Hanover, Maryland, freshman cornerback adds national honor to weekly awards
Week Three FedEx Ground FCS National Players of the Week
EASTON, Mass. (September 19, 2023) – Stonehill College cornerback Nigel Henderson has been named the FedEx Ground National Freshman of the Week for NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FSC) by Stats Perform.
Henderson, the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week, helped Stonehill hand Georgetown University its first loss of the season with a 23-20 triumph for the Skyhawks second-straight road win in as many weeks on Saturday. He totaled four solo tackles, including a key forced fumble on Georgetown's possession following Stonehill senior Perry Shelbred's 37-yard field goal that pushed the Skyhawks in front for the final time.
Henderson is the first Stonehill student-athlete to earn FedEx Ground National Player of the Week honors, while the Skyhawks collected Team of the Week recognition from Stats Perform following their 24-20 victory over Duquesne University in their NEC debut last October.
Henderson has appeared in all three games for Stonehill in his freshman season, totaling 12 tackles (11 solo), including 1.0 tackles for a loss of four yards and the force fumble – which is the Skyhawks' fourth over the last two weeks. Henderson has settled into the defensive backfield for Stonehill over the last two weeks as well, notching nine of his 12 tackles this season in that span – all solo. He posted a season-high five stops, including 1.0 for a loss of four in the Skyhawks 33-30 win at Central Connecticut State University in their NEC opener on September 9.
Henderson totaled four solo tackles and a key fourth-quarter forced fumble to help seal the Skyhawks win at Georgetown (PHOTO BY Steve Goldburg) |
Henderson is tied for fifth on the team in tackles, including his team-high 11 solo stops (6th NEC). He is part of a Stonehill defense that has forced four fumbles to rank second in the Conference and fifth nationally in FCS, moving up to second in the NEC in turnover margin at +2.
Senior running back Jermaine Corbett was named an honorable mention selection for FedEx Ground National Offensive Player of the Week honors by State Perform for the second-straight week. The back-to-back NEC Player of the Week paced a Stonehill offense that recorded 348 total yards against a Georgetown defense that entered Saturday ranked No. 1 in NCAA I FCS with 131 yards rushing on 29 carries and two touchdowns to surpass 100 yards for the second-straight week and sixth time in his career overall. He put Stonehill in front with an eight-yard touchdown run at the end of a ten-play, 89-yard drive on the Skyhawks first possession of the game. His second touchdown was a six-yard run early in the second quarter that gave Stonehill a 13-7 lead in a game they never trailed. Corbett also chipped in six yards on three receptions to finish the day with 136 all-purpose yards.
Stonehill (2-1, 1-0 NEC) is back in action on Saturday, when it wraps up its three-game road trip at Fordham University, a 2022 FCS playoffs participant that is ranked No. 22 in this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FCS National Coaches poll, at 1 p.m. The Skyhawks next home game is the following Saturday, September 30, against reigning NEC Champions and FCS playoff participant Saint Francis (Pa.) University at W.B. Mason Stadium as part of Family Weekend and the kickoff to the College's 75th Anniversary celebration at 1 p.m.
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