A frequent end-zone visitor, the national leader in sacks & tackles-for-loss, and a kick-return artist who fueled a fourth-quarter comeback headline our North Carolina College Football Players of the Week.
Here are your winners and honorable mention picks for Week 9 of the NC college football season (Oct. 24-25 games):
🏈 Offensive Player of the Week: Carson Gresock, Gardner-Webb
The redshirt junior running back from Columbus, Ohio, made four trips to the end zone during Gardner-Webb’s 48-20 romp at Lindenwood on Saturday. Carson Gresock carried the ball 21 times for 119 yards and scored touchdowns on rushes of 3, 20, 2 and 2 yards.
According to our records, Gresock is the only college back in North Carolina to earn four rushing scores in a single game this season. He collected OVC/Big South Offensive Player of the Week accolades for his efforts, helping keep Gardner-Webb in the conference title conversation (3-1 league record).
Saturday marked Gresock’s third 100-yard rushing performance in the last four outings. He has 607 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. He also caught two passes for 33 yards in Saturday’s triumph.
🛡️ Defensive Player of the Week: Kenyon Garner, Livingstone
This is the first time Garner, a sophomore defensive end from Okeechobee, FL, has picked up a weekly award from us. But he’s building a campaign for All-North Carolina Defensive Player of the Year with his steady supply of backfield disruption.
Garner earned 4.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 quarterback sacks on Saturday in a win over Virginia-Lynchburg. He now leads all of D2 football in both categories, amassing 23.0 TFLs and 13.0 sacks over eight games. He’s averaging 2.88 tackles-for-loss per contest.
Garner has twice been named CIAA Defensive Lineman of the Week and surely has clinched an all-conference spot already. Livingstone as a team is tied for the national lead in TFLs with 78.0. The Blue Bears average 9.8 stops behind the line of scrimmage per game.
⚡ Special Teams Player of the Week: Elijah Kennedy, NC A&T
An injury derailed Kennedy’s 2024 season completely, and North Carolina A&T’s official web site noted coming into 2025 that “his return is essential for North Carolina A&T.”
Kennedy showed why on Saturday, returning a punt 96 yards for a touchdown and a kickoff 85 yards for a score in the fourth quarter against Campbell. Neither were easy returns, with Kennedy showing off shifty moves. The Aggies rallied to beat the Camels 28-24 thanks to both dynamic plays.
His punt return set a school record for distance, and he became the first player in A&T history to return both a punt and kickoff for touchdowns in the same game.
Kennedy was named the CAA Special Teams Player of the Week, the Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week and the HBCU Co-Player of the Week by BOXTOROW.
Kennedy also caught four passes in the game and finished with 201 return yards in all. He’s a redshirt junior who played high school football at nearby High Point Central.
Let us say it again:
Elijah Kennedy. The FIRST Aggie to return a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in the same game.
Rewrote history. #AggiePride pic.twitter.com/AJLQnASWbN — N.C. A&T Athletics (@NCATAGGIES) October 27, 2025
🏆 Honorable Mention Offense
Kelvin Durham (Johnson C. Smith): Showcased his dual-threat skills in a dominant win over Winston-Salem State … Completed 22-of-30 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 74 yards and two more scores … Named CIAA Quarterback of the Week.
Trae Sechrest (North Carolina Wesleyan): Rushed for 194 yards on 31 carries in a loss to Southern Virginia – tied for the fourth-most yardage in a single game in North Carolina college football this season … It was Sechrest’s first career 100-yard game at the college level.
Javen Nicholas (Charlotte): Had a huge first half for the 49ers against North Texas, finishing the Friday night affair with seven catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns, including a 64-yard score.
DeAndre Proctor (Johnson C. Smith): Nicknamed “Biggie” and for good reason on a football field … Caught nine passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns to earn CIAA Receiver of the Week honors … His longest TD covered 60 yards.
Anton Chavis (Elizabeth City State): Named CIAA Offensive Lineman of the Week, helping the Vikings’ offense to explode for a season-high 62 points and 443 total yards against Lincoln.
Walker Harris (North Carolina Central): Eclipsed 350 passing yards for the third time this season, finishing 22-of-32 for 354 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the Eagles’ loss to Delaware State.
🏆 Honorable Mention Defense
Davaughn Patterson (Wake Forest): Earned ACC Defensive Back of the Week honors … Led the Deacs with 7 tackles, three pass break-ups and a forced fumble against SMU.
Melkart Abou Jaoude (North Carolina): Recorded three quarterback sacks as part of UNC’s solid defensive effort against Virginia.
Elihu Lipscomb (Wingate): Part of the new wave of stout Bulldog defenders, the freshman from Kings Mountain had seven tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and a pair of sacks in a 30-3 win over Anderson.
Drewvon Oxendine (Elizabeth City State): The CIAA’s Defensive Lineman of the Week earned a sack, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble in the Vikings’ big win over Lincoln.
Jayden Reeder (Livingstone): If teammate Kenyon Garner didn’t make a play in the backfield, Reeder was there to create stops from his linebacker position … He returned a fumble for a touchdown against VUL and logged 11 tackles, 2.0 TFLs and 1.5 sacks … CIAA Linebacker of the Week.
Keyshawn Monk (Fayetteville State): The CIAA Defensive Back of the Week made his presence felt in numerous stat categories – one interception, a fumble recovery, a pass breakup, 6 tackles, 0.5 TFL and a quarterback hurry in a 31-13 win at Shaw.
Joanue Morten-Berry (Louisburg): Returned an interception 95 yards for a score against Myrtle Beach Collegiate.
Keno Jones (Barton): Finished with eight tackles and returned a fumble 36 yards for a touchdown against Shorter.
🏆 Honorable Mention Special Teams
Connor Calvert (Wake Forest): Kicked a game-winning 50-yard field goal as time expired to lift Wake Forest to an improbable 13-12 win over SMU on homecoming. Also kicked a 25-yarder earlier in the game … Wake Forest enjoyed its first walk-off win since 2021 and first 50-yard FG since 2014.
Charlie Viorel (Gardner-Webb): Received OVC/Big South Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time after accounting for 12 points in the win over Lindenwood … Viorel hit field goals from 40 and 30 yards, while booting 6-of-6 extra points … Viorel has 54 points on the season.
Songa Yates (Lenoir-Rhyne): Returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown as part of the Bears’ 45-0 rout of Mars Hill … Named this week’s South Atlantic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. Yates also caught five passes for 51 yards and another score.
Jamari Blake (Elizabeth City State): Returned a blocked field goal for a 95-yard touchdown against Lincoln … Collected CIAA Special Teams Player of the Week recognition as part of a big weekend for the Vikings’ program.
Jeremyah Lane (Brevard): Returned the second-half opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown in the Tornados 34-7 triumph at Greensboro … Named USA South Special Teams Player of the Week.
Avery Fields III (Catawba): In a week filled with special teams scores around the state, Fields returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown against Tusculum.
Jeff Yurk (Elon): Averaged 51.8 yards per punt, including a 60-yarder and three boots of 50+ at Maine.
Braxtyn Green (North Carolina Wesleyan): Had five punts of more than 50 yards, including a 64-yarder, against Southern Virginia. Five of his six kicks landed inside the 20.
Caleb Bonesteel (Wingate): Logged 10+ kicker points for the fourth time this season, booting three field goals and three PATs for 12 total … His longest FG covered 45 yards.
🏆 Other Notable
All three of the Southern Conference’s player of the week awards for Oct. 25 went to players with North Carolina high school ties:
- QB Braden Atkinson (Mercer): The former Rolesville High standout threw for a school-record 533 yards and five touchdowns against VMI …. Earned Stats Perform FCS Freshman of the Week honors for the second time in addition to being the SoCon’s Offensive Player of the Week.
- DE Joshua Stoneking (Furman): The former Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh) star picked up his third weekly SoCon defensive award. He had four tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a QB pressure in the Paladins’ win over The Citadel. Stoneking leads FCS with 12.5 tackles and 18.0 tackles for loss.
- PK Ian Williams (Furman): From Charlotte (Weddington), Williams handled all kicking duties for the Paladins, earning SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week. He went 3-for-3 on field goals (45, 36, 21 yards) and hit one PAT. He punted five times for a 41.6 yard average, with three being downed inside the 20. He logged five touchbacks on six kickoffs. Williams started his college career at NC State before joining Furman in 2022.
