SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Southern Conference named its football players of the week today for the games played on Saturday, September 4. Appalachian State's DeAndre Presley was named Offensive Player of the Week while Elon's Brandon Wiggins earned Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Citadel's Matt Thompson was selected as the Freshman of the Week, and Georgia Southern's Adrian Mora was tabbed as the Special Teams Player of the Week. The players of the week are selected by the league office.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: DeAndre Presley, Appalachian State, Jr., QB
Presley engineered Appalachian State's 42-41 comeback victory over Chattanooga Saturday afternoon. With the Mountaineers trailing 28-7 late in the third quarter, Presley guided the offense to 253 yards and five touchdowns in the final 17:29 of the game. The junior signal caller finished 22-of-29 through the air for 340 yards and three touchdowns. Presley ran 11 times for 25 yards and two touchdowns.
Other Nominees: Domonic Jones (The Citadel), Sean Jeffcoat (Elon), Robert Brown (Georgia Southern), Dustin Taliaferro (Samford), B.J. Coleman (Chattanooga), Michael Johnson (Western Carolina) and Mike Rucker (Wofford).
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brandon Wiggins, Elon, Sr., LB
Wiggins recorded a game-high 19 tackles in Elon's 41-27 loss at Duke. The Greensboro, N.C., native recorded nine solo stops and was credited with 10 assisted tackles. He recorded one-half tackle for loss against the Blue Devils. Wiggins has moved into the top ten on the school's career tackles list with 253.
Other Nominees: Jabari Fletcher (Appalachian State), Erik Clanton (The Citadel), Brent Russell (Georgia Southern), Bryce Smith (Samford), Rock Williams (Western Carolina) and Tommy Irvin (Wofford).
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Matt Thompson, The Citadel, Fr., QB
Thompson came on in relief of starting quarterback Ben Dupree and promptly threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Alex Carr on his first career pass attempt. Thompson finished the day 5-of-6 passing for 127 yards and three touchdowns. His longest completion of the day was a 42-yard strike to Domonic Jones. Thompson also ran the ball eight times for 70 yards with one touchdown. Thompson helped the Bulldogs build a 49-0 halftime lead over Chowan, a modern day first half scoring record for The Citadel.
Other Nominees: Kierre Brown (Elon), Robert Brown (Georgia Southern), Quin Roberson (Samford), D.J. Key (Chattanooga), Deja Alexander (Western Carolina) and Mike McCrimon (Wofford).
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Adrian Mora, Georgia Southern, Jr., PK
Junior Adrian Mora was responsible for 11 points in the Eagles' 48-3 victory over Savannah State. The Dalton, Ga., native connected on all five PATs and was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts. Mora opened the scoring with a 39-yard boot to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. He then connected from 34-yards out with 18 seconds left in the second half to give GSU a 27-0 halftime advantage.
Other Nominees: Sam Martin (Appalachian State), Demetrius Jackson (The Citadel), Adam Shreiner (Elon), Cameron Yaw (Samford), Blake Cain (Western Carolina) and Kasey Redfern (Wofford).