Villanova running back Ja'briel Mace, the junior who broke Brian Westbrook's single-game rushing record last fall, earned first-team FCS Preseason All-American honors from Stats Perform, the university announced Monday.
Mace was selected as a kick returner after ranking second nationally in kickoff returns during the 2025 season. He averaged 31.96 yards per return, becoming only the second player in Villanova history to average more than 30 yards over a full season. He was also the first FCS player in 2025 to return two kickoffs for touchdowns.
The recognition adds to a growing list of honors for the 5-foot-9, 175-pound back from Somers Point, N.J. After the 2025 season, Mace earned first-team Stats Perform FCS All-America honors, second-team AFCA FCS All-America recognition, Associated Press All-America notice and 2025 CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Year.
From third string to record-breaker
Mace's breakout came in November of 2025 against Towson. He entered that game as Villanova's third-string running back with just 74 rushing yards on the season. When David Avit and Isaiah Ragland left with second-quarter injuries, Mace carried 28 times for 291 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-10 win, surpassing Westbrook's 24-year-old mark of 287 yards set in 2001.
He rushed for 198 of those yards in the second half, including 140 in the fourth quarter alone.
"We didn't tell him not to score," head coach Mark Ferrante said after the game. "So he decided to take all 22 yards instead of just the 3 we needed, and the record came with it."
Westbrook, who won the 2001 Walter Payton Award and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023, later texted Ferrante asking why the coaching staff didn't pull Mace before the record fell, then sent Mace a congratulatory video.
Mace finished the 2025 campaign with 128 carries for 946 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, adding 735 kick-return yards for 1,882 all-purpose yards, the fifth-most in the FCS. He followed the Towson breakout with 165 yards and two scores in the regular-season finale against Sacred Heart, then 151 yards and a touchdown in an FCS playoff quarterfinal win at Tarleton State.
What's ahead
Mace also earned the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Fall 2025, along with the Athletic Director's Honor Roll in Fall 2025. He attended Mainland Regional High School, where he was the 2022 South Jersey Player of the Year and scored 56 career rushing touchdowns.
The Stats Perform preseason squad includes 101 players from all 13 FCS conferences and 53 schools. The 2026 season marks Villanova football's first year as an associate member of the Patriot League, and the Wildcats open at home against William & Mary on Friday, August 28, in the Patriot League debut for both programs.
