SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference named its football players of the week today for all games played Oct. 15. Samford’s Devlin Hodges was named the Offensive Player of the Week, while Chattanooga’s Nakevion Leslie earned the Defensive Player of the Week award. The Citadel’s Cody Clark 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: Devlin Hodges, Samford, So., QB, Kimberly, Ala.
Devlin Hodges earned the league’s Offensive Player of the Week award for the third consecutive week after completing 35-of-50 passes for a career-high 435 yards in Samford’s 55-21 win over VMI on Saturday afternoon. Hodges also tied a career high with five touchdown passes in the win, as he connected on touchdown passes from 3, 5, 7, 9 and 16 yards out. Hodges leads the SoCon and ranks third nationally with 345.0 passing yards per contest. His 22 touchdown passes on the season rank third in FCS.
Other Nominees: Dominique Allen (The Citadel), Reese Hannon (Furman), Chandler Curtis (Mercer), C.J. Board (Chattanooga) and Tyrie Adams (Western Carolina).
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Nakevion Leslie, Chattanooga, Sr., LB, Powder Springs, Ga.
Senior linebacker Nakevion Leslie set a new career high with a game-high 19 tackles in UTC’s loss at The Citadel on Saturday. Leslie was credited with five solo stops and 14 assists for his third game of at least 10 tackles this season. His 19 stops were the most for at UTC defender since Ryan Consiglio had that many in 2011.
Other Nominees: Kailik Williams (The Citadel), LeMarkus Bailey (Mercer), Deion Pierre (Samford) and Keion Crossen (Western Carolina).
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cody Clark, The Citadel, Sr., K, Watkinsville, Ga.
Cody Clark was a perfect 2-for-2 on field-goal attempts and converted both PAT opportunities for The Citadel in its 22-14 over Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon. Clark connected from 37 yards out on the final play of the first half to give the Bulldogs a 17-14 lead at halftime. His second field goal was a 32-yard boot with 24 second left in the game to give The Citadel an eight-point cushion. Clark leads the SoCon and ranks 24th nationally with a 75-percent field-goal percentage this season.
Other Nominees: Tyler Zielenski (Mercer), Austin Barnard (Samford) and Colin Brewer (Chattanooga) and Ian Berryman (Western Carolina).