#UACFOOTBALL -- United Athletic Conference (UAC) Football weekly award winners were highlighted by historic wins and record-setting performances. Week One Player of the Week selections include Abilene Christian's Maverick McIvor (Offensive), Utah Tech's Andy Day (Specialist), North Alabama's Fred Vili (Freshman) along with Central Arkansas' David Walker and West Georgia's Micah Thurman sharing Defensive honors.
McIvor, a senior quarterback, guided the Wildcats to a near-upset of FBS foe Texas Tech with his 36-of-51 passing for a career-high 506 yards performance. A former player at Tech, McIvor tossed three touchdown passes and had ACU within a 2-point conversion away from an historic victory. McIvor became the first player in UAC history to surpass 500-yards passing and his showing also garnered him the FCS Football National Offensive Player of the Week recognition.
A junior linebacker for UWG, Thurman led the Wolves with seven tackles including six solo stops in the squad's NCAA DI debut 38-29 win over Samford. His team-topping outing also featured one TFL and forced a fumble.
Walker, a preseason All-American defensive lineman, had 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a QB hurry among his four stops against FBS Arkansas State. His strip sack of ASU QB Jaylen Raynor set up UCA's then go-ahead TD with 55 seconds remaining. Walker upped his two-year career sack total for the Bears to 23.0 and his current total is tied for the national lead this season.
Trailblazer senior punter Day tied his own school record (which he co-holds with four others) with 10 punts for 468 yards (46.8 ypp). His 468 yards were second-most in the program's NCAA era and included three punts of 50 or more yards, highlighted by a 57-yarder in the third quarter..
Vili, a true freshman defensive lineman from America Samoa, tallied three tackles featuring a pair of solo stops in the Lions' battle with FBS foe Memphis. He posted 1.5 tackles for loss along with his first career sack.
| DATE |
OFFENSIVE |
DEFENSIVE |
SPECIALIST |
FRESHMAN |
| Aug. 26 |
Kayvon Britten
(Tarleton State) |
Kasyus Kurns (Tarleton State)
Gregory Reddick (North Alabama) |
Adrian Guzman
(Tarleton State) |
Jalen Fletcher
(North Alabama) |
| Sept. 2 |
Maverick McIvor
(Abilene Christian) |
David Walker (Central Arkansas)
Micah Thurman (West Georgia) |
Andy Day
(Utah Tech) |
Fred Vili
(North Alabama) |
Other Nominees
Offensive:
ShunDerrick Powell (UCA); Davin Wydner (UWG)
Defensive:
David Oke (ACU); Gregory Reddick (UNA); Kasyus Kurns (TSU)
Specialist:
Trace Beard (UCA); Adam Watford (UNA); Reilly Mason (UWG)
Freshman:
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