The Citadel gains FCS national honors with 'Dee'-fense

By foxsports
Published

(STATS) - The Citadel defense is appropriately led by a player named "Dee."

Cornerback Devonta "Dee" Delaney was the Southern Conference's defensive player of the month for September and has rolled that excellence into October. The redshirt sophomore was all over the field Saturday as The Citadel won at Samford to improve to 3-0 in league play for the first time since 1992. It shares first place with fifth-ranked Chattanooga, the two-time defending champion.

Delaney, Prairie View A&M's Johnta' Hebert, Monmouth's Matt White and San Diego's Anthony Lawrence have been named the STATS FCS National Players of the Week for games played Oct. 15-17.

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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK=

Johnta' Hebert, Prairie View A&M, RB/KR, R-Sr., 5-10, 195, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Last year's FCS leader in all-purpose yards per game is back at the top of the chart. He posted his career-best performance while playing in his hometown, racking up 398 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns as Prairie View A&M won at Southern 47-42 in a SWAC matchup. Hebert carried the ball 17 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns, caught 10 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns, and returned five kickoffs for 114 yards. It was the 18th-highest total of all-purpose yards in an FCS game, and the most since North Dakota's Greg Hardin had 410 against Montana in 2012. Hebert is averaging 219 all-purpose yards per game.

Honorable Mention: David Jones, RB, Portland State, and Cooper Kupp, WR/PR, Eastern Washington

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DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK=

Devonta "Dee" Delaney, The Citadel, CB, R-So., 6-1, 191, Beaufort, South Carolina

A former wide receiver in high school, "Dee" still has a knack for the ball. He helped lead The Citadel past Samford 44-25 in a Southern Conference tilt by collecting a career-high 10 tackles, including eight solos; returning a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown; forcing another fumble that was recovered by the Bulldogs; breaking up two passes; and recording his fifth interception of the season, tying him for the FCS lead. The INT gave him seven picks in just 18 career games.

Honorable Mention: John Boston, S, Florida A&M, and Connor Golden, S, Bucknell

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SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK=

Matt White, Monmouth, PK/P, So., 6-1, 185, Gibsonia, Pennsylvania

White kicked down the door to Monmouth's first-ever victory over a ranked team. He connected on a 35-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime against No. 22 Liberty, then split the uprights with a 37-yarder to end the extra session and give the Hawks a 20-17 Big South Conference win. He also had seven punts for a 36.6-yard average - placing three inside Liberty's 20-yard line - with a long of 54 yards.

Honorable Mention: Miles Bergner, PK/P, South Dakota

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FRESHMAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK=

Anthony Lawrence, San Diego, QB, R-Freshman, 6-1, 190, La Mesa, California

In a key Pioneer Football League game, Lawrence registered his first 300-yard passing performance to lead San Diego past Drake, 27-0. Facing what has been one of the better PFL defenses in recent years, Lawrence completed 22-of-33 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns. He threw a 16-yard TD pass to Jereke Armstrong as the first quarter ended and added a 62-yard score to Armstrong late in the third quarter. The scoring strikes raised his rookie season total to 12.

Honorable Mention: Christian Pearson, WR, Penn