This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Nic Baker of Southern Illinois; S PJ Jules of Southern Illinois; PR/S Tucker Large of South Dakota State; TB Tyshon King of Youngstown State; and C Chase Arends of UNI.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
QB Nic Baker, Southern Illinois
Sr., 5-9, 202, Rochester, Ill. (Rochester HS)
Baker led SIU to a 26-25 comeback win at No. 13 SEMO. Trailing 15-0 at halftime, Baker passed for 408 yards in the second half — a school record for a half. On the day, he completed 35-of-51 passes for 462 yards and three touchdowns. Three times in the fourth quarter, he converted fourth-down plays, none bigger than the nine-yard touchdown pass to Izaiah Hartrup that won the game with 11 seconds left.  He had league single-game bests for passing yards and total offense, and his 3-TD game trails only SDSU's Mark Gronowski's 5-TD passing game (also from this past weekend).
 


Defensive Player of the Week
PJ Jules, Southern Illinois
Sr., 6-1, 209, Orlando, Fla. (Jones HS)
Jules had a career-high 15 tackles, including a half-tackle for loss. He also had 3 more PBUs, which gives him six in the last two games and moves him up to No. 5 all-time at SIU. Salukis held SEMO to 86 yards rushing, the third-straight game the defense has held an opponent under 100 yards.  His 15 tackles match the best by a league player in a game this year.  Jules 6 PBUs leads the MVFC this year.


 
Special Teams Player of the Week
PR/S Tucker Large, South Dakota State
So., 5-10, 180, Sioux Falls, S.D. (Roosevelt HS)
Large flipped the field several times in South Dakota State's favor, racking up what is believed to be a single-game school record with 149 yards on four punt returns in the Jackrabbits' 70-7 victory over Drake on Sept. 16 at Target Field in Minneapolis. Large notched returns of 42 and 33 yards in the first quarter, followed by returns of 19 and 61 yards in the second stanza.  His 149-yard punt return day is nearly three times more than the best single-game performance by a league player this year.


 
Newcomer of the Week
TB Tyshon King, Youngstown State
Sr., 5-11, 210, Kankakee, Ill. (Northern Michigan/Bishop McNamara HS)
King scored a career-high three rushing touchdowns as the Penguins defeated Robert Morris, 48-28, on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium. King rushed for 117 yards on 12 carries and scored on runs of 32, 18 and 14 against the Colonials. It was his second 100-yard rushing game in three games as a Penguin.  The three TDs in a game are tied for the most by an MVFC school this year.




Offensive Lineman of the Week
OC Chase Arends, UNI
R-Sr., 6-1, 274, Cedar Falls, Iowa (Dike-New Hartford HS)
Arends (#61) played a critical role in helping the Panther offense find its rhythm after a slow start to the season as UNI clicked on all cylinders in its 41-17 win at Idaho State. With Arends playing center, the Panthers racked up 527 total yards of offense, including career-best 388 yards through the air from quarterback Theo Day, who connected with receiver Sam Schnee twice in the endzone with a career-high 174 receiving yards. UNI's protection up front allowed zero sacks on Day, and also opened up the Panther running game for a season-high 139 rushing yards, including a career-best 69 yards from running back Josh Jenkins. 

OTHERS NOMINATED -- 

WR Sam Schnee, UNI -- Schnee posted a career day in the Panthers' 41-17 victory at Idaho State, setting new single-game career-highs in receiving yards (174) and touchdowns (2) while also matching his career-best with seven catches. The Dubuque, Iowa native pulled in 142 yards in the first half alone, one yard short of his career-high watermark at the break and caught a season-long 54-yard scoring reception from quarterback Theo Day in the first quarter, UNI's longest play from scrimmage this season. Schnee leads the MVFC and ranks seventh nationally with 305 receiving yards on the season, complemented by three touchdowns and an average of 101.6 yards per game.

QB Mark Gronowski, South Dakota State -- Gronowski accounted for a career-high six touchdowns, including a career-best five touchdown passes in South Dakota State's 70-7 victory over Drake on Sept. 16 at Target Field in Minneapolis. He finished the afternoon 18-of-25 passing for 226 yards while throwing touchdown passes to five different receivers. In addition, he ran three times for 19 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown.  Gronowski went over the 5,000-yard mark for passing in his career during the game and has now passed and rushed for a touchdown in eight consecutive games dating back to last season.

QB Cam Miller, North Dakota State -- Miller completed 18 of 19 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns in North Dakota State’s 49-31 home win over Central Arkansas. He connected with 11 different receivers and added two rushing touchdowns for the Bison. Miller has an 80.6 completion percentage in three starts with four TDs and zero interceptions. His 94.7% against Central Arkansas was an NDSU single-game record for passers with more than 10 attempts.

QB Mitch Davidson, Youngstown State -- Davidson passed for a career-high 339 yards and added 42 more on the ground as YSU picked up a 48-28 win over Robert Morris on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium. Davidson completed 21-of-25 passes for 339 yards and a touchdown while carrying the ball five times for 42 yards and a score. The 339 yards were the ninth most in a game in school history by a YSU quarterback.

RB Nate Thomas, South Dakota -- in South Dakota’s 35-6 win against Lamar Saturday inside the DakotaDome. Scored on a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter and 2-yard dart in the fourth. Recorded his third career 100-yard effort.

RB Cortezz Jones, Murray State -- Jones broke free for a career night on the ground against FBS foe Middle Tennessee, picking up 136 yards rushing and another 31 yards receiving for 167 all-purpose yards to go with a three-yard burst for his second touchdown of the season. The Racers tailback picked up an exceptional 9.1 yards per carry against the Blue Raiders, highlighted by a 55-yard scamper for the Racers longest run of the season. The game included career-highs in both carries and yards for the redshirt junior as he paced the Murray State offense to its second 200+ yard rushing performance in just three games. Jones paces the running backs unit with 167 yards this season on just 23 attempts (7.3 YPC). 

WR Jay Parker, Western Illinois -- Parker had 10 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. It was the most catches for a Western Illinois receiver since Dennis Houstons's 14-catch effort  vs. SOuth Dakota State in 2021. The yardage was the most for a WIU receiver since Naseim Brantley's 172 yards against UT-Martin in Week 1 of last year

DL Cordarrius Bailey, UNI -- Bailey was a game wrecker for the Panther defense in UNI's 41-17 win at Idaho State, racking up a career-high three sacks for 14 lost yards to help the Panthers secure their first win of the season. After UNI failed to record a sack in its first two games against Iowa State and Weber State, Bailey led a defense that sacked Bengals' quarterback Jordan Cooke four times, forced one fumble, one interception and three pass breakups. Bailey is the first Panther with a three sack game since Elerson Smith did so against Idaho State in 2019.

OLB Brendan Webb, South Dakota -- Became the first Coyote at the Division I level and first since 2007 to record 3.5 sacks in one game. Totaled five tackles in all. Accounted for 23 yards of loss in a 35-6 win against Lamar. The Cardinals failed to reach the end zone for the first time this season and totaled 274 yards in all.

S Maddix Blackwell, Indiana State -- Blackwell turned in his second double-digit tackling performance of 2023 as the sophomore safety led all players with tackles for the third consecutive game. The Bloomington, Ind. native has continued to find the ball on the year in posting a career-high 12 stops including a tackle-for-loss against the Cardinals. He was active in the turnover game for the third consecutive week recording a fumble recovery in Ball State territory to set up a short field for the Sycamores in the second quarter. Blackwell leads ISU with 32 tackles (10.7 per game) and has added 1.5 tackles-for-loss on the year.

FS Kanyon Walker, Murray State -- Walker shined bright for the Murray State defense in week three as he led the team with 10 tackles including seven of the solo variety. The safety has been one of the most impressive additions to the Murray State roster this season, ranking second on the team with 18 tackles and one tackle for loss across the three games for the Racers thus far. 

LB Amir Abdullah, Illinois State -- Abdullah continued his strong play to start the season for Illinois State, as he shined for the Redbird defense against Eastern Illinois. The junior from Chicago recorded seven tackles (five solo), 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss while also forcing a fumble for the Redbirds against the Panthers. Abdullah now leads the team with 5.5 sacks on the year.

KR Eli Green, North Dakota State -- Green had 171 all-purpose yards in North Dakota State’s 49-31 home win over Central Arkansas. Green averaged 22.7 yards per kick return with 68 yards on the first three returns of his career. His returns of 18, 29 and 21 yards sparked three touchdown drives for NDSU. Green also had a career-high four receptions and 86 yards with all four catches going for first downs including a long of 35 yards.

WR Daryan Bowling, Youngstown State -- Bowling got his hands on two punts against Robert Morris as the Penguins rolled at home.

QB Matt Morrissey, Western Illinois -- Went 26-of-42 for 392 yards and three TDs and he also ran for a TD on Saturday vs. Lindenwood. In three games, Morrissey has not thrown an interception.  Morrissey's yardage was the most for a WIU quarterback since Connor Sampson threw for 449 yards vs. Indiana State in 2021. 

DB Corry Thomas Jr., UNI -- In just his third game as a Panther, Corry Thomas Jr. tallied six total tackles (three solo) and a pass breakup in UNI's 41-17 win at Idaho State. He also recovered a fumble that was forced by teammate Tate Sander, which ultimately set up UNI's first touchdown of the game. The fumble recovery was the second of Thomas' career after playing three seasons at Eastern Michigan. Thomas is currently tied for fourth on the Panther roster with 16 tackles this season

WR Vinson Davis, Southern Illinois -- Charleston Southern transfer WR Vinson Davis had 8 catches for 126 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown in the second half as SIU rallied from a 15-0 deficit to beat No. 13 SEMO, 26-25. He also returned three kickoffs for 64 yards.

QB Elijah Owens, Indiana State -- Owens became the first true freshman quarterback to start a game since 2014 as the Jacksonville, Ill. native made his Indiana State debut on Saturday afternoon at Ball State. Owens went 9-of-21 through the air for 157 yards and a touchdown, while adding 17 rushing yards to lead the Sycamore offense to new season-highs in passing (157), rushing (104), and total offensive yards (261). Owens completed his first collegiate pass, a 10-yard out to Dakota Caton as the Sycamores picked up a pair of first downs on the opening drive. He later connected on a 49-yard touchdown pass to Caton in the third quarter to highlight his afternoon.

OG Chase Evans, Southern Illinois -- Ggraded out at 91 percent on assignments with five knockdowns. Offense had 543 total yards, 51 pass attempts with no sacks allowed.