NEW ORLEANS – On the heels of the Sun Belt’s third-straight week with a victory over an autonomy five foe, Georgia State’s Darren Grainger, Old Dominion’s LaMareon James and James Madison’s Camden Wise earned the conference’s weekly awards.
Football Offensive Player of the Week
Darren Grainger, Georgia State
(RS Sr., QB – Conway, S.C.)
Panthers redshirt senior quarterback Darren Grainger threw for a career-high 466 yards and three touchdowns, as Georgia State outpaced Charlotte, 41-25. The Conway, S.C., product completed 27-of-33 passes, including a 97-yard touchdown pass to Robert Lewis for the longest play from scrimmage in Georgia State program history. Grainger also rushed for 23 yards and a score in the ground game, running his yardage of total offense to 489 yards. The veteran fell just five yards shy of the Georgia State single-game record for passing yards and just seven yards behind the single-game program record for total offensive yards.
Football Defensive Player of the Week
LaMareon James, Old Dominion
(Jr., CB – Norfolk, Va.)
Monarchs junior cornerback LaMareon James became the seventh player in FBS history to return a fumble and an interception for a touchdown in the same game—and the first since SMU’s Jordan Wyatt in 2017. The Norfolk, Va., native returned a fumble 80 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter—the longest defensive score in program history—and had an interception return 66 yards for a score in the third quarter. James also added three tackles, as Old Dominion narrowly fell to Wake Forest, 27-24.
Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Camden Wise, James Madison
(RS Sr., K – Blacksburg, Va.)
Dukes redshirt senior kicker Camden Wise contributed 10-of-16 points in James Madison’s conference-opening 16-14 victory over reigning Sun Belt champion Troy. The Blacksburg, Va., native’s three field goals tied his career high, as he converted from 28, 36 and 32 yards in the win. Wise is 5-for-5 on field goal attempts and 9-for-9 on PATs this season, helping the Dukes to a 3-0 mark. James Madison is 1-of-3 remaining unbeaten teams from the Sun Belt—joining Georgia State and Marshall—a total that paces the non-autonomy conferences.
2023 Sun Belt Football Offensive Players of the Week
Week 1 – TJ Finley, Texas State (RS So., QB – Ponchatoula, La.)
Week 2 – Davis Brin, Georgia Southern (6th Yr., QB – Boerne, Texas)
Week 3 – Darren Grainger, Georgia State (RS Sr., QB – Conway, S.C.)
2023 Sun Belt Football Defensive Players of the Week
Week 1 – Clayton Isbell, Coastal Carolina (Super Sr., S – St. Charles, Ill.)
Week 2 – Jason Henderson, Old Dominion (Jr., LB – Dingmans Ferry, Pa.)
Week 3 – LaMareon James, Old Dominion (Jr., CB – Norfolk, Va.)
2023 Sun Belt Football Special Teams Players of the Week
Week 1 – Andrew Stein, Southern Miss (RS Jr., K – Slidell, La.)
Week 2 – Aiden Fisher, James Madison (So., LB – Fredericksburg, Va.)
Week 3 – Camden Wise, James Madison (RS Sr., K – Blacksburg, Va.)