Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) football freshman quarterback Draylen Ellis has been named the STATS FCS National Freshman of the Week.
Ellis set a school record with six touchdown passes in APSU’s wild 49-42 double-overtime victory at Southeast Missouri.
The Olive Branch, Mississippi native went 23-for-43 for 262 yards against the Redhawks, with just one interception against his six scores.
He spread the ball around to his various receivers, finding seven different receivers overall and three different Govs in the end zone.
Ellis opened his game with a four-yard fade to Harley to give the Govs a 13-0 first-quarter lead, then added to it on a 71-yard second-quarter bomb to Jay Parker.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, he hit Eugene Minter from 28 yards out to help the Govs retake the lead, but his most daring gambit came on the Governors final regulation drive: on fourth-and-five from the Southeast Missouri 12-yard line late in the fourth quarter, Ellis stepped up and hit Harley again in the end zone, a score that forced Southeast Missouri into a touchdown-necessary position on the final drive.
In overtime, Ellis found Harley in the end zone twice–on the first time, on an 18-yard strike to tie the game after Southeast Missouri scored to open the extra session, the second time on a 22-yard strike on third-and-seven that ultimately proved to be the game-winning score for the Govs.
Ellis is the third different Gov to earn STATS National honors this season. CJ Evans Jr. took National Freshman of the Week after the Guardian Credit Union Kickoff Classic, and Brian Snead won for his record-setting day against Tennessee State two weeks ago.
