UTSA SWEEPS C-USA POTW HONORS
DALLAS – UTSA came back late to knock off UAB in thrilling fashion, keeping their undefeated season intact to win the Conference USA’s West Division. Following their win the Roadrunners have swept this week’s Conference USA Player of the Week awards. After a standout performance where he completed 25-36 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns in a division-clinching win over UAB, UTSA QB Frank Harris was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week. UTSA LB Clarence Hicks took home Defensive Player of the Week honors following his impactful play on Saturday, as he recorded three tackles-for-loss, and a pair of sacks. UTSA K Hunter Duplessis was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time this season, after he made a pair of long field goals (49 and 51 yards), while also making all four extra points in the Roadrunners’ win over UAB. The 2021 C-USA Players of the Week awards are presented by Surf & Turf Golf and are voted on by a panel of the league’s media.
Harris threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns to help lead CFP No. 22 UTSA to a 34-31 win over UAB and clinch the Conference USA West Division title on Saturday at the Alamodome. The senior quarterback completed 25-36 passes (69.4%) to help the Roadrunners improve to 11-0 overall and 7-0 in the league with their 10th-straight conference victory. Trailing 31-27 with 1:06 left to play and no timeouts, the Schertz Clemens High School product directed UTSA on a 77-yard drive that culminated in the game-winning score, a 1-yard touchdown pass to TE Oscar Cardenas that followed a bobbled snap and a tipped ball in the back of the end zone with three seconds left to play. Harris also completed a 28-yard pass to Cardenas and a 33-yard pass to WR De’Corian Clark on the final possession to help set up the go-ahead touchdown. Harris’ three touchdown passes helped him break UTSA’s single-season record, as the Davey O’Brien Award and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award semifinalist now has 23 scoring tosses to rank 17th in the FBS.
Hicks recorded three tackles-for-loss and a pair of sacks in the 34-31 win over UAB. The outside linebacker made all three of his stops behind the line of scrimmage on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter, helping the Roadrunners run their school-record winning streak to 11 games with their 10th-straight league victory. He posted both of his sacks of UAB quarterback Dylan Hopkins on a drive early in the final frame to help force a punt. He then dropped Hopkins for a 7-yard loss on a zone-read play on the Blazers’ next drive for his third tackle-for-loss of the day. The Pensacola, Florida, native now leads the Roadrunners with 14 tackles-for-loss and eight sacks, marks that each rank second on the program’s single-season list. Hicks leads C-USA with 0.73 sacks per game and he stands second in the league and 15th nationally with 1.3 tackles-for-loss per contest.
Duplessis drilled a pair of long field goals and all four extra points on Saturday. The senior kicker tied his career long with a 51-yard field goal in the second quarter and then gave UTSA its first lead of the day with a 49-yarder late in the third stanza. His extra point after the go-ahead touchdown reception by Oscar Cardenas provided the final three-point margin. The San Antonio native also broke UTSA’s single-season field goals record with his two makes, pushing his 2021 total to 20, which ranks first in the conference and fifth nationally. His four extra points pushed his program-record tally to 51 on the year.
2021 WINNERS
Offensive Player of the Week – Aug. 30 – WR Jacob Cowing, UTEP, Sept. 6 – QB Chris Reynolds, Charlotte, Sept. 13 – QB Bailey Zappe, WKU and QB N’Kosi Perry, Florida Atlantic, Sept. 20 – TE Gerrit Prince, UAB, Sept. 27 – QB Chris Reynolds, Charlotte, Oct. 4 – QB Bailey Zappe, WKU, Oct. 11 – QB Frank Harris, UTSA, Oct 18 – WR Jerreth Sterns, WKU, Oct. 25 – QB Wiley Green, Rice, Nov. 1 – QB Bailey Zappe, WKU, Nov. 8 – RB DeWayne McBride, UAB, Nov. 15 – QB Bailey Zappe, WKU, Nov. 22 – QB Frank Harris, UTSA
Defensive Player of the Week – Aug. 30 – S Dy’Vonne Inyang, UTEP, Sept. 6 – LB Eli Neal, Marshall, Sept. 13 – DB BeeJay Williamson, Louisiana Tech, Sept. 20 – DL Trumane Bell II, UTSA, Sept. 27 – LB Clarence Hicks, UTSA and S A.J. Brathwaite, Jr., WKU, Oct. 4 – S Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee, Oct. 11 – DE Alex Wright, UAB, Oct. 18 – DE Jadrian Taylor, UTEP, Oct. 25 – S Gabe Taylor, Rice, Nov. 1 – LB DQ Thomas, Middle Tennessee, Nov. 8 – DB Beanie Bishop, WKU, Nov. 15 – LB Jason Henderson, Old Dominion, Nov. 22 – LB Clarence Hicks, UTSA
Special Teams Player of the Week – Aug. 30 – K Gavin Baechle, UTEP, Sept. 6 – K Hunter Duplessis, UTSA, Sept. 13 – PR Sheldon Jones, UTSA, Sept. 20 – P Kyle Greenwell, UAB, Sept. 27 – K Hunter Duplessis, UTSA, Oct. 4 – KR Camron Harrell, Southern Miss, Oct. 11 – KR Shadrick Byrd, Charlotte, Oct. 18 – S Grayson Cash, Oct. 25 – K Brayden Narveson, WKU, Nov. 1 – K Nick Rice, Old Dominion, Nov. 8 – KR Jayden Harrison, Marshall, Nov. 15 – S R’Tarriun Johnson, Old Dominion, Nov. 22 – K Hunter Duplessis, UTSA
-ConferenceUSA.com-
