ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum University swept this week's South Atlantic Conference AstroTurf Football Player of the Week awards. Quarterback Rogan Wells was named the SAC Offensive Player of the Week, linebacker Jackson Cauthen is the Defensive Player of the Week, while placekicker Eli Shepherd was tabbed the Special Teams Player of the Week.
Tusculum scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to defeat Limestone University, 49-17 at Pioneer Field. With the victory, Tusculum (3-1, 2-0 SAC) secured the top spot in the SAC's Mountain Division and will face Piedmont Division winner Lenoir-Rhyne University (3-0, 3-0 SAC) in this Saturday's SAC Championship game in Hickory, North Carolina.
Wells, a graduate student from Fort Mill, South Carolina, passed for a career-high 519 yards and five touchdowns to garner this second SAC plaudit this spring. He went 33-of-48 while completing passes to 10 different receivers. He also rushed for a 13-yard touchdown to spark TU's 28-0 run in the second half. His 519-yard passing performance is the fourth-best in school-history, while also totaling 542 total offensive yards which is tied for the third-most by a Pioneer. His five touchdown passes are also tied for the third-most in the TU record book. He also paced a Tusculum offense that generated 34 first downs, the second-most in program history.
Cauthen, a senior from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, led all tacklers with 11 stops in Saturday's win over the Saints. Two of his hits were behind the line of scrimmage as the TU defense limited Limestone to 221 total offensive yards (50 rushing, 171 passing). Cauthen earns SAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for a second time in his career.
Shepherd, a junior from Greeneville, Tennessee, was a perfect 7-of-7 on his extra point attempts against the Saints. This spring, he has going 20-of-21 on his extra point tries and is second on the team in scoring with 20 points. For his career, he is eighth in school history in kick scoring with 69 points. His 45 career extra points are seventh in the TU record book while his .938 career extra-point percentage is third-best by a Pioneer. He has been named SAC Special Teams Player of the Week on two occasions during his career.
