SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman football player Julian Ashby has been named the Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week for all competition from Nov. 16-22. The selection is made by the conference office.
 
Furman’s long snapper for the last two-plus seasons, Ashby helped the Paladins to a 63-28 win over rival Wofford on Saturday. The Lilburn, Georgia, native was successful on all 11 snaps on the day as Furman kicked nine PATs and punted twice. The win was Furman’s sixth straight to end the regular season. The Paladins enter postseason play with a 9-2 record and went 7-1 in SoCon play.
 
A junior physics major, Ashby owns a 3.98 GPA.
 
Furman, ranked No. 11 nationally in both the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 and the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship and will host Elon in a first-round game on Saturday at noon. The FCS playoff bid is Furman’s SoCon-best 19^th in program history. The Paladins – national champions in 1988 – will be hosting a home playoff game for the first time since 2005.
 
Also nominated: Ken Standley (Mercer football), Sam Phillips (Chattanooga football), Richard McCollum (Western Carolina football) and Helen Matthews (Wofford women’s basketball).
 
2022-23 SoCon Student-Athletes of the Week
Sept. 7    Abigail Robertson, Sr., Furman women’s cross country
Sept. 14   Chandler Martin, R-Fr., LB, ETSU football
Sept. 21   Collin Ironside, R-So., QB, VMI football
Sept. 28   Nieva Gaither, Jr., MF, Furman women’s soccer
Oct. 5      Kennedy Smith, Sr., OH, Wofford volleyball
Oct. 12    Maggie Lloyd, Jr., F, Western Carolina women’s soccer
Oct. 19    Nadia Wilson, So., D, UNCG women’s soccer
Oct. 26    Tarik Pannholzer, Jr., F, ETSU men’s soccer
Nov. 2     Megan Marvin, Jr., Furman women’s cross country
Nov. 9     Reuben Lowery III, So., DB, Chattanooga football
Nov. 16    Annie Karle, Gr., OH, Mercer volleyball
Nov. 23    Julian Ashby, Jr., LS, Furman football