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NEC Offensive Player of the Week: Brian Trobel, Mercyhurst
NEC Defensive Player of the Week: Malachi Wright, Central Connecticut
NEC Special Teams Player of the Week: Joel Kpassou, Duquesne
NEC Rookie of the Week: Ryan Petras, Duquesne

Previous NEC Releases: Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason Poll Release 

NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brian Trobel, Mercyhurst
Running Back, Senior, 5-9, 190 lbs., Mentor, OH/Mentor
Week 7 Stats: 121 rushing yards, 29 rushes, 2 rushing touchdowns, 75 receiving yards, 2 receptions, 1 touchdown reception
Trobel was a defense shredder on Saturday in Mercyhurst’s 19-7 win at Wagner. The senior running back tallied 196 all-purpose yards and registered three touchdowns for the second time this season to help the Lakers improve to 2-0 in NEC play. Running the ball for 121 yards and a pair of scores on 29 carries, the 11th most rushes by a running back in the nation this season, the Buckeye State native added 75 receiving yards and a touchdown catch on a pair of receptions. Scoring on a three-yard run before hauling in a 76-yard touchdown throw — the longest play from scrimmage in the NEC this season — Trobel fueled Mercyhurst’s game-clinching third touchdown drive after he carried the ball seven times for 46 yards. He capped that stretch with a four-yard scamper into the end zone to extend Mercyhurst’s lead to 12 with 4:25 left to play in the third. His NEC-leading eight total touchdowns are tied for the 11th-most in the nation. Trobel enters the week ranked second in the conference with 67.9 rushing yards per game, while his seven rushing scores are a league-best number. He is the first Laker to garner NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Offensive Player of the Week distinction this year.

NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Malachi Wright, Central Connecticut
Linebacker, Senior, 6-1, 230 lbs., West Haven, CT/West Haven/Choate Rosemary Hall
Week 7 Stats: 15 tackles (4 solo), 0.5 tackles-for-loss
Wright set a career high in tackles on Saturday in Central Connecticut’s 24-12 victory at Robert Morris. Registering a game-best 15 stops, including four solo tackles, the senior linebacker helped the Blue Devils remain unbeaten in league play at 2-0 with their sixth-straight triumph against an NEC competitor. In addition, Wright, who hails from West Haven, CT, added 0.5 tackles-for-loss to his stat line. Keeping the Colonials off the scoreboard for the entire first half, Central Connecticut’s defense has shut out NEC competitors in six of eight quarters this season and has allowed just 19 points (9.5 ppg) in that stretch. On the season, Wright is tied for third in the conference in tackles per game (7.2), while his 0.42 sacks per contest are tied for seventh. This is his first NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Defensive Player of the Week award this year, and the third for a Blue Devil as Chris Jean is a two-time honoree (Sept. 15, Sept. 22).

NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Joel Kpassou, Duquesne
Defensive Back, Junior, 5-10, 170 lbs., Cleveland, OH/Solon (Findlay)
Week 7 Stats: 94-yard return for touchdown on opening kickoff
Kpassou set the tone in Duquesne’s 52-7 win over visiting Saint Francis on Saturday. Returning the game’s opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, the junior helped the Dukes jump out to their largest halftime lead against an FCS team in program history, a 45-0 advantage. The kickoff return touchdown was Duquesne’s first since Xavier Nelson turned the trick on an 82-yard return at Central Connecticut on Nov. 16, 2016. In addition, it was the first to start a game for the Dukes since Oct. 25, 2014 (Devin Rahming – 97 yards vs. Alderson Broaddus), and the only kickoff return touchdown in the NEC this season. Improving to 2-0 in the conference for the third time in as many seasons, last year’s defending NEC co-champ has knocked off six-straight conference opponents at home in a streak that dates back to the 2024 campaign. Kpassou is the first Duke to garner NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Special Teams Player of the Week honors this season.

NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Ryan Petras, Duquesne
Wide Receiver, Freshman, 5-9, 180 lbs., Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park
Week 7 Stats: 23 receiving yards, 2 receptions, 1 touchdown reception
Petras became the first player to repeat as the NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Rookie of the Week this season. The first-year wide receiver contributed to Duquesne’s convincing 52-7 home win over Saint Francis on Saturday after he caught a 12-yard touchdown from graduate student Tyler Riddell to extend the Dukes’ first-quarter advantage to 21-0. A local product of Bethel Park, PA, Petras totaled 23 receiving yards for Duquesne, which improved to 2-0 in NEC play for the third time in as many seasons with its sixth-straight home triumph against a conference team. This season, Petras, who caught for a pair of touchdowns last weekend against Stonehill, has hauled in touchdowns in four of his six receptions. His four touchdown receptions are tied for second-most in the circuit.


#NECFB PRIME PERFORMERS (Week 7)

Devon Anderson, CCSU (LB, Jr)
Anderson, a linebacker, returned an interception 55 yards to the end zone for the longest pick-6 in the NEC this season and Central Connecticut’s first in three years. The junior added one tackle and a quarterback hurry to lead the Blue Devils to a 2-0 start to conference play with a 24-12 win at Robert Morris on Saturday.
 
Elijah Howard, CCSU (RB, Sr)
For the second time in as many games, Howard strung together 100-plus rushing yard games when he ran for 131 yards in Central Connecticut’s 24-12 road win at Robert Morris on Saturday. The senior running back and league’s leading rusher at 80.3 yards per game had a 29-yard touchdown run to put the Blue Devils up by a 14-0 count before the end of the first quarter.
 
Malachi Wright, CCSU (LB, Sr)
Wright led all NEC players in Week 7 with 15 tackles, which tied Saint Francis sophomore Geno Calgaro for a single-game-best mark in the NEC this season. Adding 0.5 tackles-for-loss, the senior linebacker helped the Blue Devils post a first-half shutout in Saturday’s 24-12 win at Robert Morris. Wright also earned NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Defensive Player of the Week distinction.
 
Tyson Meiguez, DUQ (LB, Gr)
Meiguez recorded a 40-yard scoop and score on a second-quarter fumble recovery to put Duquesne up by a 45-0 count at halftime in an eventual 52-7 win over Saint Francis on Saturday. The graduate linebacker contributed three tackles and one sack to the Dukes’ third-straight win. 
 
Tyler Riddell, DUQ (QB, Gr)
In one half of action against Saint Francis on Saturday, Riddell threw for 185 yards and four scores to push his season passing touchdown total to 18, the second-most in the FCS this season. The graduate quarterback helped the Dukes improve to 2-0 against conference foes with the 52-7 win.
 
Kyler Laing, MU (LB, Gr)
Laing had a big outing for a Mercyhurst defense that has held each of its two NEC opponents below the 15-point threshold this season. Matching a season-high in tackles with six, the graduate linebacker added 2.5 tackles-for-loss and pushed the Seahawks back 14 yards in the 19-7 road win on Saturday. 
 
Brian Trobel, MU (RB, Sr)
Trobel accounted for each of his team’s three touchdowns on Saturday to lead Mercyhurst to a 19-7 win at Wagner and a 2-0 start in its first official NEC season. The veteran running back posted 121 rushing yards and a pair of touchdown runs to go along with 75 receiving yards and one touchdown catch. Trobel was also named the NEC/Atlantic Offensive Player of the Week. 
 
AJ Duffy, NHVN (QB, Jr)
In New Haven’s 69-0 win over visiting Western Connecticut on Saturday, Duffy passed for 354 yards and accounted for six touchdowns with four passing scores and a pair of touchdown rushes. The junior signal caller directed a Chargers’ offense that put up 42 first-half points, racked up 736 total yards of offense and did not register a punt. 
 
Chaz Middleton, RMU (TE, R-Sr)
Middleton went off for a career-high 186 receiving yards and one touchdown on nine catches in Robert Morris’ NEC opener, a 24-12 defeat to defending league champion Central Connecticut on Saturday. The redshirt senior tight end’s 186 receiving yards are a conference-best mark and the sixth-best performance in the nation this season.  
 
Jordan Johnson, WC (LB, Sr)
Johnson was one of two Seahawks to rack up double digits in tackles in Wagner’s NEC debut, a 19-7 setback to visiting Mercyhurst. A senior linebacker, he added 2.5 tackles-for-loss and one quarterback hurry to his season-best 10 stops.
 
Sam Martin, WC (DB, Sr)
Martin led the Wagner defense with a game- and season-high 12 tackles after he registered four solo and eight assisted stops in a 19-7 defeat to Mercyhurst. The senior defensive back added 1.5 tackles-for-loss, a mark that was also a season-best number.

  
AROUND THE NEC IN 8 SENTENCES

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT: Senior Elijah Howard, the league’s top rusher with 80.3 yards per game, became the first NEC running back to string together back-to-back 100-plus rushing yard games against Division I competitors when he ran for a season-high 131 yards at Robert Morris on Saturday.
    
DUQUESNE: Duquesne’s 45-0 halftime lead against the Red Flash marked the program’s largest as an FCS member, while its 28-point first quarter tied a program record that was set against Marist in 2000.

LIU: LIU is sixth in the FCS with 7.8 tackles-for-loss per contest.

MERCYHURST: For the first time in program history, Mercyhurst has strung together back-to-back wins against Division I opponents after defeating NEC foes LIU and Wagner.

NEW HAVEN: Junior Liam Quigley racked up 15 points — the most by an NEC kicker this season — after converting on all 11 kicks (nine PATs, two field goals) in New Haven's win over Western Connecticut. 

ROBERT MORRIS: Catching for an NEC single-game-high 186 yards on Saturday against Central Connecticut, the sixth-most by an FCS player and the most by a tight end in the nation this season, senior Chaz Middleton’s 41.8 receiving yards per game rank 10th among FCS tight ends this year.

SAINT FRANCIS: Among FCS leaders, sophomore Geno Calgaro is 10th with a league-leading 10.0 tackles per game. 

STONEHILL: Skyhawks’ quarterback Jack O’Connell ranks 15th in the nation in completion percentage (.683) and 12th in completions per game (20.50).

WAGNER: After converting on 8-of-13 passes in two appearances at quarterback against Georgetown and Central Michigan, senior Jordan Barton has combined to go 24-of-38 for 306 yards and three touchdowns in two starts against Norfolk State and Mercyhurst.


2025 NEC FOOTBALL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS:

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 1: AJ Duffy (New Haven)
Sept. 8: Luca Stanzani (LIU)
Sept. 15: AJ Duffy (New Haven)
Sept. 22: Elijah Howard (Central Connecticut)
Sept. 29: Tyler Riddell (Duquesne)
Oct. 6: Brady Olson (Central Connecticut)
Oct. 13: Brian Trobel (Mercyhurst)
Oct. 20: 

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 1: Geno Calgaro (Saint Francis)
Sept. 8: Rafael Fasolino (LIU)
Sept. 15: Christopher Jean (Central Connecticut) & Liam Godwin (New Haven)
Sept. 22: Christopher Jean (Central Connecticut)
Sept. 29: Charles Battaglia (Stonehill)
Oct. 6: Tyson Meiguez (Duquesne)
Oct. 13: Malachi Wright (Central Connecticut)
Oct. 20: 

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 1: Will Lynch (LIU) & Jayson Jenkins (Robert Morris)
Sept. 8: Jayson Jenkins (Robert Morris)
Sept. 15: Brayden Hall (Central Connecticut)
Sept. 22: Logan Chenette (Stonehill)
Sept. 29: Jadon Turner (Central Connecticut)
Oct. 6: Jack Hennessey (Central Connecticut)
Oct. 13: Joel Kpassou (Duquesne)
Oct. 20: 

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Sept. 1: Jack Hennessey (Central Connecticut)
Sept. 8: Jameir Gamble (Mercyhurst)
Sept. 15: Naquan Johnson (LIU)
Sept. 22: Alim Parks, Jr. (Wagner)
Sept. 29: DJ Maultsby (Saint Francis)
Oct. 6: Ryan Petras (Duquesne)
Oct. 13: Ryan Petras (Duquesne)
Oct. 20: