Yanez, Simpson Earn OVC Player of the Week Honors
September 21, 2026 | Football
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — The Gardner-Webb football team added a pair of accolades as linebacker Tre Yanez and kicker Tyler Simpson were named Ohio Valley Conference Players of the Week by the league office Monday.
Yanez was named the Defensive Player of the Week while Simpson garnered Co-Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Yanez had a team-high 12 tackles (5 solo) as the Runnin' Bulldogs defense limited North Carolina Central to just 218 yards of total offense in picking up a 44-20 victory over the Eagles Saturday for the first win of the season. The junior from Frisco, Texas added two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry. He leads the OVC and ranks 10th nationally in tackles (10.8/game) and 13th nationally in tackles for loss (1.75/game).
Simpson was perfect on his kick attempts as the junior from Cumming, Georgia, made a 27-yard field goal to open the scoring, then was 4-of-4 on PAT's. Simpson capped the contest with a 21-yard field goal in the third quarter and a 42-yarder in the fourth quarter. He also had eight kickoffs, three of which went for touchbacks.
Gardner-Webb heads on the road to close out its nonconference schedule with a trip to Marshall on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start from Huntington, West Virginia.
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Yanez was named the Defensive Player of the Week while Simpson garnered Co-Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Yanez had a team-high 12 tackles (5 solo) as the Runnin' Bulldogs defense limited North Carolina Central to just 218 yards of total offense in picking up a 44-20 victory over the Eagles Saturday for the first win of the season. The junior from Frisco, Texas added two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry. He leads the OVC and ranks 10th nationally in tackles (10.8/game) and 13th nationally in tackles for loss (1.75/game).
Simpson was perfect on his kick attempts as the junior from Cumming, Georgia, made a 27-yard field goal to open the scoring, then was 4-of-4 on PAT's. Simpson capped the contest with a 21-yard field goal in the third quarter and a 42-yarder in the fourth quarter. He also had eight kickoffs, three of which went for touchbacks.
Gardner-Webb heads on the road to close out its nonconference schedule with a trip to Marshall on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start from Huntington, West Virginia.
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