Sun Belt Football Weekly Awards: Week 1

Sun Belt Syndicate’s Weekly Awards are awarded each week and are a reflection of the publication, not the Sun Belt Conference.

The 2025 college football season is officially underway.

Plenty to talk about through the first 14 games. App State’s Dowell Loggains got his first career win as a head coach. Tony Gibson, albeit in a losing effort, made his debut between the hedges against Georgia. James Madison and Texas State did exactly what they were expected to do. Louisiana and Georgia Southern did the opposite.

That’s the beauty of college football.

After the first slate of games, the Sun Belt Conference is 7-7 in the non-conference. While the conference as a whole did not play to the level many had hoped, dropping all three SEC games on the Week 1 schedule, there were plenty of individual standouts.

Here are Sun Belt Syndicate’s Sun Belt Football Weekly Awards for Week 1.

Offensive Player of the Week: Beau Sparks (WR– TXST)

vs. Eastern Michigan: 7 rec, 82 yds, 4 TD

After Friday’s matchup between App State and Charlotte in the Duke’s Mayo Classic, App State quarterback AJ Swann seemed like a sure thing to win this award for Week 1.

Enter Beau Sparks.

Hat trick 🎩 pic.twitter.com/QhqnIiiwEB

— Texas State Football (@TXSTATEFOOTBALL) August 31, 2025

The junior from El Paso, Texas had one heck of a season debut– a game-high seven receptions for 82 yards and FOUR touchdowns in Texas State’s 52-27 rout of Eastern Michigan. Sparks’ four touchdowns are tied for second place for most touchdown receptions in a single game in conference history, as well as the most touchdown receptions in the land after Week 1.

Oh, and he did it in three quarters. What a way to start the season.

Defensive Player of the Week: D’Arco Perkins-McAllister (CB– ULM)

vs. St. Francis (Pa.): 8 TOT, 5 solo, 2.0 sacks, led ULM in tackles

Plenty of elite defensive performances across the Sun Belt, but ULM’s D’Arco Perkins-McAllister gets the nod.

11:26, 2Q | @DarcoPerkins with the SACKKKKK💪 pic.twitter.com/R6X2D73IU7

— ULM Football (@ULM_FB) August 29, 2025

In the Warhawks’ 29-0 shutout of the Red Flash, Perkins-McAllister shined. He led ULM with eight tackles, five of them solo, and set the tone with two solo sacks. Two sacks– as a cornerback. In addition, St. Francis was only able to throw for 50 total yards due to Perkins-McAllister and the rest of the defensive backs for ULM.

Because of the sacks, and the fact that he led the Warhawks in a shutout victory, D’Arco Perkins-McAllister is an easy choice for Defensive Player of the Week.

Special Teams Player & Freshman of the Week: Dominic De Freitas (K– APP)

vs. Charlotte: 2/2 FG, long 47, 4/4 XP, 10 PTS

Texas State kicker Jake Robles had a case here (1/1 FG, 7/7 XP), but App State kicker Dominic De Freitas gets the edge with his performance against Charlotte in the Duke’s Mayo Classic.

All in 36 seconds: TD ➡️ INT ➡️ FG

📺 Watch on ESPNU#GoApp pic.twitter.com/OIub36dTuI

— App State Football (@AppState_FB) August 30, 2025

Not only was De Freitas a perfect 4-for-4 on extra point attempts, he was perfect in general. In two field goal tries, he nailed them both– the first of which being a 47-yarder to end the first half.

Quite the performance from De Freitas, especially considering that he is a freshman, making him our Special Teams Player of the Week. Since Texas State quarterback Brad Jackson (18/26, 214 yds, 4 TD) is a redshirt freshman in his second year with the Bobcats, De Freitas gets Freshman of the Week as well.