Chancellor Named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week
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After winning their inaugural conference game as a member of C-USA at Florida Atlantic, a pair of Middle Tennessee players have earned player of the week honors. Blue Raiders’ junior RB Reggie Whatley ran for 154 yards and three touchdowns to be named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week, while senior DE Dearco Nolan registered three sacks and two forced fumbles to gain Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Special Teams Player of the Week award went to North Texas junior KR Brelan Chancellor, who had a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the Mean Green’s loss at No. 9 Georgia. C-USA Football Players of the Week are voted on by a panel of the league’s media.
Whatley had a breakout day for the Blue Raiders, carrying Middle Tennessee to a 42-35 win over Florida Atlantic. The backup tailback racked up a career-best 154 yards with three touchdowns on just 10 carries. Whatley averaged 15.4 yards per carry. He bolted 64 yards for a Blue Raider touchdown with just 1:32 left to give MT a touchdown advantage. Whatley also had TD runs of 19 and 15 yards, while making a 33-yard run that set up a Middle Tennessee touchdown. In addition to his
strong play at tailback, Whatley totaled 80 yards in two kickoff returns, finishing the day with 234 all-purpose yards.
Nolan gathered four tackles with a career-high three sacks, while forcing two fumbles in the victory at Florida Atlantic. Nolan stripped the ball away from FAU quarterback Jaquez Johnson with at the MT 20-yard-line to prevent a potential Owls touchdown late in the first half. The Atlanta product then sacked Johnson for a four-yard loss on third down in overtime. That play forced the Owls into an all-or-nothing fourth down, which Middle Tennessee stopped to secure the victory.
Chancellor returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to keep North Texas in the game vs. No. 9 Georgia. Trailing 21-7, Chancellor returned the third-longest kickoff in school history to cut the Bulldogs lead to 21-14. It was the first time since 2011 that a player has returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Georgia and the first time for a Mean Green player since Chancellor took one back 93 yards in 2010.
