FRISCO, Texas — Lamar running back Jojo Uga, punter Mason Stallons and UTRGV defensive back TJ Neal have earned this week's Southland Football Player of the Week awards, the conference office announced Monday morning. All three players are first-time winners this season following their performances in Week 6.
Offensive Player of the Week: Jojo Uga, Lamar – RB – Jr. – Hyde Park, Mass. (Weston-Worchester Academy)
Uga had a career day Saturday in the Cardinals' win over UIW, totaling 22 carries for a career-best 144 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 6.5 yards per carry for the game with a long of 57 yards, scoring on that carry and twice more from 25 and 4 yards. Saturday marked his second 100-yard rushing performance of the season.
Defensive Player of the Week: TJ Neal, UTRGV – DB – 5th – Wichita, Kan. (Wichita South High School)
Neal was phenomenal to help UTRGV knock off RV/25 Southeastern, aiding a defensive effort that limited a team averaging 32+ points per game to just 3 points as the Vaqueros earned their first ranked win in program history. Neal totaled 10 tackles and had two interceptions, one of which he returned for 51 yards, which is the longest interception return by a SLC player this season. He became just the second SLC player to have two interceptions in a game this season.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Mason Stallons, Lamar – P – So. – Frisco, Texas (Frisco High School)
Stallons played a key role in Saturday's win against UIW, keeping the field position battle under control for Big Red. He averaged 40.4 yards per punt on five punts including a long of 52. Stallons downed two punts inside the opponent's 20.
2026 Southland Football Players of the Week
| Date |
Offensive |
Defensive |
Special Teams |
| Aug. 31 |
Cutter Stewart, HCU |
Jayven Anderson, HCU |
Lukasz Smolen, HCU |
| Sept. 7 |
Devin Lippold, McNeese |
Lowote Jurkin, SFA |
Carlos Alvarado, SFA |
| Sept. 14 |
Jackson Dufrene, Nicholls |
Kennon Loftin, Nicholls |
Andres Sandoval, Lamar |
| Sept. 21 |
Aiden Jakobsohn, UTRGV |
Jaiden Haygood, UTRGV |
Dkhai Joseph, Southeastern |
| Sept. 28 |
Chad Elzy Jr., Southeastern |
Landon Barrett, McNeese |
Caleb Holmes, Lamar |
| Oct. 5 |
Gavin Rutherford, SFA |
Mike Sylvalie, HCU |
Ozlo Rigby, East Texas A&M |
| Oct. 12 |
Jojo Uga, Lamar |
TJ Neal, UTRGV |
Mason Stallons, Lamar |