DALLAS — UTSA quarterback Frank Harris, outside linebacker Clarence Hicks and place-kicker Hunter Duplessis have swept the Conference USA Player of the Week awards following the No. 15 Roadrunners' 34-31 victory over UAB on Saturday, the league office announced on Monday.
Harris was named C-USA Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after passing for 323 yards and three touchdowns to help the Roadrunners clinch the C-USA West Division title and the right to host the 2021 Ryan Conference USA Championship Game on Dec. 3. The senior completed 25 of 36 passes (69.4%) to help the Roadrunners improve to 11-0 overall and 7-0 in the league with their 10th straight conference victory. Trailing 31-27 with one minute and six seconds left to play and no timeouts, the Schertz Clemens High School product directed UTSA on a 77-yard drive that culminated in the game-winning score, a 1-yard TD pass to Oscar Cardenas that followed a bobbled snap and a tipped ball in the back of the end zone with three seconds remaining. Harris also completed a 28-yard pass to Cardenas and a 33-yard pass to De'Corian Clark on the final possession to help set up the go-ahead touchdown. His three TD passes helped him break UTSA's single-season record, as the Davey O'Brien Award and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award semifinalist now has 23 to rank 17th in the FBS.
Hicks collected his second C-USA Defensive Player of the Week accolade after posting three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks against the Blazers. The super senior made all three of his stops behind the line of scrimmage on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter, helping the Roadrunners run their school-record winning streak to 11 games. He posted both of his sacks of UAB quarterback Dylan Hopkins on a drive early in the final frame to help force a punt. He then dropped Hopkins for a 7-yard loss on a zone-read play on the Blazers' next drive for his third TFL of the day. The Pensacola, Florida, native now leads the Roadrunners with 14 tackles for loss and eight sacks, marks that each rank second on the program's single-season list. Hicks leads C-USA with 0.73 sacks per game and he stands second in the league and 15th nationally with 1.3 TFL per contest.
Duplessis picked up his third C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week honor of the year after drilling a pair of long field goals and all four extra points in the comeback win versus UAB. The super senior tied his career long with a 51-yard field goal in the second quarter and then gave UTSA its first lead of the day with a 49-yarder late in the third stanza. His PAT after the go-ahead touchdown reception by Oscar Cardenas provided the final three-point margin. The San Antonio native also broke UTSA's single-season field goals record with his two makes, pushing his 2021 total to 20 to rank first in the conference and fifth nationally. His four PATs pushed his program-record tally to 51 on the year.
The 2021 C-USA Players of the Week awards are presented by Surf & Turf Golf and are voted on by a panel of the league's media.
This marks the sixth week at least one UTSA player has earned a conference award and it gives the Roadrunners nine awards this season. Hunter Duplessis and Sheldon Jones each were named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week following the first two victories this season, while Trumane Bell II collected the defensive award on Sept. 20. Duplessis and Clarence Hicks garnered special teams and defensive accolades one week later after the 31-28 win over Memphis before Harris picked up the offensive award after the win at WKU on Oct. 9.
Riding a program-record 11-game winning streak, the Roadrunners will travel to Denton to face North Texas (5-6, 4-3) this Saturday, Nov. 27. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Apogee Stadium and the game will air on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM.
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