Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011
DES MOINES, Iowa-Drake running back Nathan Paddock was named Offensive Player of the Week and kicker/punter Billy Janssen was named Special Teams Player of the Week by the Pioneer Football League for games played Saturday, Oct. 8.
The honors are the third and fourth for Drake players in the past three weeks. Bulldogs' defensive end Brandon Coleman earned the defensive award for games of Sept. 24 and quarterback Mike Piatkowski won the offensive honor last week.
Paddock caught five passes for a career-high 163 yards and two touchdown catches that helped Drake come from behind in a 41-26 PFL victory at Morehead State. His first catch was a 35-yard touchdown reception that tied the game midway through the second quarter. Paddock's fourth reception was an 80-yard catch and run for a touchdown that gave Drake a 25-13 lead. His 163 receiving yards was nearly half of his season total entering the game (392 yards) and ranks 20th among FCS receivers and the most by a player listed as a running back.
"It feels great to get some recognition from the PFL," Paddock said. "I think this is just another product of our team's success. I think any of our receivers could get the same award any given week. We have multiple threats in our passing and running game. I just happened to get it this week and I'm sure someone else from our offense can get it next week."
Janssen had four field goals and finished with 15 points in Drake's road win. He kicked three of his field goals in the opening half, keeping the Bulldogs in the game until his 33-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the half gave Drake its first lead. Janssen added a 30-yard field goal to start the third quarter to extend the lead. He also averaged 50.0 yards on five punts and 54.8 yards on nine kickoffs.
"This award is definitely a team award," Janssen said. "The offense did a great job of putting us in the position to score, and the snaps and holds were spot on. It felt good to have a game like this, I felt like I was in the zone and was going to hit anything I went out there to kick. We are going to keep working hard to build on this success and continue it."
