Wooldridge, Porter, Rivers named Sun Belt football players of week

NEW ORLEANS – After contributing to conference victories, Louisiana’s Ben Wooldridge, Marshall’s Owen Porter and Troy’s Mike Rivers earned the conference’s weekly awards.

Football Offensive Player of the Week
Ben Wooldridge, Louisiana
(RS Jr., QB – Pleasanton, Calif.)

Ragin’ Cajuns redshirt junior quarterback Ben Wooldridge threw a program-record five touchdown passes in Louisiana’s 38-18 win over Arkansas State. In his second career start, the Pleasanton, Calif., product completed 21-of-34 passes for a career-high 316 yards. Wooldridge completed passes to 10 different Ragin’ Cajuns receivers, including touchdown strikes to four different pass-catchers. In his first two career starts, Wooldridge has led Louisiana to back-to-back conference victories to turn the tide on an 0-2 start in conference play.

Football Defensive Player of the Week
Owen Porter, Marshall
(RS Jr., DL – Huntington, W.Va.)

Thundering Herd redshirt junior defensive lineman Owen Porter tallied a team-high nine tackles—including five solo—in Marshall’s 26-12 win at James Madison. The hometown product from Huntington, W.Va., added 4.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries to make an impact on the defensive front. The defensive lineman also posted a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to contribute 1-of-5 takeaways on the day for the Thundering Herd. Porter is Marshall’s first-ever Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honoree.

Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Mike Rivers, Troy
(Sr., P – Wilmington, N.C.)

Trojans senior punter Mike Rivers delivered in the field position battle in the tightly-contested Battle for the Belt rivalry game, helping propel Troy to a 10-6 win—its fifth-straight on the year and fifth-straight in the series. The Wilmington, N.C., native averaged 42.8 yards on a season-high six punts, with 4-of-6 landing inside the 20-yard line. Following Rivers’ punts, South Alabama started drives on the 12, 11, 24, 7, 26 and 13-yard lines. Rivers is the first punter to earn a Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Week nod since Troy’s Jack Martin on Nov. 9, 2020.

2022 Sun Belt Football Offensive Players of the Week
Week 1 – Chase Brice, App State (RS Sr., QB – Grayson, Ga.)
Week 2 – Kyle Vantrease, Georgia Southern (6th Yr., QB – Stow, Ohio)
Week 3 – Christan Horn, App State (So., WR – Columbia, S.C.)
Week 4 – Todd Centeio, James Madison (Gr., QB – West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Week 5 – Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina (RS Jr., QB – Indian Trail, N.C.)
Week 6 – Todd Centeio, James Madison (Gr., QB – West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Week 7 – Kyle Vantrease, Georgia Southern (6th Yr., QB – Stow, Ohio)
Week 8 – Ben Wooldridge, Louisiana (RS Jr., QB – Pleasanton, Calif.)

2022 Sun Belt Football Defensive Players of the Week
Week 1 – Jason Henderson, Old Dominion (So., LB – Dingmans Ferry, Pa.)
Week 2 – Jalen McLeod, App State (So., LB – Washington, D.C.)
Week 3 – Nick Ross, App State (Jr., DB – Kennesaw, Ga.)
Week 4 – Carlton Martial, Troy (Sr., LB – Mobile, Ala.)
Week 5 – Carlton Martial, Troy (Sr., LB – Mobile, Ala.)
Week 6 – Tory Spears, Texas State (RS Jr., S – Houston, Texas)
Week 7 – Tre Hawkins, Old Dominion (Sr., DB – Temple, Texas)
Week 8 – Owen Porter, Marshall (RS Jr., DL – Huntington, W.Va.)

2022 Sun Belt Football Special Teams Players of the Week
Week 1 – Eric Garror, Louisiana (Sr., RS – Mobile, Ala.)
Week 2 – Matthew McDoom, Coastal Carolina (Fr., RS – Winter Garden, Fla.)
Week 3 – Natrone Brooks, Southern Miss (Sr., RS – Starkville, Miss.)
Week 4 – Caullin Lacy, South Alabama (So., RS – Mobile, Ala.)
Week 5 – Johnnie Lang Jr., Arkansas State (RS Sr., RS – Palmetto, Fla.)
Week 6 – Seth Keller, Texas State (RS Jr., K – Colleyville, Texas)
Week 7 – Kenneth Almendares, Louisiana (RS So., K – Clute, Texas)
Week 8 – Mike Rivers, Troy (Sr., P – Wilmington, N.C.)

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About the Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference is made up of 14 members: App State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, ULM, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State and Troy.