Sun Belt Football Weekly Awards: Week 3

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

Week 3 in the Sun Belt football went even worse than last week. The record for out-of-conference matchups fell from last week’s 6-8 to just 4-6 this week. Three of those losses were to ranked teams and the combined record for those non-Sun Belt teams was 17-2. Winning isn’t easy in the new age of college football and matching up with teams of this caliber is no walk in the park.

However, the Sun Belt did have some success and standout performances. Georgia Southern and Marshall got in the win column and Old Dominion went into Blacksburg and secured another victory over the Hokies of Virginia Tech. We also saw the first Sun Belt conference game of the year. A matchup that Southern Miss won at home over App State, 38-22.

Here are Sun Belt Syndicate’s Weekly Awards for Week 3.

Offensive Player of the Week: Colton Joseph (QB – Old Dominion)

vs. Virginia Tech: 16/22 276 yards, 2 TD and 8 carries for 63 yards and 1 TD

Last week, Trequan Jones claimed the top spot for offensive player of the week and this week we stay with the Monarchs. This time we see quarterback Colton Joseph step up and take the reigns. Joseph has often gotten the job done on the ground but he had his most impressive aerial performance of the young season against the Hokies. Saturday saw Joseph and ODU gain 20 yards or more at least 10 plays, six of them passing plays. The performance also led to the same award from the Sun Belt Conference themselves, as wins over power conference teams usually do.

𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗣𝗛.

▪️ 276 Passing Yards & 2 TDs
▪️ 63 Rushing Yards & 1 TD
▪️ First-Ever Win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg pic.twitter.com/APqDXNrYtS

— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) September 15, 2025

Joseph and the Monarchs move into their bye week but face off against in-state opponent, Liberty, on Saturday September 27th in Norfolk.

Defensive Player of the Week: J’Mond Tapp (DL – Southern Miss)

vs. App State: 7 TOT, 3 Solo, 3 sacks, 3 TFL

App State came into Saturday night’s contest undefeated on the season and looked to carry that momentum into conference play. J’Mond Tapp and the Southern Miss defense had other ideas. The Golden Eagles defense pressured App State QB AJ Swann into pressure situations and helped cause three turnovers on the night. A lot of that play started in the trenches, as Tapp and the defensive line disrupted the Mountaineer game plan and held both Swann and running back Rashod Dubinion to their lowest totals of the season. Tapp was in the backfield early and often, racking up three sacks and three tackles for loss to go along with this seven total tackles. His play also helped keep App State to just 6-of-18 on third down and a season low of just 2.5 yards per rushing attempt. This type of play shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Phil Steele had Tapp as a preseason first team defensive end.

Tapp, Tapp 👑@jmondtapp ranks #14 in the FBS in sacks after posting three against App State pic.twitter.com/JctRIx2Cp4

— Southern Miss Football (@SouthernMissFB) September 15, 2025

Special Teams Player of the Week: Clune Van Andel

vs. Iowa State: 3/3, 1/1 XP, Long 45

When speaking of First Team Preseason All-Sun Belt teams, you can also include our Special Teams Player of the Week, Clune Van Andel. Van Andel was also listed to the Lou Groza/Ray Guy Award Watch List to start the season. His performance against the Cyclones kept the Red Wolves in the game late into the fourth quarter. The kick after an 18 play drive to start the last stanza cut the lead to just 17-16 Iowa State, and had the Red Wolves, and their fans, thinking upset. Arkansas State would eventually fall to the 14th ranked Cyclones, 24-16, but the game was much closer than Vegas predicted.

Freshman of the Week: Jaquari Brown (DB – Georgia Southern)

vs. Jacksonville State: 6 TOT, 6 solo, 1 TFL, 2 PD

The Georgia Southern Eagles finally returned home after an early season West Coast swing that saw them fall to 0-2 to start the year. Jaquari Brown was a redshirt freshman last season but didn’t see any time on the field and until Saturday, hadn’t seen any this season either. That will likely change after an outing that saw him help keep the Gamecock offense in check with six solo tackles, two passes defended, and a tackle for loss. His play helped earn the Eagles a victory at home to open the home slate and gave Eagle nation something to look forward to the rest of the season.