Big South Announces Football Players of the Week - Oct. 4
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Kennesaw State quarterback Xavier Shepherd (Nashville, Tenn.) has been named the Big South Football Offensive Player of the Week, while Campbell defensive back Darion Slade (Winston-Salem, N.C.) is the Defensive Player of the Week for games played during Week 5 of the 2021 season. North Carolina A&T kicker Andrew Brown (Lexington, N.C.) is the Special Teams Player of the Week, and Monmouth wide receiver Dymere Miller (Coatesville, Pa.) is the Freshman of the Week.
Shepherd rushed for a career-high 124 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Owls to a 31-6 victory over nationally-ranked Jacksonville State. He also completed 5-of-6 passes for 72 yards to finish the day with 196 yards of offense. Shepherd’s first rushing TD was from 16-yards out that put KSU ahead, 14-0. He also had runs of 15 and 11 yards, had four pass completions of at least 13 yards with a long of 22, and added TD runs of 2- and 1-yards while directing an offense that had possession for 37:19 of the game.
Slade tallied a game-high 11 tackles (3 solo, 8 assisted), including 1.0 stop for loss to go along with a pass break-up and key 25-yard fumble return for a touchdown in Campbell’s 48-31 come-from-behind victory at North Alabama. He assisted on back-to-back tackles for loss to close the first quarter -- including a touchdown saving stop on third down to force a UNA field goal. Slade had seven tackles in the first quarter alone, while his defensive score in the third quarter pushed Campbell’s lead to 34-24 on the ensuing possession after the Camels took a 28-24 lead.
For the second-straight week, Brown was perfect on all seven placekicks (5-of-5 PAT, 2-of-2 field goals) and tallied 11 points in the Aggies’ 41-14 Big South-opening win over Robert Morris. He scored North Carolina A&T’s first points in a Big South game with a 35-yard field goal to put the Aggies ahead, 3-0 in the first quarter. Brown’s 20-yard conversion at 6:16 of the second quarter pushed A&T’s lead to 13-0.
Miller caught three passes for a career-high 106 yards in Monmouth’s 54-17 Big South win over Gardner-Webb. He broke through for a 38-yard score for his first career TD early in the third quarter that put the game out of reach. Miller also had receptions of 33 and 35 yards.
Also nominated for Offensive Player of the Week: Caleb Snead (Campbell), Lonnie Moore IV (Monmouth) and Jalen Fowler (North Carolina A&T).
Also nominated for Defensive Player of the Week: Evan Thompson (Kennesaw State), Nick Shoemaker (Monmouth) and Jermaine McDaniel (North Carolina A&T).
Also nominated for Special Teams Player of the Week: Joe Johnson (Campbell) and Desmond Scott (Kennesaw State).
Also nominated for Freshman of the Week: RJ Jackson (Campbell) and Elijah Bowick (North Carolina A&T).