IRVING, Texas – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of the league’s weekly football honors for the week-ending Sept. 23.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Byrum Brown • RFr. • QB • South Florida
Brown passed for a career-high 435 yards and completed 22 of 29 attempts with two touchdowns to lead South Florida to a 42-29 win against Rice in both teams’ American Athletic Conference opener. Brown added a team-high 82 rushing yards with a TD on the ground to finish with 517 yards of total offense, the most of any NCAA FBS player in a game in the 2023 season Brown leads all FBS quarterbacks with 350 rushing yards this season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kendarin Ray • Sr. • S • Tulsa
Ray had a team-high 10 tackles and came up with a game-clinching interception to lead Tulsa to a 22-14 win at Northern Illinois. He made a pivotal tackle on a fourth-and-1 play from the NIU 28-yard line that allowed Tulsa to get a key field goal, while his interception came at the Tulsa 21 with 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Ray, who leads The American with 38 tackles, registered his third game this season with at least 10 stops.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Grant Gonya • Sr. • P • Charlotte
A transfer from Division III John Carroll, Gonya averaged 48.5 yards on six punts in Charlotte’s 22-7 loss at No. 25 Florida. Gonya hit two punts of least 50 yards, with a long of 60, and pinned the Gators inside their own 20-yard line twice. Gonya is ranked second among American Athletic Conference punters with a 45.7-yard average in 2023.
HONOR ROLL
Amare Thomas • Fr. • WR • UAB
Had a game-high nine receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown in a 49-21 loss at No. 1 Georgia.
Eyabi Okie-Anoma • Gr. • DE • Charlotte
Had eight tackles with a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in a 22-7 loss at No. 25 Florida.
Tanner Gillis • Jr. • P/K • Memphis
Scored nine points, going 2-for-2 on field goals (43, 22) in his first career appearance as a placekicker in a 34-27 loss to Missouri.
Luke McCaffrey • Jr. • WR • Rice
Had nine receptions for a career-high 199 yards in a 42-29 loss at South Florida.
Naiem Simmons • Jr. • WR • South Florida
Had eight receptions for a school-record 272 yards and a touchdown in a 42-29 win against Rice.
