Football | 12/5/2025 6:46:00 AM

GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T Graduate kicker Andrew Brown and junior returner Elijah Kennedy earned HBCU All-American football honors from BOXTOROW this week. In addition, Brown is a finalist for the Fred Mitchell Award, given to the best non-FBS kicker in the nation.

The Fred Mitchell Award committee also considers community work in its decision-making. Brown served as the Aggies' team captain in 2025. He often communicates with youth attending A&T games, volunteers at summer camps in his hometown of Lexington, NC, and serves as a referee, gate attendant, and concessionaire for winter indoor soccer.

On the field, he earned Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Special Teams Player of the Week three times and won STATS FCS Special Teams Player of the Week once. In addition, he also earned STATS FCS Special Teams Player of the Week honorable mention twice.

Brown's season was highlighted by him connecting on three field goals of 50-plus yards in a loss to Monmouth at Truist Stadium on November 15. Those three kicks were historic for A&T, the CAA and the NCAA. He became the first Aggie to make multiple 50-plus-yard field goals in a game.

He also became the first CAA player to make three field goals of 53 yards or more. In addition, he tied the NCAA record for most 50-plus-yard field goals in a game. On October 11 against South Carolina State University (SCSU), Brown booted a 55-yard field goal to break A&T's record for longest field goal made in a game. Three weeks later, he broke that record by making a 56-yard field goal at home against Towson.

Brown went 5-for-5 in field goals of 50 yards or more. He will leave A&T as its all-time leader in field goals made (51) and attempted (71). Brown won CAA Special Teams Player of the Week three times during the season.

Kennedy returned 18 punts for 294 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 16.3 yards per return and leads the conference and ranks second in the nation in punt returns for touchdowns. Kennedy also ranks third nationally and second in the league in average yards per punt return.

In addition, Kennedy returned 36 kickoffs for 705 yards and a touchdown, averaging 19.58 yards per return. He leads the nation in combined return yards (999). Thanks to his wide receiver duties, Kennedy ranks seventh in the conference in all-purpose yards per game (107.92).

On September 27 at Maine, Kennedy returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown to help in the Aggies' comeback efforts that fell short 37-30. Four weeks later, the Aggies' comeback against the Campbell Fighting Camels was successful thanks to Kennedy. Kennedy started his historic fourth quarter with a 96-yard punt return for a touchdown that tied the game at 21-21.

His 96-yard return tied the program record for longest punt return for a touchdown. After Campbell kicked a field goal to reclaim the lead, Kennedy returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for the game-winning touchdown. Kennedy earned CAA Special Teams Player of the Week on October 27 for his performance against the Camels.

It was not a bad season for the former walk-on who was coming off a severe injury he sustained during A&T's 2024 August training camp.

The Fred Mitchell Award recognizes 41 placekickers for their excellence on the football field throughout the 2025 season. The Fred Mitchell Award recognizes kickers who were nominated for their terrific performances through the end of the regular season. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be announced in December based on performance on the football field and in the community.

The namesake for the award, Fred Mitchell, was a longtime (1974–2015) award-winning sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune and the author of 12 sports books. Mitchell set the NCAA record for career kick-scoring at Wittenberg University in 1968 among "College Division" schools that are now classified as FCS, Division II, and Division III.

The breakdown of the 41 place-kickers is as follows:

• Collegiate Division – 23 FCS, 8 Division II, 6 Division III, 1 NAIA, 2 NJCAA, and 1 3C2A

BOXTOROW is a national radio and podcast brand founded by Donal Ware, dedicated to sports talk and coverage focused primarily on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) sports. It provides an outlet for HBCU sports stories and features interviews with top athletes and entertainers, and has grown to include radio syndication, SiriusXM channels, and an active podcast. BOXTOROW also presents annual awards, such as the HBCU College Football All-American Team.