Four players from state schools won player of the week honors in their conference, and Samford was selected as the national team of the week after remaining on top of the Sun Belt Conference standings with a win at Chattanooga.
UAB earned a pair of Conference USA awards with running back DeWayne McBride winning offensive player of the week and cornerback Devodric Bynum winning defensive player of the week. Troy linebacker Carlton Martial was honored as the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Samford quarterback Michael Hiers was selected as the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week and the Bulldogs were named team of the week by FCS Stats Perform and Athlon Sports.
McBride was honored for the second time this season. The other came when he rushed for 223 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Georgia Southern. On Saturday, he rushed for three touchdowns, giving him 17 touchdowns for the season, to become the single-season holder for rushing touchdowns at UAB. He rushed for 120 yards, marking the 10th consecutive game that he’s rushed for at least 100 yards. He currently leads the nation in rushing yards per game (156.3) and carries of 20-plus yards (17) and is second in total rushing yards (1,407) and rushing touchdowns.
Bynum sacked the quarterback and forced a fumble on the third play of the game, setting up the first touchdown. The senior cornerback had eight tackles, two tackles for loss and two pass breakups, in addition to the forced fumble and sack.
Hiers was selected as the SoCon offensive player of the week for the fifth time this season. He threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another in the win at Chattanooga. Hiers currently leads all Division I passers with a 76.7 completion percentage. The Birmingham native ranks Top 10 nationally in FCS in completions per game (28.6/2nd), passing efficiency (166.4/7th), passing touchdowns (31/3rd), passing yards (2,836/7th), passing yards per game (283.6/7th), points responsible for (198/5th), points responsible per game (19.8/5th) and total offense (295.3/8th).
Martial earned his award for the second consecutive week and fourth time this season. He was honored after collecting 22 tackles in a 10-9 win over Army and becoming the NCAA leader in career tackles. Army, which is second in the country in rushing yards per game, had just 79 yards on the ground in the second half at Troy.
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