BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin duo of running back Sam Franklin and kicker/punter Aidan Laros were honored for their impressive performances against Tennessee State by being named Big South-OVC Football Association Players of the Week.
For the third time this season, Franklin was honored as the league’s top offensive player after posting his sixth career 100-yard rushing performance against TSU. Despite being hampered by an early injury, the Little Rock, Ark. native gutted out 20 carries for 132 yards – averaging 6.6 yards per carry. The redshirt-sophomore leads all FBS and FCS performers with 785 rushing yards and 157.0 yards per game this season.
Hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, Laros has been a huge impact transfer for the Skyhawks this season. Handling all kicking duties, the specialist filled up the stat sheet by scoring eight points for the Skyhawks by making 2-of-2 field goal opportunities from 22 and 23 yards, while also converting a pair of point after attempts. He also left his mark by flipping the field, booting four punts for an average of 46.2 yards per attempts – including a pair inside the 20-yard line. While he launched a 55-yard attempt for a game-long, his best attempt came in the third quarter when he pinned the Tigers on their own two-yard line. Additionally, he averaged 65.0 yards per kickoff while notching four touchbacks.
The Skyhawks return to action this weekend with a road association matchup at Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 7.
