FRISCO – HCU quarterback Cutter Stewart, linebacker Jayven Anderson and kicker Lukasz Smolen have been named the Southland Conference football weekly award winners for the season’s opening week, the league announced Monday. Anderson is also the Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week.

HCU sweeps the first week of awards after defeating then ranked No. 19/20 Southeastern on Thursday, 34-28.

Offensive Player of the Week: Cutter Stewart, HCU – QB – Jr. – Alice, Texas (Alice HS)
Stewart accounted for 268 yards through the air and on the ground, completing 10-of-18 passing for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Huskies ranked win over Southeastern. He also led all players with a career-high 95 yards on the ground on 15 carries. Stewart helped guide HCU on four-straight scoring drives to build a 24-7 lead in Hammond.
Honorable Mention: Aiden McCown, Lamar

Defensive Player of the Week: Jayven Anderson, HCU – LB – Sr. – Houston, Texas (North Shore HS)
Anderson was a force to be reckoned with in HCU's opening win over No. 19/20 Southeastern, finishing with six tackles for loss for 19 yards, which was the most in the nation in the opening week of the season. He tallied a total of nine tackles in the opening game. Anderson also registered one sack, one forced fumble and also blocked a field goal in the 2nd quarter with the Huskies trialing, 7-3, that led to a touchdown. After being up 10-7, the Huskies held onto the lead to the 34-28 win.

Special Teams Player of the Week: Lukasz Smolen, HCU – K/P – So. – London, England (Ark Academy)

Smolen did double-duty for the Huskies against No. 19/20 Southeastern, going 2-for-2 on field goals of 30 and 32 yards and successfully converting all four of his PAT attempts while also punting twice with an average of 44.5 yards per punt.
 

2026 Southland Football Players of the Week

Date	Offensive	Defensive	Special Teams
Aug. 31	Cutter Stewart, HCU	Jayven Anderson, HCU	Lukasz Smolen, HCU

Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.