By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Adams State University running back Andre Branch, Colorado State University Pueblo linebacker Carter Daniels, and Western Colorado University’s JT Miller claimed the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s first Football Player of the Week honors, presented by Genesee Nutrition and announced Monday.
Branch delivered 282 yards – the second most rushing yardage in Division II in Week 0 – and three touchdowns in Grizzlies’ loss to Western New Mexico. Daniels highlighted an impressive outing with a 38-yard pick-six to punctuate the ThunderWolves’ win against Central Missouri. Miller was perfect in the kicking game, including a 32-yard field goal, in the Mountaineers' road win at West Texas A&M.
Offensive
Andre Branch, Adams State (Senior, Running Back, Phoenix, Arizona)
Branch’s 282-yard rushing performance was the second-best in all of Division II in Week 0, and his two second-half touchdowns put Adams State in touching distance before Western New Mexico pulled away for a victory. He opened the night’s scoring with a 58-yard touchdown dash just 40 seconds into the game. He tacked on a 55-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter before breaking off a 76-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds left in the third in what proved to be his second-to-last touch of the game. He finished with 21 carries for 282 yards (13.4 yards per carry) and three touchdowns, accounting for nearly half of Adams State’s 627 yards of total offense.
Others Nominated: Kade Weber, Black Hills State; Navi Bruzon, CSU Pueblo; Wyatt Sprague, Chadron State; Trek Keyworth, Colorado Mesa; Pierce Richards, Colorado School of Mines; Kadyn Parr, New Mexico Highlands; Dawson Dunbar, South Dakota Mines; Josiah Roy, Western Colorado.
Defensive
Carter Daniels, CSU Pueblo (Sophomore, Linebacker, Centennial, Colorado)
Daniels finished with 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a fourth-quarter pick-six to power CSU Pueblo’s defense in a 44-25 victory against Central Missouri. His 16 tackles were tied for third most in Division II during the week and included five solo stops. Daniels’ 1.5 sacks were tied for the 12th most in Division II and second-most in the RMAC. He capped the ThunderWolves’ night with a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, providing a 44-18 lead with 6:10 left in the game.
Others Nominated: Anthony Henry, Adams State; Terrence Curtis, Black Hills State; Aiden Kuester, Chadron State; La’Markus Reed, Colorado Mesa; Mo Russolillo, Colorado School of Mines; Dawson Chapman, New Mexico Highlands; Charlie Johnson, South Dakota Mines; Ian Loomis, Western Colorado.
Special Teams
JT Miller, Western Colorado (Sophomore (RS), Kicker, Rogers, Arkansas)
Miller provided 10 points on a perfect kicking day in Western Colorado’s 52-21 victory at West Texas A&M. He went 7-of-7 on PATs and provided a 32-yard field goal late in the second quarter that helped put the Mountaineers ahead 17-0 and as part of their 38-0 outburst in the game’s opening 35 minutes.
Others Nominated: Landon Bobo, Adams State; Bryce Coulson, Black Hills State; Caleb Harner, CSU Pueblo; Shay Prichard, Chadron State; Kale Purvis, Colorado Mesa; Preston Kyle, Colorado School of Mines; Daniel Estrada, New Mexico Highlands; Sam Eccles, South Dakota Mines.
About the RMAC
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, headquartered in Colorado Springs, is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 institutions located in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah. The RMAC currently competes in 22 NCAA Division II sports and has earned 71 national championships. Founded in 1909, the RMAC is the most historic athletic conference in the western United States and Division II.
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