SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference named its football players of the week Monday for all games played Oct. 20. Western Carolina quarterback Tyrie Adams was named Offensive Player of the Week, while Samford’s Ahmad Gooden was named Defensive Player of the Week and Furman’s Grayson Atkins was tabbed Special Teams Player of the Week. The players of the week are selected by the league office.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tyrie Adams, Western Carolina, R-Jr., QB, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Western Carolina quarterback Tyrie Adams posted the third-most yards of total offense in a game in SoCon history on Saturday in a 59-46 loss at Mercer, throwing for 360 yards and rushing for a career-high 185 to total a school-record 545 yards. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for two scores, going 30-for-45 through the air and averaging 8.4 yards per carry on 22 rushes. Adams helped the Catamounts fall just one yard shy of their school record with 710 yards of total offense on the day. A member of the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award watch list, Adams also moved into second place in WCU history with 6,347 career passing yards and is one TD pass shy of the school record in that category with 49 in his career.
Other nominees: Jordan Black (The Citadel), Quay Holmes (ETSU), Tee Mitchell (Mercer), Devlin Hodges (Samford), Reece Udinski (VMI) and Lennox McAfee (Wofford).
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ahmad Gooden, Samford, R-Sr., DL, Talladega, Ala.
Samford defensive lineman Ahmad Gooden had nine tackles and a game-changing fumble recovery and touchdown in the Bulldogs’ 38-25 win at Furman on Saturday. With the Paladins leading 19-10 in the third quarter, Gooden, a member of the STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award watch list, scooped up a Furman fumble and it returned it 58 yards for a score, swinging momentum in favor of the Bulldogs, as Gooden’s TD started a 28-0 scoring stretch for Samford. Six of Gooden’s tackles on the day were solo stops, while 4.0 went for loss and 2.0 were sacks.
Other nominees: Willie Eubanks (The Citadel), Tyree Robinson (ETSU), Mitchell Chancey (Western Carolina) and Miles Brown (Wofford).
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Grayson Atkins, Furman, So., K, Inman, S.C.
Furman kicker Grayson Atkins matched an NCAA Division I record in the Paladins’ 38-25 loss to Samford on Saturday, hitting three field goals of 50 yards or longer. Atkins was 4-for-4 in field-goal attempts on the day, opening the Furman scoring with a 27-yard strike in the first quarter. He added his first 50-yarder in the second quarter to pull the Paladins to within 10-6 and nailed a 51-yarder later in the period to make it 10-9, becoming the first Furman kicker to hit two 50-yard attempts in a game. Atkins made further history as time expired in the first half, converting a 53-yard attempt to match the NCAA record for 50-yard field goals in a game. He accounted for all 12 of the Paladins’ points in the first half as Furman took a 12-10 lead into the locker room. Atkins also punted six times, averaging 45.8 yards per kick, and averaged 56.7 yards on six kickoffs.
Other nominees: Matthew Campbell (The Citadel), Marion Watson (ETSU), David Durden (Mercer), Mitchell Fineran (Samford) and Ian Berryman (Western Carolina).
2018 SoCon Football Players of the Week
Offensive
Sept. 3 Bryce Nunnelly, So., WR, Chattanooga
Sept. 10 Bryce Nunnelly, So., WR, Chattanooga
Sept. 17 Robert Riddle, R-Fr., QB, Mercer
Sept. 24 Reece Udinski, So., QB, VMI
Oct. 1 Tyrie Adams, R-Jr., QB, Western Carolina
Oct. 8 Devlin Hodges, R-Sr., QB, Samford
Oct. 15 Harris Roberts, R-Sr., QB, Furman
Oct. 22 Tyrie Adams, R-Jr., QB, Western Carolina
Defensive
Sept. 3 Noah Dawkins, Sr., LB, The Citadel
Sept. 10 Aaron Harris, Sr., LB, Samford
Sept. 17 Jared Folks, R-Sr., LB, ETSU
Sept. 24 Marshall Cooper, Jr., LB, Chattanooga
Oct. 1 Nasir Player, R-Jr., DL, ETSU
Oct. 8 Tre’Shun Floyd, So., LB, Samford
Oct. 15 Tyree Robinson, So., DB, ETSU
Oct. 22 Ahmad Gooden, Sr., DL, Samford
Special teams
Sept. 3 Mitchell Fineran, Fr., PK, Samford
Sept. 10 Mitchell Fineran, Fr., PK, Samford
Sept. 17 Cole Fisher, Sr., PK, Mercer
Sept. 24 Rod Johnson, RB/KR, Jr., The Citadel
Oct. 1 Dejuan Bell, WR/RS, Fr., Furman
Oct. 8 Mitchell Fineran, Fr., PK, Samford
Oct. 15 JJ Jerman, Sr., PK, ETSU
Oct. 22 Grayson Atkins, So., K, Furman
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