BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri won three Ohio Valley Conference honors Sunday, a day after picking up its first Ohio Valley Conference win over Murray State.
Wide receiver
Paul McRoberts garnered Offensive Player of the Week accolades, outside linebacker
Chad Meredith was Co-Defensive Player of the Week and running back
Tremane McCullough secured Newcomer of the Week laurels.
A native of St. Louis, McRoberts caught eight passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns helping lead Southeast to a 27-10 victory over the Racers. He caught a 24-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and added an 8-yard score at the end of the third quarter. Prior to catching his second touchdown, McRoberts made a highlight-reel 44-yard reception that ended up No. 5 on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays. He averaged 21.2 yards per reception en route to his sixth career 100-yard receiving game (second this season). It is the second OVC Offensive Player of the Week award in McRoberts' career.
Meredith, who hails from Louisville, Kentucky, matched a career-high 10 tackles, added two tackles for loss and posted three quarterback hurries against the Racers. He helped key a defensive unit that held the high-octane MSU offense to just one touchdown. Meredith made a tackle for a loss of 10 yards on a fourth and goal at the Redhawks 4-yard line. It was one of three fourth-down stops for Southeast. Meredith shares the Defensive Player of the Week honor with Eastern Kentucky linebacker Chris Kelly.
A native of Royal Palm Beach, Florida, McCullough carried the ball 27 times for 220 yards (8.1 ypc) and a touchdown. The transfer from Arizona Western Community College also caught four passes for 18 yards, finishing with 238 all-purpose yards, the third-most by an OVC player this season. McCullough's 220 rushing yards are the most in a game by an OVC player this season and rank seventh-most by a Football Championship Subdivision player in 2015. It marked his third-straight 100-yard plus rushing game. McCullough scored on a 3-yard touchdown run on the first possession of the third quarter to put the Redhawks ahead, 17-7. He is the first Southeast player to rush for over 200 yards in a game since Levi Terrell ran for 215 at Murray State in 2012. McCullough ranks sixth in the nation in rushing yards per carry (7.68), 10th in total rushing yards (522) and 17th in all-purpose yards per game (146.4), despite seeing limited action in the first two weeks of the season. He had five total carries in those two contests.
EKU return man Stanley Absanon was Specialist of the Week, rounding out the honorees.
Southeast travels to Eastern Illinois for the ESPN3 OVC Game of the Week Saturday.
