The league posted the weekly award winners:
IRVING, Texas – The American Conference has announced the winners of the league’s weekly football honors from Week 5 of the 2026 season.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Marcus Stokes • R-Jr. • QB • Memphis
Stokes turned in a masterful performance against Charlotte, throwing for 318 yards and five touchdowns on 20-of-25 passing to lead the Tigers past the 49ers, 59-8. He added 61 yards on the ground, totting the rock nine times. He became the first Memphis quarterback to throw for five touchdowns in a single game since 2021.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Darion White • R-Sr. • LB • UTSA
White posted seven tackles (4 solo, 3 asst), including a sack, in the 16-14 win over Rice. He made a pair of key defensive stops on the final possession, logging his seven-yard sack before sealing the win with a fourth down stop.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Leonard Farrow • 5th • KR/RB • Florida Atlantic
Farrow became the third player in American Conference history to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in a game. He took the opening kick 98 yards to put the Owls up 7-0, before adding his second return for 92 yards midway through the first quarter as the Owls beat Texas Southern 66-10.
HONORABLE MENTION
Jonah Delange • Sr. • K • UAB
Converted all four field goal attempts, including two over 40 yards (44, 46) in a 33-14 win over Samford.
Wilky Denaud • Sr. • DT • Florida Atlantic
Totaled five tackles and returned a fumble 31 yards for a touchdown in a 66-10 win over Texas Southern.
Kelby Valsin • Sr. • WR • Florida Atlantic
Caught seven passes for a career-high 126 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a 66-10 win over Texas Southern.
Jahiem White • Sr. • RB • UNT
Set a career high 219 rushing yards on 32 carries, while scoring once in a 45-44 overtime win at Tulsa.
Ajani Sheppard • Sr. • QB • Temple
Scored two touchdowns (one pass, one rush), while accounting for 179 total yards in a 17-13 win at South Florida.
Basket Under Review’s 3MW (best previews on the internet) posted the American conference preview
Reasons for Optimism:
After losing a second coach to the Big 12 in two years last offseason, North Texas hired outside the Grant McCasland tree. Despite that, Daniyal Robinson’s first season looked quite a bit like his predecessor Ross Hodge’s: 19 wins, middle of the American finish, top 50 defense. The identity in Denton remained the same, and the Mean Green will continue to lean on an aggressive, stingy shell as its bread and butter.
Don’t forget you can get a discount to BUR when you use the link above.
Andy Kennedy gave an interview a few weeks back.
On whether this is the deepest backcourt he has had at UAB:
Coach Kennedy: “I try not to — I was born in Mississippi, but I’ve got a Show Me State mentality. Until you do it in the real games, Coach Bartow used to say, ‘Don’t worry when the popcorn’s popping.’ And he’s right, because a lot of guys can do it out here, man. It’s like we’re on the driving range. Let’s see how we do when we get on that green when there’s people watching.