Southard Tabbed Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week
10/6/2025 4:27:00 PM | Football
Wichita Falls native caps big weekend with national recognition
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Following a huge weekend performance against Incarnate Word in San Antonio, senior linebacker Jaydon Southard added a national recognition to what is developing into a stellar final campaign as a Lumberjack. The Wichita Falls native was named the Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week after a 16-tackle effort against the Cardinals.
Of Southard's 16 stops, a dozen were of the solo variety as he registered his fourth game this season with 10+ stops. The effort matched his career best in tackle output and he added three tackles for loss (19), 1.5 sacks (17) and a forced fumble. One of his biggest plays in Saturday's win was massive chase down sack of UIW's EJ Colson on fourth down which set up an SFA scoring strike three plays later. Southard is the lone SLC defender with multiple games of 15 or more tackles this season. He leads the SLC in tackles average (12.6), tackles for loss average (1.20) and solo tackles average (5.80). His nearly 13 stops per game rates fourth in FCS, while his solo stops per game rank 10th.
He is the first SFA player to receive weekly national FCS acclaim since quarterback Trae Self was named Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week on November 1, 2021.
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Of Southard's 16 stops, a dozen were of the solo variety as he registered his fourth game this season with 10+ stops. The effort matched his career best in tackle output and he added three tackles for loss (19), 1.5 sacks (17) and a forced fumble. One of his biggest plays in Saturday's win was massive chase down sack of UIW's EJ Colson on fourth down which set up an SFA scoring strike three plays later. Southard is the lone SLC defender with multiple games of 15 or more tackles this season. He leads the SLC in tackles average (12.6), tackles for loss average (1.20) and solo tackles average (5.80). His nearly 13 stops per game rates fourth in FCS, while his solo stops per game rank 10th.
He is the first SFA player to receive weekly national FCS acclaim since quarterback Trae Self was named Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week on November 1, 2021.
FOLLOW THE LUMBERJACKS
For all the latest information on SFA football, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Lumberjacks on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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