Montana State’s Sean Chambers, Samford’s Nathan East, Cornell’s Jackson Kennedy and Idaho’s Gevani McCoy were selected Monday as the FedEx Ground FCS National Players of the Week for Week 5 college football games through Sunday.
In addition, Stonehill earned FCS National Team of the Week.
The five honorees plus honorable mention selections:
FedEx Ground FCS National Offensive Player of the Week
Sean Chambers, Montana State, QB, Jr., 6-3, 232, Kerman, California
Making his first start with the Bobcats, the Wyoming transfer accounted for 430 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in a 41-27 victory over UC Davis in the Big Sky. He rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns, including scores of 78 and 65 yards, and completed 13 of 21 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. The Division I touchdown leader (12) became the first FCS player to have 200+ passing yards and 200+ rushing yards in the same game since 2018.
Honorable Mention: Javon Antonio, WR, Northwestern State; Cade Brister, QB, Lindenwood; Dante Chachere, QB, Portland State; Jermaine Corbett, RB, Stonehill; Isaiah Davis, RB, South Dakota State; Jaaron Hayek, WR, Villanova; Jacob Herres, WR, Richmond; Geno Hess, RB, Southeast Missouri; Parker McKinney, QB, Eastern Kentucky; Jaleel McLaughlin, RB, Youngstown State; Lindsey Scott Jr., QB, UIW; Xavier Smith, WR, Florida A&M
FedEx Ground FCS National Defensive Player of the Week
Nathan East, Samford, LB, Grad, 6-2, 227, McCalla, Alabama
East filled the box score as Samford posted a 34-27 win at Furman in the Southern Conference, marking its best start to a season (4-1) since 2016. He paced the Bulldogs with 10 tackles, forced two fumbles as well as two incompletions with quarterback hurries and added a pass breakup. His second forced fumble came on an eight-yard sack, and a teammate recovered the ball on the Furman 8 to set up the Bulldogs offense for a quick touchdown.
Honorable Mention: Kelechi Anyalebechi, LB, UIW; Demetrias Charles, LB, Central Arkansas; Tory Hargrove, LB, Abilene Christian; Myles Heard, S, Stephen F. Austin; Jake Heimlicher, DL, Penn; Mikey Jarmolowich, DB, Colgate; Shaun Lewis, CB, UT Martin; A.T. Ntantang, DB, Lafayette; Jay Person, Edge, Chattanooga; John Tessmann, LB, Davidson; Justin Townsend, DE, Columbia; Zeke Vandenburgh, LB, Illinois State; Campbell Watson, LB, Presbyterian
FedEx Ground FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week
Jackson Kennedy, Cornell, PK, Jr., 5-11, 179, Aldie, Virginia
Kennedy’s first two career field goal attempts proved huge as Cornell won 34-31 at non-league rival Colgate in their 103rd all-time meeting. His 43-yarder in the third quarter deadlocked the game at 24, and a 45-yarder with 1:55 to play broke a 31-31 tie. He didn’t miss a kick, also converting four extra points while scoring 10 points.
Honorable Mention: Cameron Burt, P, Columbia; Ethan Chang, PK, William & Mary; Damashja Harris, KR, Lamar; Tyler Larco, PK/P, UT Martin; Sean Lehane, P, New Hampshire; Jihad McCall, ST, Morehead State; Kaleb Mosley, P, Tennessee State; Karon Prunty, DB, North Carolina A&T; Patrick Rohrbach, P, Montana; Kam Thomas, WR/PR, Austin Peay
FedEx Ground FCS National Freshman Player of the Week
Gevani McCoy, Idaho, QB, R-Fr., 6-0, 175, Baldwin Hills, California
McCoy completed 22 of 27 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns to help Idaho defeat Northern Colorado 55-35 in the Big Sky. McCoy added 18 rushing yards, setting career highs for completions, passing yards, TD passes and total offensive yards (316). With three straight victories, the Vandals are on their longest winning streak since claiming six in a row over the 2016 and ’17 seasons.
Honorable Mention: Ty Anderson, LB, Gardner-Webb; Avarion Cole, Rover, North Carolina A&T; Nathanial Eichner, PK, Alabama State; Kyle Parsons, RB/KR, Wofford; Fred Perry, S, Jacksonville State; Coleon Williams, DB, Delaware State
FedEx Ground FCS National Team of the Week
Stonehill (24-20 win over Duquesne)
The Division I-transitioning Skyhawks (3-0) won their inaugural Northeast Conference game following a 21-day layoff in their nine-game schedule. Junior running back Jermaine Corbett had 193 yards from scrimmage, scoring on a 50-yard reception on the second play of the fourth quarter to provide the winning touchdown. Linebacker Steve Cmielewski collected a career-high 11 tackles, while Kevin Porch and Anthony LaMonica had interceptions in the fourth quarter.
Honorable Mention: Campbell (48-18 win over North Carolina Central); Central Arkansas (49-20 win over Austin Peay); Holy Cross (30-21 win at Harvard); Montana State (41-24 win over UC Davis)