Carmona Named Finalist for 2025 Hispanic College Football Player of the Year

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas senior offensive lineman Fernando Carmona has been named a finalist for the 2025 Hispanic College Football Player of the Year, the Hispanic Football Hall of Fame announced Thursday morning.

The five honorees alongside Carmona for the prestigious award include WR KC Concepcion (Texas A&M), QB Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), QB Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt), K Gavriel Plascencia (San Diego State), and LB Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech).

Carmona recently earned All-SEC honors for the second consecutive year after being selected to the third team a year ago. With back-to-back All-SEC nods, Carmona is the first Razorback offensive lineman to earn All-SEC honors in consecutive years since Frank Ragnow in 2016-17. He started in all 25 games on the offensive line during his two seasons as a Razorback and finished his collegiate career with a 49-game start streak dating back to his redshirt freshman season at San Jose State in 2022. The Las Vegas, Nev., product was part of an Arkansas offensive line that blocked for 5,102 yards of total offense and paved the way for six games of 500+ yards of total offense during the 2025 season. Additionally, Carmona and the Hogs allowed 29 sacks, which was the fewest by an Arkansas team since 2019 (19 sacks). Carmona played a big role in blocking for Mike Washington Jr., who rushed for 1,070 total yards, becoming the Razorbacks’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Raheim “Rocket” Sanders in 2022.

The Finalists were selected from a Watch List of 16 players by the Hispanic Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee, comprised of Sandy Nunez (Chairperson, Founder Board Member & Award-winning Executive Producer), Judy Battista (NFL Senior National Columnist), Rolando Cantu (NFL Analyst, TNF En Español), Paul Gutierrez (Columnist for Raiders.com), Brandon Huffman (National Recruiting Editor, 247Sports), Moises Linares (Emmy Award-winning Bilingual Sports Journalist), Alex Marvez (Sirius XM NFL Radio Host), Armando Salguero (Senior NFL Writer, AP All-Pro voter), and John Sutcliffe (ESPN Deportes Reporter).

“We are proud to recognize the inaugural Hispanic Football Hall of Fame College All-Americas honorees,” said Ron Rivera, HFHOF Founding Board Member. “Their amazing accomplishments on and off the field bring enormous pride to all of us in the Hispanic community.”

“The inaugural 2025 Hispanic Football Hall of Fame College All-Americas honorees reflect the highest level of football excellence,” said Anthony Muñoz, Founding Board Member of the HFHOF. “For the first time in history, half of the Heisman Trophy finalists are of Hispanic heritage.”

On Thursday, December 17, 2025, the Hispanic Football Hall of Fame will announce its inaugural Hispanic College Football Player of the Year. The recipient, along with the HFHOF College Football All-Americans, will be honored at the Hispanic Football Hall of Fame Celebración de Fútbol, scheduled for May 5, 2026 (Cinco de Mayo).

For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackFB on X, Instagram and Facebook.