FLORENCE, Ala. (October 14, 2024) – The awards continue to flow in.
On Monday, the University of North Alabama football team added four more awards to a memorable weekend, as UNA won three of the four United Athletic Conference Players of the Week and head coach Brent Dearmon was recognized as the FCS National Coach of the Week by Our Coaching Network.
These awards come after a thrilling 47-34 win over No. 10 ranked Abilene Christian on Saturday at Braly Stadium.
The UAC named redshirt senior quarterback TJ Smith as the Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career. Smith was responsible for six touchdowns to tie the all-time school record held by both Luke Wingo (2015) and Noah Walters (2023). Smith completed 17-of-24 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns, including one to Tanaka Scott, one to Justin Luke and two to Kobe Warden in the fourth quarter. The Fort Lauderdale native also posed a problem with his legs, rushing nine times for 94 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-long 46 yard touchdown run. Both passing and rushing yard totals were career-bests.
Redshirt senior defensive back Gregory Reddick was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Week alongside Central Arkansas' Dillon Williams. Reddick had a game-high and season-high 12 tackles for UNA, including seven solo tackles. The Miami native also caught an interception in the final minute and returned it 29 yards to seal the win. Reddick is now a two-time winner of the award after winning Defensive Player of the Week against SEMO in Week 0.
True freshman running back Jalen Fletcher was named the UAC Freshman of the Week for the third time this season and the second week in a row. Fletcher rushed 10 times for 123 yards and a touchdown, averaging 12.3 yards per carry. His longest rush came on a tackle-breaking 24-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, marking the go-ahead score with 3:27 remaining. The former West Morgan High School standout earned his first collegiate 100 yard rushing game and his second straight game with over 100 all-purpose yards.
In addition to winning UAC Freshman of the Week, Fletcher was also announced as a national finalist for the Stats Perform FCS Freshman of the Week.
As for the coaching side of things, Dearmon and his staff led UNA to a third straight win to remedy an 0-5 start to improve to 3-5 overall and 3-1 in conference play. This marks the first three-game win streak for UNA since 2018 and the first in conference games since 2016. Additionally, UNA has combined for 107 points the last two games, which is the first time scoring over 100 points over back-to-back games since 2016.
With the win, UNA notched its first-career victory over a ranked FCS opponent. The Lions defeated Chattanooga last season, who was unranked and receiving votes at the time of play and went on to finish No. 14 in the final FCS polls. The ACU win is the first against an FCS team that was ranked at the time of play.
The Lions have their first open date this Saturday after playing eight straight weeks to begin the season. UNA's next game will be on Saturday, Oct. 26, when it travels to nationally-ranked Central Arkansas at 4 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
