By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Zak Wallace and Keon Howard, both stars on the University of Tennessee at Martin football squad, captured Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week accolades this afternoon. Wallace was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Week and Howard nabbed OVC Newcomer of the Week status.
This marks the fourth OVC weekly honor for Wallace (two Offensive, two Newcomer) and the sixth accolade for Howard (two Offensive, four Newcomer) in 2021. Overall, the Skyhawks have combined for a whopping 20 OVC weekly football accolades this fall.
The duo of Wallace and Howard helped the No. 11 ranked UT Martin squad complete a perfect season at Hardy Graham Stadium on Saturday, winning by a 41-20 margin over Tennessee State. In that game, the Skyhawks rushed for 298 yards – the most in a single game since Oct. 29, 2016 – against the OVC’s top-ranked defensive unit. The win was the eighth straight triumph for UT Martin, which ties a new program record in that category.
Wallace continued his breakout season with 14 carries for 123 yards (8.8 yards per tote) and a pair of touchdowns. The redshirt freshman running back out of Benton, Ark. tallied his third multi-touchdown performance of the season. He ripped off a 22-yard score with 1:21 to go before the halftime break and later added a 36-yard touchdown to pad the Skyhawk advantage out to 14 points with 1:32 remaining in the contest.
For the season, Wallace’s 11 touchdowns rank second in the OVC and 10th nationally. The 6-0, 220-pounder also ranks in the league’s top-10 in scoring (7.3 per game, third) and rushing (60.3 yards per contest, seventh).
Howard cemented his spot in the UT Martin record book with a three-touchdown effort on Saturday – his third outing with at least three total scores this season. He compiled 199 yards of total offense while posting a pair of rushing touchdowns and a passing score. His two touchdowns on the ground set the Skyhawk all-time record for single-season rushing scores by a quarterback – surpassing Leon Reed’s previous record set in 1988. His 21-yard run with 6:23 left to play in the fourth quarter extended UT Martin’s lead from seven to 13 points.
A 6-1, 215-pound graduate from Laurel, Miss., Howard ranks second in the OVC in total offense (235.0 yards per game), third in scoring (6.7 points per game), third in pass efficiency (129.4), third in passing average (185.6 yards per contest) and ninth in rushing (49.4 yards per game).
The Skyhawks return to the gridiron on Saturday, Nov. 13 when they travel to in-state OVC foe Tennessee Tech. Kickoff from Tucker Stadium in Cookeville is set for 1:30 p.m.
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information