University of Massachusets Athletics
Jennings Named CAA Co-Defensive Player Of Week
September 01, 2008 | Football
Sept. 1, 2008
RICHMOND, Va. - UMass linebacker Josh Jennings grabbed a share of the CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week honor after making a career-high 13 stops in the Minutemen's 28-16 win over Albany in Amherst, Mass. The New Britain, Conn., native also snagged his first career interception in the win and returned it three yards. Jennings and UMass' defense limited Albany to 353 yards of total offense, while picking off two passes and logging three sacks for 17 yards. It is his first career CAA honor.
Here is the remainder of the release from the CAA
CAA Football, which finished the opening weekend of 2008 undefeated against non-conference FCS foes (3-0), announced its Player of the Week honorees, Monday, Sept. 1. Five individuals earned honors after their performances during the first weekend of the season, including Richmond's Eric Ward, Massachusetts' Josh Jennings, Delaware's Anthony Walters, James Madison's Scotty McGee and Rhode Island's Louis Feinstein.
Ward, the CAA Football Offensive Player of the Week, helped the fourth-ranked Spiders to a 28-10 win on the road over No. 15 Elon. Ward garnered a career-high 236 yards passing, going 17-for-22 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Ward opened the contest with an 80-yard scoring strike to sophomore Kevin Grayson, a play which ranked as the sixth-longest pass play in school history. The Atlanta, Ga., native completed two passes of 80 and 38 yards on the night, both of which were longer than any completions from Richmond's 2007 season. The junior signal-caller also ran the ball 14 times for 59 yards in Richmond's first win under first-year head coach Mike London.
Walters, also a CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week, had an impressive day in Delaware's 14-7 loss at Maryland. The sophomore made a team-high 13 tackles from his cornerback position, which also marked a career-best for the second-year player. The Philadelphia, Pa., native garnered an interception during the third quarter as the Terrapins were assembling a then-49 yard drive deep into Delaware territory. Walters and the Blue Hen defense held Maryland's offense to just 14 points on the day, while forcing two turnovers (two interceptions) in the contest.
McGee, the CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Week, recorded 157 yards in kickoff returns during the Dukes' 31-7 loss at Duke Saturday evening. McGee, who has now earned two CAA Football weekly honors since last season, also garnered seven yards in punt returns. The Virginia Beach, Va., native returned a kickoff 60 yards to open the second-half before a JMU turnover led to a Duke touchdown.
Feinstein logged CAA Football Rookie of the Week honors after helping Rhode Island to a 27-24 win over Monmouth in head coach Darren Rizzi's URI debut. The Irvine, Calif., native proved to be the difference in the game knocking through 2-of-3 field goal attempts on the day, including a 47-yarder in the second quarter. Later in the game, Feinstein, a true freshman, punched in a 27-yarder to extend the Rams' lead to 10. The kicker ended the day totalling nine of Rhody's 27 points, after proving successful on all three of his PAT tries.
