Sun Belt Football Weekly Awards: Week 2

Sun Belt Syndicate’s Weekly Awards are awarded each week and are a reflection of the publication, not the Sun Belt Conference.

Week 2 of the Sun Belt football slate saw the conference go 6-8 as a whole, with wins coming from App State, Texas State, Southern Miss, Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina, and Louisiana.

Among the teams that lost in Week 2 were James Madison and Troy, yet those losses were some of the most intriguing matchups. Both programs played power conference opponents, Louisville and No. 8 Clemson respectively, and both games were competitive at the halftime break. Unfortunately for the Sun Belt, both teams did end up losing their leads late in the games.

While it is a bittersweet result for the conference, there were plenty of note-worthy performances across the footprint. The SBC released its weekly recognitions on Monday afternoon, naming ODU’s Trequan Jones and Tre’ Brown III and Troy’s Luke Hodge as the players of the week.

Here are Sun Belt Syndicate’s Weekly Awards for Week 2.

Offensive Player of the Week: Trequan Jones (RB– Old Dominion)

vs. NC Central: 5 carries, 163 yards, 3 TD

When you are a running back on a team with a dual-threat quarterback like Colton Joseph, you need to make the most out of the opportunities you do get. In the case of Trequan Jones, he was only handed the ball five times throughout the course of the matchup.

Jones turned five carries into 163 yards and three touchdowns– talk about efficiency.

The highlight was Jones’ program-record 93-yard house call on ODU’s first drive of the second half.

𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗡 𝗝𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦.

▪️ 163 Rushing Yards
▪️ 3 Rushing Touchdowns
▪️ Program Record 93-Yard Score@Que2officiall | @ODUFootball | ☀️🏈 pic.twitter.com/a6dxv6xhJY

— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) September 8, 2025

Jones’ three scores: the 93-yarder, a 39-yard scamper in the first quarter, and a 14-yard touchdown to cap off the performance in the fourth. This marks the second-straight week that a Sun Belt player, a non-QB, has recorded 3+ touchdowns in a single game (Texas State receiver Beau Sparks had four in Week 1).

Jones was pivotal in the Monarchs’ Week 2 victory over NC Central, responsible for three of ODU’s seven touchdowns en route to a 54-6 rout in Norfolk.

Defensive Player of the Week: Kerion Martin (LB– Marshall)

vs. Missouri State: 13 TOT, 6 solo, 1.0 sack, 2 TFL

Saturday was a shock to Marshall’s system, as the Thundering Herd fell 21-20 to Missouri State– the newest member of FBS out of Conference USA.

While there was plenty to forget about Saturday’s loss, Kerion Martin’s performance was a bright spot. The senior linebacker had 13 total tackles, including one sack and two tackles for loss. Martin’s 13 tackles were the most by a Sun Belt player in Week 2.

While head coach Tony Gibson’s career has gotten off to a shaky 0-2 start, he can rest assured knowing that he has a run-stopping linebacker to help plug the holes up the middle.

Special Teams Player of the Week: Tyler Robles (K– Texas State)

vs. UTSA: 2/2 FG, 5/5 XP, long 50

You could make a case that Sun Belt Syndicate (and the Sun Belt Conference) snubbed Texas State kicker Tyler Robles in Week 1 as the Special Teams Player of the Week. But with a similar performance in Week 2, in a big win over in-state rival UTSA, Robles finally gets the recognition he deserves.

The revival of the “I-35 Rivalry” was a shootout from start to finish. Texas State got on the board first with a safety, then added a touchdown to make it 9-0 in the second quarter. UTSA stormed back, pulling within two points before halftime.

In a contest where the Bobcats needed consistency in its kicking game, Robles provided in a big way.

BANG! pic.twitter.com/BsLwOcfcJc

— Texas State Football (@TXSTATEFOOTBALL) September 6, 2025

Besides going 5-for-5 on extra point attempts, Robles also went perfect on field goal tries. His big moment came at the end of the first half, nailing a 50-yard kick to send Texas State into the break with a five-point cushion (19-14).

In two weeks, Robles is not only yet to miss a kick (XP or FG), but he is also responsible for 21 points by himself.

Freshman of the Week: Dominic Knicely (RB– Coastal Carolina)

vs. Charleston Southern: 9 carries, 92 yards, 10.2 Y/C

Had it not been for Dominic Knicely and the Coastal Carolina run game, Charleston Southern may have been able to become yet another huge blow for a Sun Belt program.

139 passing yards, three interceptions, and zero touchdowns between two quarterbacks is not what any offensive coordinator wants to see (starter MJ Morris was responsible for all three picks). The Buccaneers stuck around with Coastal, down by just three points heading into the fourth quarter– in fact, the score was 3-0.

On the Chanticleers’ opening drive of the fourth, Knicely was key. He rushed for 32 yards on the drive himself, allowing for backup quarterback Tad Hudson and the Chants to move the ball down the field– something Coastal struggled to do all game– and set up the game’s only touchdown. Knicely finished with 92 yards of tough running, breaking multiple tackles on each carry.

Knicely’s performance allowed Coastal to figure out some of their passing woes and not remain one-dimensional, giving him one of our weekly awards in Week 2.