Johnson, Humphries lead FCS players of the week

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.

Categorized in: NCAA Football