This week's honorees are:
MAC EAST: DJ Irons (Akron), Keye Thompson (Ohio), Graham Nicholson (Miami)
MAC WEST: Jase Bauer (Central Michigan), Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (Toledo), Mitchell Tomasek (Eastern Michigan)
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DJ Irons, Akron, QB
Sr., Lawrenceville, Ga. (Grayson | Iowa Central CC)
Redshirt senior QB DJ Irons (Lawrenceville, Ga.) generated 335 yards of total offense for the Zips in a four-overtime setback to Indiana on Saturday night, 29-27. He paced the Zips rushing attack by accumulating 141 yards with two touchdowns, averaging 7.8 yards per carry and a 34-yard rushing attempt. He threw for 194 yards, completing 22-of-35 passes and a 28-yard long toss. Irons gave Akron a 10-7 advantage on a 14-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter after returning to the game from an injury. He found paydirt in the first overtime period with a 10-yard TD rush.
MAC Football East Division Defensive Player of the Week\
Keye Thompson, Ohio, Linebacker
Grad., Barberton, Ohio (Barberton)
Thompson played an integral part in Ohio's strong defensive performance against Bowling Green this Saturday, holding the Falcons to just seven points. The graduate student finished the game with four tackles, half of which were solo stops, but more notably snagged one interception and one fumble recovery. After recovering the ball, Thompson ran 71 yards to score his first career touchdown and give the Bobcats a 21-point lead before the end of the first quarter.
MAC Football East Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Graham Nicholson, Miami, Kicker
Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio (Summit Country Day)
Graham Nicholson was perfect in Saturday's 62-20 win over Delaware State. He connected on both field goals (44, 19 yards) and was 6-of-6 on extra point attempts. He added three touchbacks on four kickoffs.
MAC Football West Division Offensive Player of the Week
Jase Bauer, Central Michigan, Quarterback
R-So., Ankeny, Iowa (Ankeny H.S.)
Led Central Michigan to a come-from-behind 34-30 victory at South Alabama after scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard run with 13 seconds to play. CMU trailed 30-27 with 2:42 to go and Bauer led CMU on an 11-play, 75-yard TD drive spanning 2:29 as the Chippewas claimed the win. Finished the day with a career-high five touchdowns responsible for (career-high four rushing TDs, one passing) and scored on touchdowns on runs of 15, 1, 1, and the game-winning play of 4 yards. Surpassed career-highs for completions (19), pass attempts (30), passing yards (224) and finished the day with a career-high 279 total yards (224 passing and 55 rushing). Bauer’s four touchdowns were the most a CMU player rushed for since Lew Nichols III rushed for four vs. Kent State on Nov. 10, 2021 in a 54-30 win. The last time a player rushed for three touchdowns in a game was Bert Emanuel, Jr. vs. Eastern Michigan in the 2022 season finale. With his four rushing scores, Bauer now has five rushing touchdowns on the year and nine for his career. He scored CMU’s first touchdown of the day on a 15-yard run at the start of the second quarter. He then scored on a 1-yard run late in the second quarter. He followed that up with another 1-yard TD in third quarter and then scored the go-ahead game-winner on a 4-yard scamper with 13 seconds to play. On his passing touchdown, Bauer scrambled, was almost sacked then hit Jesse Prewitt III for a career-long 70-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. It surpassed his previous career-long of 44 yards vs. Bucknell.
MAC Football West Division Defensive Player of the Week
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo, Safety
So., St. Petersburg, Fla. (Lakewood)
Sophomore safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren had a career-high 13 tackles, a key fourth-quarter interception, two pass breakups and a forced fumble in Toledo's 49-31 win over WMU.
MAC Football West Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Mitchell Tomasek, Eastern Michigan, P
Junior, Columbus, Ohio / Worthington Kilbourne
Punter Mitchell Tomasek had a career game at Jacksonville State as the junior kicked eight times for 398 yards for an average of 49.8 yards per boot. The highlight of his day came with a booming 72-yard punt in the second quarter that flipped the field from the EMU 20 to the Jax State 8-yard line. That boomer goes down as a career-best for the junior and is the longest punt by an Eagle since former EMU punter Jake Julien had a 71-yarder versus Army, Oct. 27, 2018. The only two longer punts in EMU history came by way of former Normalites punter Charles Nemeth in 1940 and 1943. Furthermore, the reigning MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week set a career-high in both punts (eight) and punting yards (398).