SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Chattanooga football player Cole Strange has been named the Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week for all competition from Oct. 13-19. The selection is made by the conference office.
 
Strange was a key component for Chattanooga’s offensive line in the Mocs’ 21-16 victory over No. 10 ETSU on Saturday. The senior’s efforts led to a 235-yard rushing effort on 37 carries, better than 6.0 yards per play and 6.0 yards per rush. His performance on the line led to Tyrell Price’s SoCon Offensive Player of the Week presented by GEICO honor, as Price and Ailym Ford combined for 197 yards and three touchdowns to hand Chattanooga its third straight rivalry trophy and mark its first win over a top-10 opponent since defeating Samford in 2017. Fourteen of the 22 games under head coach Rusty Wright have seen at least one 100-yard rusher, with Strange, a Knoxville, Tennessee, native, coming up as a vital member of the offensive line unit in those contests.
 
Strange maintains a 3.71 grade point average and is pursuing his master’s degree in engineering management.
 
The Mocs (3-3, 2-1 SoCon) will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, for Saturday’s 1 p.m. ET conference game against Samford (3-3, 2-2 SoCon).
 
Also nominated for Student-Athlete of the Week: Matt Scarr (ETSU men’s cross country), Nieva Gaither (Furman women’s soccer), Gabriela McHugh (UNCG volleyball), Alyssa Frazier (Samford women’s soccer) and Kennedy Smith (Wofford volleyball).
 
SoCon Student-Athletes of the Week
Sept. 1       Meghan Yaffa, R-Jr., OH, Wofford volleyball
Sept. 7       Hamp Sisson, Jr., QB, Furman football
Sept. 15     Timmy Bleekrode, R-So., PK/P, Furman football
Sept. 22     Kayla White, Sr., OH, UNCG volleyball
Sept. 29     Kyla Reynolds, Jr., F, Samford women’s soccer
Oct. 6        Atkins Roberts, So., K/P, Wofford football
Oct. 13      Alyssa Frazier, Sr., MF, Samford women’s soccer
Oct. 20      Cole Strange, Sr., OL, Chattanooga football