This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Cam Miller of North Dakota State; S Todric McGee of Missouri State; RS Keyondray Jones-Logan of South Dakota; RB Ethan Wright of Youngstown State; and OL Blake Anderson of UNI.



Offensive Player of the Week
QB Cam Miller, North Dakota State
6-1, 212, Sr., Solon, Iowa (Solon HS)
Miller accounted for 358 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in North Dakota State’s 31-26 loss at Colorado. He went 18 of 22 passing for a career-high 277 yards and one touchdown, a 7-yard pass to tight end Joe Stoffel. Miller also led the Bison rushing attack with 16 carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns, including a 20-yard scramble to pull NDSU within five points with 2:19 to play.



Defensive Player of the Week
S Todric McGee, Missouri State
6-1, 205, Jr., Wichita, Kan. (Northwest HS)
McGee shone brightest on a night when Missouri State's defense held the defending national runners-up under 30 points for just the second time in the past nine games (South Dakota State). He logged a game-high 11 total tackles, including 3 solo stops for the Bears and also assisted on a tackles for loss. Six of his tackles on the night were first-down stops that prevented the Grizzlies from a first down or short second-down situation.



Special Teams Player of the Week
RS Keyondray Jones-Logan, South Dakota
5-7, 175, So., Orlando, Fla (Ocoee HS)
Jones-Logan started the game for USD off with a bang. After Northern State took the opening possession down for a field goal, Jones-Logan took the ensuing kickoff down the sideline for a 97-yard touchdown return. That score sparked 45 unanswered points for the Coyotes, going on to win 45-3 in their new black uniforms.  Early in the year, it sits as the longest kickoff return in the FCS.



Newcomer of the Week
RB Ethan Wright, Youngstown State
6-1, 208, Sr., Akron, Ohio (Manchester/Cincinnati)
A transfer from Cincinnati, Wright rushed for 63 yards on 12 carries in his YSU debut at No. 6 Villanova in a seven-point loss to the Wildcats.  He also caught three passes for 27 yards and finished with 90 all-purpose yards in the contest.



Offensive Lineman of the Week
OL Blake Anderson, UNI
R-Jr., Omaha, Nebraska
Anderson anchored an offensive line that helped create opportunities for the Panthers to rush for over 300 yards for the first time since 2016.  Anderson recorded an 87% grade with 2 plus blocks.


OTHERS CONSIDERED

QB Simon Romfo, UND -- Went 17-for-30 passing for 121 yards and surrendered one interception in the 21-3 loss at Iowa State. It was his first collegiate start at quarterback. He accounted for 165 yards of total offense, also picking up 44 yards rushing on 11 attempts.

QB DJ Williams, Southern Illinois -- rushed for 121 yards and 2 TDs in his SIU debut. Also passed for 98 yards against BYU.

WR Griffin Wilde, South Dakota State -- Wilde set career highs with seven catches and 150 receiving yards in South Dakota State's season opener Aug. 31 at Oklahoma State. Wilde capped his day with a 60-yard touchdown, while also hauling in passes of 21 and 33 yards to set up the Jackrabbits' first touchdown of the game.

RB Tye Edwards, UNI -- Finished the weekend with 174 rushing yards on 15 attempts and two touchdowns.  Edwards led a UNI rushing effort that recorded the fourth-most rushing yards in a single-game in the last 15 seasons.  It was Edwards' first multi-touchdown game with the Panthers.  The game also included the longest run of his career, a 54-yard touchdown run.

Charles Pierre Jr., USD -- Ran for a career-high 136 yards (13 carries) and tied his career-high with two rushing scores in the 45-3 season opening win over Northern State. It marked his third career 100-yard rushing game and his first 130+ yard rushing performance. He averaged a game-best 10.5 yards per carry, a mark that sits second-best in the Valley after the first weekend of football. In total, he accounted for 156 yards of offense, adding 20 receiving yards on two catches.

RB Jacardia Wright, Missouri State -- Posted a game-high 145 all-purpose yards in Missouri State's narrow loss at No. 3 Montana in the season opener in Missoula. He notched 76 rushing yards on 19 carries with a touchdown (4.0 ypc) and also banked a career-high six receptions for 69 yards.

DB Kavan Reed, Murray State -- Reed stood out for MSU at Mizzou. Reed was recently named to the Reese’s Senior Bowl watch list and In the week one matchup on Thursday night, he highlighted the Racers defense with five total tackles, including a tackle-for-loss and had a pass break up against the 11th ranked Tigers. 

LB Garret Ollendieck, Indiana State -- Picked up where he left off in the 2024 season as the Cresco, Iowa native recorded a game-high 14 tackles (13 solo) in the season opening game against Purdue. Ollendieck was constantly around the ball throughout the contest with three solo stops and a fumble recovery in the first quarter, four more solo tackles including one that ended a Purdue drive and forced a punt allowing Indiana State to attempt a field goal just before the half,  and seven more tackles throughout the second half in a complete game. Ollendieck’s fumble recovery in the first half came at the Sycamore 20-yard line and ended Purdue’s second drive of the game to keep it a 7-0 contest. His four stops in the second quarter drive forced the second scoreless drive. Ollendieck completed his seventh career double-digit tackle effort in the loss.

Dennis Shorter, South Dakota -- Was leading the charge for the South Dakota secondary that allowed just 60 passing yards on the night, while also being part of a defense that held Northern State to just 207 total yards of offense in the commanding 45-3 win to open the season on the new turf inside the DakotaDome. Shorter himself recorded five tackles and picked up his first interception of the season, just his second pick of his career. 

LB Colin Bohanek, Southern Illinois -- had 12 tackles and a 1/2 sack at BYU for the Salukis.

PK Yousef Obeid, Missouri State -- Was perfect on four kicking plays in Saturday's narrow loss at No. 3 Montana, including a 33-yard field goal in the first half and 3-of-3 extra points. The Michigan State transfer also averaged 59.8 yards on five kickoffs (including one sky kick) with a touchback.

P Kaedin Steindorf, North Dakota State -- Booted punts of 58, 52 and 52 yards for a career-high 54.0 average per punt in North Dakota State’s 31-26 loss at Colorado. NDSU downed punts at the Colorado 2 and 28 with one touchback. Combined with Eli Ozick’s six kickoffs for touchbacks, the Bison kept the Buffaloes without a return attempt in the game.

K/P Paul Geelen, Southern Illinois -- Averaged 45.7 yards per punt with a long of 65 at BYU.

P Brendon Kilpatrick, Youngstown State -- Averaged 55 yards on two punts. He boomed a career-best 65-yarder against the Wildcats. Both of his punts were inside the 20-yard line.

CB Thomas Anderson, Missouri state -- The UNLV transfer recovered a muffed punt in the first quarter, which led to a Bears touchdown eight plays later in a momentum-shifting moment in Saturday's game at Montana.