JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The United Athletic Conference (UAC) has announced its weekly football awards for the week of Sept. 28 with Austin Peay, North Alabama and West Florida taking home honors.
Austin Peay’s Chris Parson earned this week’s Offensive Player of the Week after he went 17-for-21 for 254 yards through the air and one score in the Govs 35-12 win over UT Martin. Parson accounted for more than 93 percent of Austin Peay’s offense as he ran for 82 yards (336 all-purpose yards) and scored twice himself.
Avery Howard earned his first Defensive Player of the Week honor after he totaled six tackles, including three sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss, in North Alabama’s exciting 23-20 win over Western Illinois. The three sacks from the redshirt junior are the most by any UAC player in a game this season while his 3.5 TFL are the second-most by a UAC player in a game this season.
West Florida’s Michael Shine garnered Specialist of the Week after he helped flip the field for the Argos in the punt game. The Mobile, Ala. native had six punts for 262 yards (43.7 yard average) with two landing inside the 20 yard line.
The leading receiver in FCS took home his fourth Freshman of the Week honor after Xavier Johnson led North Alabama with six catches for 121 yards in the Lions 23-20 win over Western Illinois. Johnson recorded his third 100+ yard receiving game of the season with his longest catch of the night coming on a 43-yard gain that set up a go-ahead touchdown in the first half.
Requests for interviews should be directed to:
Claire Johnson, Senior Director, Strategic Communications & Content
Unisun Sports / claire.johnson@unisunsports.com
About the United Athletic Conference
The United Athletic Conference (UAC) was established in 2023 as a single-sport football conference through a partnership between the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and the former Western Athletic Conference. In July 2026, the ASUN and UAC formed Unisun Sports to further strengthen the conference, which now features eight football-playing member institutions: Abilene Christian University (Abilene, Texas), Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tenn.), the University of Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), Eastern Kentucky University (Richmond, Ky.), the University of North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Texas), the University of West Georgia (Carrollton, Ga.) and the University of West Florida (Pensacola, Fla.).