CAA Football Weekly Awards - Sept. 26
Rob Washburn
RICHMOND, Va. (September 26, 2022) – CAA Football has announced its weekly award winners for Week 4 of the 2022 season. Monmouth sophomore running back Jaden Shirden and Richmond graduate student quarterback Reece Udinski shared Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Elon senior linebacker Marcus Hillman was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week. New Hampshire junior running back/ returner Dylan Laube was chosen as the Special Teams Player of the Week and UAlbany freshman quarterback Reese Poffenbarger was selected as the Rookie of the Week.
CAA Football Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Jaden Shirden, So., RB, Monmouth (West Haven, Conn./Cheshire Academy)
Shirden rushed for 211 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 22 carries (9.6 ypc) as Monmouth earned a 49-42 road victory at #9 Villanova. The sophomore had a 56-yard TD run in the third quarter before scoring the game-winner from 16 yards out with 46 seconds left. It was Shirden’s second 200+-yard outing in the past three games and he became the first back with 200+ yards vs. VU since 1995.
CAA Football Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Reece Udinski, Gr., QB, Richmond (North Wales, Pa./North Penn)
In less than three quarters of action, Udinski completed 35-of-42 passes (83.3%) for a season-best 357 yards and a career-high five touchdowns as Richmond beat Stony Brook, 51-7. The five TD passes were the second-most in UR history, with four of them coming on consecutive first-half drives. Udinski leads FCS in completion percentage (78.6%) and has thrown for 300+ yards in back-to-back games.
CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week
Marcus Hillman, Sr., LB, Elon (Camden, N.J./Camden Catholic)
Hillman recorded a team-high eight tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to help Elon pick up a 35-31 win at 14
th-ranked William & Mary. The sophomore linebacker caused and recovered a fumble with 7:47 to play that helped the Phoenix rally from an 18-point halftime deficit. He was part of an Elon defense that limited the Tribe to three points and 117 yards in the second half.
CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Dylan Laube, Jr., RB/RET, New Hampshire (Westhampton, N.Y./Westhampton Beach)
Laube tied a school record with a 92-yard punt return for a touchdown in New Hampshire’s 37-14 victory at Towson. The return was the longest in FCS this season and the 2
nd-longest in CAA history. Laube finished the game with 250 all-purpose yards, which included a team-best 114 yards rushing. He leads FCS in punt return average (21.7) and ranks 2
nd in all-purpose yards (188.5 ypg).
CAA Football Rookie of the Week
Reese Poffenbarger, Fr., QB, UAlbany (Middletown, Md./Middletown)
Poffenbarger repeats as Rookie of the Week after completing 18-of-26 passes (69.2%) for 257 yards and two touchdowns in UAlbany’s 45-26 triumph over Central Connecticut State. The freshman had scoring passes of 22 and 6 yards to tight end Thomas Greaney in third quarter to help the Great Danes pull away. It was his third straight game with 250+ passing yards.