Staff Report

 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall freshmen Kevin Grooms and Tyler Williams received Conference USA Player of the Week honors from separate outlets Monday afternoon.

Grooms, a running back, received his Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honor from CollegeSportsMadness.com after a masterful, four-touchdown performance in the Herd’s 54-51 double overtime win Saturday at Rice.

He rushed for 103 yards and three scores — including the 5-yard game-winner — and caught a touchdown pass from 5 yards out.

The Hollywood, Fla., native had three of the Herd’s first four scores, including an electrifying 45-yard TD early in the third quarter.

Williams, Marshall’s punter, was named Conference USA Special Teams Player of Week by the league’s media panel after another superb performance, averaging 50.8 yards — including a 66-yarder — on his five kicks, while dropping three inside the 20-yard line.

The Fort Wayne, Ind., resident is currently third nationally in net punting with a 44.07 per-kick average, with eight inside the 20 and just one touchback on his 15 attempts.

Williams also stands fourth in gross punting with a 47.53 mark. Six of his 15 punts have traveled 50 or more yards.

Marshall (2-2) will travel to Purdue (2-1) Saturday for a 3:15 p.m. kickoff in a contest that will be televised on the Big Ten Network.