Bryant’s Zevi Eckhaus, Abilene Christian’s Cirby Coheley, Northern Iowa’s Matthew Cook and Idaho’s Jack Layne were selected Monday as the FedEx Ground FCS National Players of the Week for Week 12 college football games ending on Saturday.
In addition, Drake was named the FCS National Team of the Week.
The five honorees plus honorable mention selections:
FedEx Ground FCS National Offensive Player of the Week
Zevi Eckhaus, Bryant, QB, Jr., 6-1, 205, Culver City, California
Eckhaus matched Bryant records for touchdown passes in a game (six) and a season (28) and became the program’s all-time leader (75) while fueling the Bulldogs past Southeast Missouri 45-21 in the Big South-OVC Football Association. He completed 22 of 28 attempts for 394 yards, with one interception. In Bryant’s final four games, Eckhaus averaged 359.3 passing yards and threw 18 TD passes.
Honorable Mention: Zach Calzada, QB, UIW; Donovan Eaglin, RB, Alabama A&M; Damian Harris, WR, Bucknell; Jadon Janke, WR, South Dakota State; Pat McQuaide, LB, Nicholls; Hunter Rice, RB, VMI; Davius Richard, QB, North Carolina Central; Jay Stanton, RB, Samford
FedEx Ground FCS National Defensive Player of the Week
Cirby Coheley, Abilene Christian, LB, Jr., 6-4, 220, Iowa Park, Texas
Coheley’s 51-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first two minutes set the tone for his outstanding performance in Abilene Christian’s 38-10 loss at Texas A&M. He also posted a career-high 13 tackles, including eight solos, had three sacks for 20 yards in losses, and was in for two quarterback hurries. His United Athletic Conference squad trailed its SEC opponent by only 24-10 with 5½ minutes left.
Honorable Mention: Teddye Buchanan, LB, UC Davis; Micah Davey, LB, McNeese; Jacob Dobbs, LB, Holy Cross; Evan Eller, LB, VMI; Terreance Ellis, LB, Alcorn State; Nasir Hill, S, Princeton; Brendan Jackson, LB, Gardner-Webb; Sam Murphy, LB, Stonehill; Brooks Russ-Martin, DB, Presbyterian; Jordan Toles, DB, Morgan State; Joseph Vaughn, DE, Yale
FedEx Ground FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week
Matthew Cook, Northern Iowa, PK, Sr., 5-11, 199, Cedar Falls, Iowa
UNI’s hometown product capped a remarkable career in a 48-27 loss to North Dakota State, kicking two field goals (30 and 26 yards) to give him 86 overall – the second-most in FCS history – and three extra points to make him 155-for-155 overall – the highest perfect mark in subdivision history. Over 56 games, Cook scored 413 points, the second-most in Missouri Valley Football Conference history (three shy of the record).
Honorable Mention: Austin Dunlap, PK, Southeastern Louisiana; Shane Dunning, PK/P, Drake; Hunter Green, PK/P, Northern Colorado; Will Leyland, PK, South Dakota; Myles Thomason, PR/RB, New Hampshire; Michael Worthham, KR, Eastern Washington
FedEx Ground FCS National Freshman Player of the Week
Jack Layne, Idaho, QB, R-Fr., 6-2, 200, Lake Oswego, Oregon
Making his second career start – both against Idaho State – Layne tied the Idaho program record with six touchdown passes in a 63-21, Big Sky triumph. He completed 20 of 26 attempts for 275 yards, with his six TD passes standing alone as the most by a Vandal in a non-overtime game. Layne also carried the ball nine times for 33 yards, giving him 308 yards of total offense.
Honorable Mention: Marquis Buchanan, WR, Rhode Island; Angel Flores, QB, Northern Arizona; MJ Flowers, RB, Eastern Illinois; Luke Hansen, RB, Dayton; Jayvon Henderson, DB, ETSU; Ronnel Johnson, WR, Stetson; Richie Munoz, QB, Weber State; Brandon Tyson, LB, Elon
FedEx Ground FCS National Team of the Week
Drake (13-9 win at Butler)
Drake (8-3, 8-0) completed a perfect run through the Pioneer Football League to secure its first FCS playoff bid. Dorian Boyland’s go-ahead, two-yard touchdown run with 2:43 left was the difference for the Bulldogs’ first outright league title since 2004. Incredibly, coach Todd Stepsis’ team has gone directly from a 10-game losing streak in the PFL (over the 2021 and ’22 seasons) to an 11-game league winning streak (including eight wins by seven points or less).
Honorable Mention: Duquense (26-14 win at Merrimack); Eastern Illinois (28-14 win at Robert Morris); Montana (37-7 win over then-No. 4 Montana State); Villanova (35-7 win at then-No. 7 Delaware); Wofford (19-13 win over then-No. 2 Furman)
