Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – When the 2014 season started up for the
Sam Houston State Bearkats, it was about the “dawn of a new era” as any program
could possibly get.
The Southland Conference Bearkats had experienced some serious player turnover
to all three major offensive skills positions. No more Brian Bell under center,
no more All-American Timothy Flanders coming out of the backfield and no more
Richard Sincere to which the quarterback could feed the ball.
Oh, and no more Willie Fritz patrolling the sidelines.
The team had a rough first four weeks, limping to a 1-3 record with a 26-point
defeat at the hands of Division II Colorado State-Pueblo. But in the last two
weeks, the Bearkats have been ascending the latter once again, and now are
ranked 24th in the nation.
Quarterback Jared Johnson has been relatively up and down after taking over as
Bell’s replacement, but the sophomore was on fire this past Saturday at home
against then-No. 5 ranked McNeese State.
Johnson accounted for 382 yards of offense and had a total of four touchdowns
in the team’s 38-22 win over the Cowboys. Johnson set the Sam Houston State
single-game record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 190, adding a pair
of scores on the ground that went for 73 and 67 yards. He threw for 193 yards
and two more touchdowns, helping his Bearkats build a 35-7 lead through the
first three quarters.
Sam Houston State, despite the rough start to the season, has won 11
consecutive home conference games and is back in the nation’s Top 25. The
result against McNeese State is an example of what Johnson, new coach K.C.
Keeler and the Bearkats can do when firing on all cylinders.
Johnson, Murray State’s K.D. Humphries, James Madison’s Brandon Lee, Penn’s
Jimmy Gammill, South Dakota State’s Jake Wieneke and The Citadel’s Cam Jackson
have all been named FCS national players of the week following Week 7 action of
the college football season.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Jared Johnson, Sam Houston State, QB, So., 6-1, 215, Grand Prairie, Texas
Johnson showed that he can be a big-play threat this season when his team
opened the college football campaign at Eastern Washington back on Aug. 23.
Back then, he ripped off a 53-yard touchdown run and connected on several
scoring passes. He topped those numbers with 73- and 67-yard touchdown runs
Saturday against McNeese State. The sophomore quarterback orchestrated scoring
drives of 75, 69, 76, 55 and 75 yards in the win, and led the offense with 382
yards of total offense.
K.D. Humphries, Murray State, QB, So., 6-3, 225, Montgomery, Alabama
Humphries was sensational in leading the Racers over then-No. 23 ranked and
Ohio Valley Conference rival Southeast Missouri State in a two-overtime effort.
Humphries completed 21-of-36 pass attempts in the game for 297 yards and six
touchdowns. He spread the ball beautifully and registered at least one
touchdown pass in each quarter of the game as well as the first overtime
period. His 13-yard scoring connection with 46 seconds remaining in
the game allowed Murray State to knot the score against the Redhawks and send
the game to overtime. Humphries has been named the OVC Offensive Player of the
Week for two straight weeks.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Brandon Lee, James Madison, DL, R-Sr., 6-2, 268, Sterling, Virginia
James Madison absolutely demolished last season’s national runner-up Towson,
62-7, in a CAA Football matchup. The Dukes defense was anchored by the lineman
Lee, who registered five tackles with three going for a loss, including two
sacks. He added a pass breakup to his stat line for the day. But what stood out
more for Lee was he three forced fumbles in the win – two of which resulted in
Towson turnovers. Lee’s second forced fumble was picked up by teammate Rhakeem
Stallings and returned for a second-quarter touchdown.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Jimmy Gammill, Penn, K/P, Jr., 6-1, 180, New Albany, Ohio
Although his Quakers fell to Fordham over the weekend, the Ivy League kicker
from Penn had a career day. Gammill set a single-game school record by
connecting on all five of his field goal attempts in the 60-22 defeat, with a
long that made it through from 48 yards – the longest for a Penn kicker since
the 2004 season. He added an extra point for a total of 16 points, which tied a
school kicking record. The five field goals also tied for the second-most in a
game in Ivy League history, and the 16 single-game points tied for the fourth-
most ever in an Ivy contest.
CO-FRESHMEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Jake Wieneke, South Dakota State, WR, Fr., 6-4, 205, Maple Grove, Minnesota
Wieneke has provided the Jackrabbits with a safe offensive outlet should the
team want to give star running back Zach Zenner a break every now and then.
Wieneke, who boasts a huge frame (6-foot-4), has three 100-yard receiving
performances this season after his biggest performance. The freshman recorded
career highs in receptions (eight), yards (183) and touchdowns (three) as the
Jackrabbits took down fellow Missouri Valley Conference program Missouri State,
32-28. His touchdown catches covered 78, 10 and 26 yards, and his receiving
yardage was the sixth-most in program history.
Cam Jackson, The Citadel, QB/RB. Fr., 6-2, 195, Mobile, Alabama
Jackson had a monster outing as The Citadel took down Charlotte in a non-
conference clash, 63-56, in double overtime. The freshman from the Southern
Conference racked up 243 all-purpose yards in the contest, and did so using
every possible means. Jackson, who is a converted quarterback, ran the ball 12
times for 118 yards with a pair of touchdowns, caught four passes for 49 yards
and returned four kickoffs for 76 yards. His two rushing scores came on 10- and
9-yard dashes in the first quarter.
