Football Southern Conference

SoCon Football Players of the Week, Nov. 18, 2002

SPARTANBURG, SC - The Southern Conference today named its football players of the week for games played on Saturday, November 16. Furman quarterback Billy Napier was named the Offensive Player of the Week, VMI linebacker Chris Walsh was named the Defensive Player of the Week and Georgia Southern fullback Jermaine Austin earned Freshman of the Week.

Napier, a 6-2, 207-pound senior from Chatsworth, GA, completed 14 of 17 passes for 145 yards and threw two touchdown passes in leading Furman to a 23-21 win over 10th-ranked Wofford on Saturday. With his team trailing 21-17 with 4:41 left in the game, Napier engineered an 11-play, 74-yard drive that ended with his game-winning seven yard touchdown pass to Brian Bratton with just 29 seconds left in the contest. During the final drive, Napier completed all five of his pass attempts for 63 yards. Napier completed his final 10 pass attempts in a steady rain that soaked the field. Napier also threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Isaac West in the first half that gave the Paladins a 7-0 lead.

Walsh, a 6-3, 235-pound senior linebacker from Lima, OH, made 11 total tackles in helping VMI to a 23-21 win over The Citadel in the 62nd annual Military Classic of the South. Walsh had one tackle for loss that halted a Citadel drive at midfield early in the fourth quarter and gave VMI momentum to break a 13-13 tie. He also intercepted a pass at the VMI 28 to halt Citadel's first drive of the game.

Austin, a 5-7, 200-pound freshman from Darien, GA, rushed for 86 yards on 12 carries in Georgia Southern's 41-3 win over Jacksonville State. Austin averaged 7.2 yards per carry as the Eagles racked up 493 rushing yards. Austin finished the regular season with 1,041 rushing yards, the second-best season total ever by an Eagle rookie. He is just the third GSU freshman to crack the 1,000-yard barrier.

Also receiving strong consideration for Offensive Player of the Week were Wofford running back J.R. McNair who rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns against Furman, Chattanooga quarterback Ryan McCann who threw for 225 yards in a win over East Tennessee State, Georgia Southern slotback Mark Myers who had a career-high 141 yards rushing, and Appalachian running back Sean Jackson who rushed for 101 yards in a win over Western Carolina. On the defensive side, also receiving support were Appalachian defensive end Josh Jeffries who had six tackles and two sacks against WCU and Furman end Eddie Overdyke who had six tackles and a fumble recovery against the Terriers.
- SoCon -