OVC Football Player of the Week Awards presented by TicketSmarter
 
OFFENSIVE
Giovanni Adopte, WR • 6-1, 180, R-Jr. • Miami, Fla. • Gardner-Webb
Adopte caught seven passes for a career-high 179 yards and two touchdowns as Gardner-Webb came up one point shy against FBS opponent Marshall. The 179 yards are the fourth-most by a FCS player this season and most by a GWU player since 2022. With the score tied at seven in the first quarter, Adopte caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Cole Pennington to put the Runnin' Bulldogs on top. The duo later connected on a 44-yard score with 9:24 to play, which put the team on top 35-27. Adopte averaged 25.6 yards per catch and he currently ranks 19th nationally with 374 receiving yards on the season.
 
Others Nominated: Kennedy McGill, Western Illinois.
 
DEFENSIVE
Trey Weems, DL • 6-2, 245, Sr. • Griffin, Ga. • Gardner-Webb
Weems filled out the stat sheet in Gardner-Webb's near upset of FBS opponent Marshall. The senior had five tackles (3 solo), 2.0 sacks (for -4 yards), forced a fumble and had two quarterback hurries. His forced fumble came in the second quarter in Marshall territory and was recovered by teammate Ruben Tshilombo who ran 36 yards for the touchdown to put the Runnin' Bulldogs ahead 21-17.
 
Others Nominated: Nick Vecchiarelli, Eastern Illinois; Malik Brown, UT Martin; LeBron Morgan, Western Illinois.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
Teagan Cobb, P • 6-2, 210, Sr. • Rose Hill, Kan. • Southeast Missouri
In the second quarter, took the snap on a fake field goal attempt and ran six yards for a touchdown to put SEMO ahead of No. 20 ranked West Florida 10-6. Cobb also averaged 44.3 yards on 3 punts, with a long of 60 yards and no touchbacks.
 
Others Nominated: Will Graham, Lindenwood; Ronan Culkin, Western Illinois.
 
ROOKIE
Tate Surber, QB • 6-3, 200, R-Fr. • McKenzie, Tenn. • UT Martin
Surber completed 20-of-27 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in UT Martin's game at No. 13/11 Austin Peay. The redshirt freshman threw a three-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to cap a 75-yard drive as UTM went up 9-7 over the Govs. It marked the second-straight game the redshirt freshman has thrown a touchdown pass. Surber ranks second in the OVC and 16th nationally in completion percentage (67.3%).
 
Others Nominated: none
 
 
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
 
• Cole Pennington (QB, Sr.), Gardner-Webb. Completed 22-of-33 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns against FBS foe (and his former team) Marshall.
 
• David Hargro (TE, Sr.), Western Illinois. Caught two passes, two of which went for touchdowns, in road game against North Alabama. Had a 9-yard score in the first quarter and a 5-yarder in the third.
 
• Tre Yanez (LB, Jr.), Gardner-Webb. Had 11 tackles and a sack while adding a QBH at Marshall. It marked his fourth double-digit tackle game of 2026.
 
• LeBron Morgan (DB, 5th), Western Illinois. Tied for team-high with seven tackles, had a sack and recovered a fumble against North Alabama.
 
• Malik Brown (LB, Jr.), UT Martin. Registered a safety to begin the scoring at Austin Peay, while also netting three tackles and 2.0 total sacks (for -22 yards) in the contest.
 
• Cade Cox (P, Grad), Eastern Illinois. Averaged 40.5 yards on eight punts and helped convert a fake punt (throwing a pass) that led to EIU's lone touchdown against SDSU.