Rutgers’ Running Back Antwan Raymond Wins Jon Cornish Trophy

Nov 29, 2025; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights running back Antwan Raymond (3) celebrates his touchdown reception during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It’s another achievement in the young career of Rutgers Scarlet Knights running back Antwan Raymond. The dynamic Raymond is the winner of the Jon Cornish Trophy. 

Antwan Raymond is the winner of the Jon Cornish Trophy.

The award is given to the most outstanding Canadian player in NCAA football!

🇨🇦 | 🪓 pic.twitter.com/72tXA2PV2P

— Rutgers Football 🪓 (@RFootball) December 17, 2025

The award is given to the most outstanding Canadian player in NCAA football. Raymond is making his Canadian people very proud with his success.

Raymond is one of the best running backs in the Big Ten conference. However, can he be the best at the position coming into next season?

It’s an exciting challenge to think that Raymond has the potential to be the best running back in the Big Ten. There is some heavy competition in the conference. We have two running backs from Penn State, Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. Rutgers is very familiar with those two, especially since they played each other in the regular-season finale.

Michigan Wolverines’ Justin Haynes is a five-star player. Minnesota Golden Gophers’ Darius Taylor is another talented running back.

Yes, we understand that it’s the Big Ten we're talking about. It’s a Conference loaded with talent. However, the team doesn’t need to be an elite team to recognize a top star excelling at a high level. Rutgers may not have a collectively talented team compared to Penn State, Michigan, or Ohio State, but given what Raymond has done in 2025, he is capable of becoming the best running back in 2026 out of the Big Ten.

Raymond is writing his own story. He is establishing his own legacy. Raymond is the best running back the Scarlet Knights have had since Ray Rice. One of the best performances of the 2025 season came against the Maryland Terrapins. The Terrapins are a good defense. A central flaw for the Terrapins is their run defense, and Raymond made them pay big time.

In his matchup against the Terrapins, Raymond rushed for 240 yards on 41 carries with a touchdown. The Scarlet Knights won this game 35-20. Raymond did something that hadn’t been done since 2012, and that’s to accumulate 41 carries in a Big Ten matchup. 

There haven’t been many great Canadian running backs in the NFL. It’s time for someone to completely change history and establish a future Canadian superstar in the NFL. The closest Canadian star that’s in the NFL is Chuba Hubbard. Raymond has the chance to build something special and pave the way for other Canadian boys to play football in the NFL someday. 

In the meantime, Raymond’s primary focus is to continue to get better and help the Scarlet Knights be a much better competitive team in 2026.