Adams State University running back Andre Branch, Colorado State University Pueblo linebacker Carter Daniels, and Western Colorado University’s JT Miller claimed the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s first Football Player of the Week honors. READ MORE
Offensive – Andre Branch, Adams State, Senior Running Back, Phoenix, Ariz.
Branch’s 282-yard rushing performance was the second-best in all of Division II in Week 0, and his two second-half touchdowns put Adams State in touching distance before Western New Mexico pulled away for a victory. He opened the night’s scoring with a 58-yard touchdown dash just 40 seconds into the game. He tacked on a 55-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter before breaking off a 76-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds left in the third in what proved to be his second-to-last touch of the game. He finished with 21 carries for 282 yards (13.4 yards per carry) and three touchdowns, accounting for nearly half of Adams State’s 627 yards of total offense.
Defensive – Carter Daniels, CSU Pueblo, Sophomore Linebacker, Centennial, Colo.
Daniels finished with 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a fourth-quarter pick-six to power CSU Pueblo’s defense in a 44-25 victory against Central Missouri. His 16 tackles were tied for third most in Division II during the week and included five solo stops. Daniels’ 1.5 sacks were tied for the 12th most in Division II and second-most in the RMAC. He capped the ThunderWolves’ night with a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, providing a 44-18 lead with 6:10 left in the game.
Special Teams – JT Miller, Western Colorado, Sophomore Kicker, Rogers, Ark.
Miller provided 10 points on a perfect kicking day in Western Colorado’s 52-21 victory at West Texas A&M. He went 7-of-7 on PATs and provided a 32-yard field goal late in the second quarter that helped put the Mountaineers ahead 17-0 and as part of their 38-0 outburst in the game’s opening 35 minutes.
