Opta Analyst’s FCS football coverage includes weekly national player and team honors throughout the regular season and will lead toward the annual season-ending FCS National Awards Banquet, scheduled for Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.
Tarleton State’s Kayvon Britten, Weber State’s Kemari Munier-Bailey, Austin Peay’s Romon Copeland Jr. and South Dakota State’s Kirby Vorhees were selected Monday as the Stats Perform FCS National Players of the Week for Week 4 college football games ending on Sept. 21.
In addition, Columbia was named the Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week.
The five honorees plus honorable mention selections for the FCS National Awards:
Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week
Kayvon Britten, Tarleton State, RB, Sr., 5-7, 195, Cincinnati
Britten carried the ball 21 times for a program-record 273 yards and four touchdowns as Tarleton State won at North Alabama 28-14 to open its United Athletic Conference schedule. He raced 96 yards to the UNA end zone in the second quarter for the longest run in the Texans’ five-year Division I history. With the game tied 14-14 in the third, he scored from 65 yards out.
Honorable Mention: Roland Dempster, RB, Stony Brook; Jacob Clark, QB, Missouri State; Paxton DeLaurent, QB, Southeast Missouri; Jacquez Jones, WR, Norfolk State; Zach Palmer-Smith, RB, Richmond; De’Andre Tamarez, WR, Western Carolina; Jarel Washington, RB, Stonehill; Dekalon Taylor, RB, UIW; Hudson Tucker, DL, Tennessee Tech
Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week
Kemari Munier-Bailey, Weber State, DE, Sr., 6-3, 230, Birmingham, England
The former Fresno State and Idaho player found a home in the Northwestern State backfield, posting six tackles for loss while his Big Sky squad posted a 39-0 shutout on the road. The plays totaled 25 yards in losses and included three sacks. He finished with eight tackles, including seven solos.
Honorable Mention: Kimal Clark, S, Central Connecticut State; Quincy Eutsay, DE, Brown; Jalen Jones, CB, William & Mary; TJ Moore, CB, Mercer; Jayden Patrick, DB, Lindenwood; Matt Spatny, DE, Lehigh; Mister Williams, LB, UIW
Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week
Romon Copeland Jr., Austin Peay, WR/Returns, Grad, 5-6, 153, Chesapeake, Virginia
The Hampton grad transfer accounted for 173 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns to help fuel Austin Peay’s first win, 59-16 over Alabama A&M. Copeland had three punt returns for 96 yards, including an 82-yarder for a TD, and a 56-yard kickoff return to set up a Governors possession that he capped with a TD catch. From scrimmage, he had a 7-yard run and two receptions for 14 yards.
Honorable Mention: TJ Cadden, WR/Returns, Bucknell; Cameron Gillis, PK, Florida A&M; Aaron Harris, KR, North Carolina A&T; Ryan Hawk, PK, Valparaiso; Brendan Kilpatrick, P, Youngstown State; Logan Seibert, PK, Lindenwood; Jackson Williams, WR/Returns, North Dakota State
Stats Perform FCS National Freshman Player of the Week
Kirby Vorhees, South Dakota State, RB, R-Fr., 5-11, 205, Lutz, Florida
In an incredible performance off the bench, Vorhees had five carries for 179 yards and three touchdowns in the top-ranked Jackrabbits’ 41-0 win at Southeastern Louisiana. His first three carries resulted in 20-, 22- and 80-yard scoring runs in the first half. He then added 39- and 18-yard runs for the two-time defending FCS champions to finish with an average of 35.8 yards per carry.
Honorable Mention: Keali’I Ah Yat, QB, Montana; Miequle Brock, RB, Nicholls; CharMar Brown, RB, North Dakota State; Payton Brown, RB, Southeast Missouri; TJ McGill, DB, William & Mary
Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week
Columbia (31-20 win over then-No. 18 Lafayette)
Picked last in the Ivy League preseason poll, the Lions never trailed against the Patriot League favorite while successfully kicking off the Jon Poppe coaching era. Chase Goodwin passed for a pair of touchdowns in the first half and Cole Freeman did the same in the second half, with Bryson Canty hauling in one score from each quarterback. Defensive back Hayden McDonald had 10 tackles.
Honorable Mention: ETSU (34-14 win at Elon); Grambling State (41-20 win over Jackson State); Monmouth (45-42 win at FIU); Hampton (27-20 win over Howard)
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