FARMINGTON, Utah (Oct. 4, 2021) - NAU's RJ Martinez and Morgan Vest were named the ROOT SPORTS Big Sky Football Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week after the pair's great weekend, while Eastern Washington's Jackson Cleaver earned Special Teams Player of the Week.
The honors are the first for Martinez and Cleaver, who are both freshmen, while the award is the first for Vest since winning this past spring.
Martinez led the Lumberjacks to a 48-17 victory over Idaho State, as the quarterback threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns. The freshman also rushed for a score, after taking a 41-yard scamper the distance against the Bengals. Martinez helped the Lumberjacks score the most points in a game since Nov. 23, 2019.
Fellow Lumberjack Vest helped NAU hold the Idaho State offense at bay, as the safety had two interceptions on the day. Both forced turnovers led to points for the Lumberjacks on the ensuing possession, with scores of 80 and 11 yards. Vest's two-interception day marked the first time a Lumberjack had a pair of INTs in the same game since Khalil Dorsey in 2018. Vest also added a pair of tackles to his stat sheet.
Cleaver stepped in for injured Seth Harrison and delivered eight points in EWU's 34-28 victory over Montana. Cleaver connected on kicks of 32 and 30, with the 30-yarder coming with under two minutes left in the game. Cleaver booted seven kickoffs on the day, averaging 57.1 per attempt for the Eagles. The freshman kicker was also a perfect 2-of-2 on PATs.
Follow all things #BigSkyFB on Twitter and Instagram at @BigSkyFB. Follow the Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok for all the latest news around the league and use the hashtag #ExperienceElevated.
Others Nominated
Off: Eric Barriere (EWU), Trent Tompkins (UC Davis), Kylan
Weisser (Weber State), Eth Bolingbroke (SUU)
Def: Ty
Okada (MSU), Demetrius Crosby Jr. (EWU), Jace Lewis (Montana), Xavier Bell (PSU), Teddye Buchanan (UC Davis), Francis Bemiy (SUU), Doug Schiess (Weber State)
ST: Malik Flowers (Montana), Seth Vernon (PSU), Daniel Whelan (UC Davis), Noah Alejado (SUU), DJ Arnson (NAU)
Past ROOT SPORTS Player of the Week Honorees
Off: Justin Miller, Southern Utah (Aug. 30); Eric Barriere/Hunter Rodrigues, EWU/UC Davis (Sept. 6); Hunter Rodrigues, UC Davis (Sept. 13); Eric Barriere, EWU (Sept. 20); Eric Barriere, EWU (Sept. 27)
Def: Kobe Singleton, Southern Utah (Aug. 30); Marcus Welnel, Montana (Sept. 6); David Hoage, UNC (Sept. 13); Harrison Beemiller, NAU (Sept. 20); Xander Gagnon, UNC (Sept. 27)
ST: Jake Gerardi, Southern Utah (Aug. 30); Isaiah Gomez/Brian Buschini, UC Davis/Montana (Sept. 6); Trent Tompkins, UC Davis (Sept. 13); DJ Arnson, NAU (Sept. 20); Kyle Sentkowski, Sac State (Sept. 27)