SLU’s Kelley Earns LSWA Player of the Week for 5th time; named to CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year Watch List

Published 2:00 pm Tuesday, November 9, 2021

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For the fifth time this season, Southeastern Louisiana University senior quarterback Cole Kelley was named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Offensive Player of the Week in an announcement from the LSWA on Monday.

Kelley, a Lafayette, Louisiana native, was honored after his most prolific performance as a Lion in Saturday’s 55-52 shootout loss at No. 22 UIW. Kelley completed 50-for-68 passes for 647 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 50 yards and three touchdowns. His single-game totals for total offense (697, 2nd), passing yards (4th) and completions (5th) were all among the top single-game performance in program history.

Earlier on Monday, Kelley was one of 34 student-athletes named to the College Football Performance Awards FCS National Performer of the Year Watch List.

The goal of College Football Performance Awards is to provide the most scientifically rigorous honors in college football. Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of the teams.

With that criteria in place, Kelley figures to be one of the primary candidates for the honor. The only player in the nation that ranks in the top five in both passing touchdowns (31, 4th) and rushing touchdowns (12, 5th), Kelley is in line to become the third player to win the Walter Payton Award in consecutive seasons.

The national leader in total offense (441.7 ypg), passing yards (3,634), completion percentage (72.5) and points responsible for (260), Kelley ranks among the national leaders in completions per game (31.6, 2nd), passing efficiency (175.1, 2nd), touchdowns scored (8th) and yards per pass attempt (9.37, 2nd).

No. 13/14 Southeastern will return home to host Northwestern State on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN3 and can be heard in the Hammond area on Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM, as well as online at www.kajun107.net.

The SLU-NSU game will also be the Hall of Fame game. Both the 2020 class of Matt Carvell (golf), Maiya Cooper (soccer), Brock Hebert (baseball) and Adonson Shallow (track and field), as well as the 2021 class of Jameson Fisher (baseball), Harry Nunez (football) and Renee Villarreal (tennis) will be inducted in a private ceremony prior to the game and recognized at halftime.

2021 CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year Midseason Watch List

Cole Kelley, QB, Southeastern

Cameron Ward, QB, UIW
Lindsey Scott, QB, Nicholls

Darius Hale, RB, Central Arkansas

Breylin Smith, QB, Central Arkansas

Derek Kyler, QB, Dartmouth

Louis Colosimo, QB, Davidson

Eric Barriere, QB, Eastern Washington

Dennis Merritt, RB, Eastern Washington

Davis Cheek, QB, Elon

Quay Holmes, QB, ETSU

Tim DeMorat, QB, Fordham
Shedeur Sanders, QB, Jackson State

Cole Johnson, QB, James Madison

Xavier Shepherd, QB, Kennesaw State

Fred Davis, RB, Mercer

Jason Shelley, QB, Missouri State

Cam Humphrey, QB, Montana

Isaiah Ifanse, RB, Montana State

Matthew McKay, QB, Montana State

Juwan Carter, QB, Norfolk State

Cam Miller, QB, North Dakota State

Theo Day, QB, Northern Iowa

Kasim Hill, QB, Rhode Island

Jake Dunniway, QB, Sacramento State

Malik Grant, RB, Sacred Heart

Eric Schmid, QB, Sam Houston State

Carson Camp, QB, South Dakota

Chris Oladokun, QB, South Dakota State

Pierre Strong Jr., RB, South Dakota State

Nic Baker, QB, Southern Illinois

Xavier Gipson, WR, Stephen F. Austin
Keon Howard, QB, UT Martin
Daniel Smith, QB, Villanova

TICKETS
For ticket information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net. Southeastern will continue offering mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2021-22 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail or text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @LionUpFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.

TOUCHDOWN CLUB/S CLUB

Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the football program are encouraged to join the Touchdown Club. Lion football alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.

All membership fees and donations to both the Touchdown Club and S Club (football) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern football program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.

CLEAR BAG POLICY

Southeastern Athletics instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.