SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Monday, the Southern Conference named its Football Player of the Week awards presented by GEICO for all games played March 27. VMI wide receiver Jakob Herres was named the Offensive Player of the Week, Chattanooga linebacker Christian Snyder was named the Defensive Player of the Week and ETSU kicker Tyler Keltner was named the Special Teams Player of the Week. The awards are selected by the league office.
 
 
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jakob Herres, VMI, Jr., WR, Easton, Pa.
VMI wide receiver Jakob Herres caught a career-high 15 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns in the Keydets’ 36-31 win at Wofford on Saturday. The junior from Easton, Pennsylvania, had a 21-yard scoring catch in the third quarter as VMI began its comeback from 10 points down and added a 15-yard TD grab with 9:20 left in the game to put the Keydets ahead 27-24. After Wofford took a one-point lead with just 1:43 remaining, Herres hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass to give VMI the lead for good with just 35 seconds left. His three TDs on the day pushed his career total to 19, just one back of the program record. VMI moved to 5-0 with the win and jumped to No. 10 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 released Monday morning. The win also snapped Wofford’s eight-game winning streak in the series.
 
Other nominees: Quay Holmes (ETSU), Brandon Marshall (Mercer), Liam Welch (Samford), Lance Jackson (Chattanooga), Ryan Glover (Western Carolina) and Landon Parker (Wofford).
 
 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Christian Snyder, Chattanooga, Jr., LB, Spring Hill, Tenn.
Chattanooga linebacker Christian Snyder had a game- and career-high 20 tackles in the Mocs’ 35-28 loss to Mercer on Saturday. The junior from Spring Hill, Tennessee, had six solo stops and 14 shared tackles, adding a quarterback hurry on the afternoon. The 20 tackles are the most for a Chattanooga player since Josh Cain had 20 in a game against Appalachian State on Nov. 2, 2002.
 
Other nominees: Solomon Zubairu (Mercer), Trimarcus Cheeks (Samford), A.J. Smith (VMI), Ty Harris (Western Carolina) and John Beckley (Wofford).
 
 
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tyler Keltner, ETSU, So., K, Tallahassee, Fla.
ETSU’s Tyler Keltner kicked a career-long and school-record 54-yard field goal and kicked off five times for an average of 61.6 yards with three touchbacks as the Bucs downed Western Carolina 24-17 on Saturday to reclaim the Blue Ridge Border Battle trophy. The sophomore from Tallahassee, Florida, missed his first field-goal attempt of the day, a 49-yard effort at the beginning of the second quarter, but rebounded with his record-breaking make shortly before the end of the half, which knotted the score at 17. Keltner’s make is the longest one in the SoCon and the fifth-longest made in the FCS this season.
 
Other nominees: Matt Campbell (The Citadel), Caleb Dowden (Mercer), Mitchell Fineran (Samford), Drayton Arnold (Chattanooga), Richard McCollum (Western Carolina) and TJ Luther (Wofford).
 
2020-21 SoCon Football Players of the Week presented by GEICO
Offensive
Feb. 22             Quay Holmes, R-Jr., RB, ETSU
March 1            Liam Welch, Sr., QB, Samford
March 8            Ryan Miller, Jr., TE, Furman
March 15          Donnavan Spencer, Sr., RB, Western Carolina
March 22          Liam Welch, Sr., QB, Samford
March 29          Jakob Herres, Jr., WR, VMI
 
Defensive
Feb. 22             Donovan Manuel, R-So., LB, ETSU
March 1            Connor Riddle, R-Sr., LB, VMI
March 8            Chris Edmonds, So., S, Samford
March 15          Chris Edmonds, So., S, Samford
March 22          Ty Boeck, Jr., LB, Chattanooga
March 29          Christian Snyder, Jr., LB, Chattanooga
 
Special teams
Feb. 22             Paxton Robertson, Fr., K, Western Carolina
March 1            Gabe Boring, Jr., P, Chattanooga
March 8            Timmy Bleekrode, R-So., PK/P, Furman
March 15          Mitchell Fineran, Jr., PK, Samford
March 22          Caleb Dowden, R-So., P/K, Mercer
March 29          Tyler Keltner, So., K, ETSU