Two inducted into NJCAA Football Coaches Association HOF
Charlotte, NC – The NJCAA has announced two honorees to be inducted into the NJCAA Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. One student-athlete and one coach have been selected to join the 2025 class. Read below for more on Jake Waters and Rion Rhoades.
Jake Waters | Student-Athlete | Iowa Western
Jake Waters is a former quarterback for Iowa Western Community College. Waters played in 2011-2012, setting multiple single-season school records, including most passing yards in a season (3,501), most passing touchdowns in a season (39), most completions in a season (244). In 2012, Waters led the Reivers to the NJCAA Football National Championship title and set the NJCAA single-season record for completion percentage (73.3%).
After winning the championship in 2012, Waters was named NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year, Midwest Football Conference (MFC) Offensive Player of the Year, an NJCAA First Team All-America honoree, and MFC First Team All-Conference. As team captain, Waters broke multiple career records at Iowa Western, including most passing yards (6,270), most passing touchdowns (67), completion percentage (67.8), 300+ yard games (8), and 4+ passing touchdown games (9).
Waters then transferred to Kansas State and graduated in 2014, before returning to Iowa Western as the quarterbacks coach in 2015-16. Waters is a 2024 Iowa Western Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and now serves as the quarterbacks coach for Iowa State.
Rion Rhoades | Coach | Hutchinson (KS)
Former player at Hutchinson Community College, Rion Rhoades returned as the head coach in 2007 after a one-year stint at Fort Scott Community College. In Rhoades' 13 years as head coach, Hutchinson made 10 postseason appearances and reached its first NJCAA No. 1 ranking in team history in 2019. With an overall record of 106-55 (.658 winning percentage), Rhoades became the fourth winningest coach in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) history.
Under Rhoades, Hutchinson had 200 All-Conference selections including 62 first-team selections, 26 NJCAA All-America honorees, including 11 first-team All-Americans and the 2008 NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year. Rhoades had 239 student-athletes go to a four-year program and 16 student-athletes selected in the NFL Draft or signed as an undrafted free agent. Rhoades also coached Alvin Kamara, a three-time Pro Bowler and former Rookie of the Year for the New Orleans Saints and Cordarrelle Patterson, who was the first Hutchinson player to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
