’s 28-10 road win at Hampton. It was the second 200+ yard effort of the year for Nelson, who tallied the 6
th-highest rushing total in FCS in 2025 and the most for a MU back since 2023. It was the 5
th straight game with 100+ yards for Nelson, who leads the nation with 1,238 yards.
CAA Football Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Matt Vezza, So., QB, New Hampshire (Elmhurst, Ill./York)
Vezza accounted for 379 yards of offense and three touchdowns in New Hampshire’s 34-24 win over William & Mary. The sophomore was 17-of-23 passing (74%) for a career-high 280 yards and 3 TD’s and added a career-best 99 yards rushing on 15 carries. UNH set season highs for points, total yards (512), rushing and passing in the game and didn’t punt.
CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week
Christian Thomas, Gr., LB, Maine (Norristown, Pa./Woodrow Wilson)
Thomas recorded a team-high nine tackles, 1.5 TFL’s, a sack and recovered a fumble as Maine defeated Elon, 35-14, for its fourth straight win. His effort led a Maine defense that held Elon to a season-low 231 yards while tallying five sacks and forcing two turnovers. It was the fifth game with at least nine tackles for Thomas, who is third in the CAA with 76 stops.
CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Elijah Kennedy, Jr., PR/KR, North Carolina A&T (High Point, N.C./High Point Central)
Kennedy became the first North Carolina A&T player to return a punt and kickoff for a touchdown in the same game as the Aggies rallied past Campbell, 28-24. His program-record tying 96-yard punt return for a TD tied the game at 21-21 with 6:12 to go and his 85-yard kickoff return for a TD with 1:29 was the game-winner. Kennedy finished with 228 all-purpose yards.
CAA Football Rookie of the Week
Rashawn Marshall, Fr., RB, Maine (Newark, N.J./University)
Marshall rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown on just 15 carries (9.4 ypc) in Maine’s 35-14 victory over Elon. It was the second straight game with 140+ yards on the ground for Marshall, who sealed the win with a 61-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. He added two catches for 18 yards.