NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Seven Vanderbilt football student-athletes were named to the Hampshire Honor Society. The National Football Foundation announced the annual list Wednesday.
Julian Ashby, Aeneas DiCosmo, Loic Fouonji, Christian James, Jesse Mirco, Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers were all chosen to join the society, which recognizes student-athletes who achieved a 3.2 undergraduate grade-point average and either completed their eligibility in 2024 or played the 2024 season with their undergraduate degree in hand.
DiCosmo and James are both two-time honorees, after playing the 2023 season with their undergraduate degrees complete. This year’s seven honorees are the second-most in one season for Vanderbilt, trailing only the eight members last season.
Ashby earned Academic All-America honors in his lone season as Vanderbilt’s long snapper. The Lilburn, Georgia, native owned a 3.9 grade-point average after the Fall 2024 semester while pursuing a master’s degree in engineering. He played in all 13 games and was named to the SEC Community Service Team. Ashby played the first three seasons of his career at Furman, where he completed his undergraduate degree in physics with a 3.96 grade-point average.
DiCosmo was named to the Hampshire Honor Society for the second time. He played in 25 games over two years for the Dores, making 84 total tackles, 12 for loss and 5.5 sacks. DiCosmo came to Nashville following four seasons at Stanford, where he completed his undergraduate degree in film studies with a 3.63 grade-point average.
Fouonji played in all 13 games during his lone Vanderbilt season, making 12 receptions for 187 yards. He had at least one catch in six of the last seven games of the year. Fouonji earned his undergraduate degree while playing four seasons at Texas Tech, where he posted a 3.43 grade-point average while majoring in information technology.
James capped his six-year Vanderbilt career in 2024 after playing in 48 games with 98 total tackles, 11.5 for loss and two sacks. The Memphis, Tennessee, native completed his undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt with a 3.26 grade-point average, majoring in human and organizational development. He also earned a master’s degree in marketing while at Vanderbilt.
Mirco was a second-team All-SEC selection in his lone year as the Commodores’ punter. He finished the season averaging 48.0 yards per punt and was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance at Auburn. He averaged 52.9 yards on eight punts in the win over the Tigers, the second-best mark in school history. Mirco competed his first three seasons at Ohio State and earned a degree in sport management with a 3.75 grade-point average at OSU.
Pavia was named SEC Newcomer of the Year last fall after producing one of the best seasons by a signal-caller in school history. He set school records for rushing yards by a quarterback and fewest interceptions in a season (minimum 250 attempts) while becoming a semifinalist for the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien Awards. He earned his undergraduate degree at New Mexico State, majoring in biology with a 3.25 grade-point average.
Stowers became Vanderbilt’s first first-team All-SEC selection on offense since 2013 after pacing the team in receiving during his first season in Nashville. His 638 receiving yards were the second-most by a Vandy tight end since 1996. With six receptions for 113 yards in the team’s historic win over No. 1 Alabama, Stowers became just the sixth tight end to reach 100 receiving yards against the Crimson Tide since 1996. After starting his career at Texas A&M, Stowers graduated from New Mexico State with a 4.0 grade-point average while majoring in biology.
Among the seven newest Hampshire Honor Society members, Pavia and Stowers are slated to return in 2025 for Vanderbilt. The season opens Aug. 30 when Charleston Southern visits FirstBank Stadium. Season tickets are on sale now and limited premium seating remains in the new south end zone facility, opening this fall.
