NICK GRAZIANO EARNS HIS SECOND STRAIGHT NATIONAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR FROM D2FOOTBALL.COM

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech senior quarterback Nick Graziano (Moraga, Calif.) has been named one of three NCAA Division II National Offensive Players of the Week by D2Football.com for his record setting effort in Tech’s 35-23 win last Saturday at home over Delta State.

Graziano, who was named the Gulf South Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week on Monday, shared National Offensive Player of the Week honors with Wayne State [MI] running back Joique Bell and Carson-Newman running back Buck Wakefield. In addition to naming three Offensive Players of the Week, D2Football.com named St. Augustine defensive end Marcus Crump as its National Defensive Player of the Week and Tusculum punter John Gregory as the National Special Teams Player of the Week.

It is Graziano’s third National D-II Offensive Player of the Week honor as he shared the honor with two other players on Sept. 30 for his performance against Arkansas-Monticello and then shared the honor last week with Stillman College running back Quinn Porter. It is the fourth time D2Football.com has recognized a Wonder Boy as a National Offensive Player of the Week since 2007 as former Tech signal caller Cole Barthel was honored on Sept. 18, 2007.

In Saturday’s home win over Delta State, Graziano accounted for 546 of Tech’s 632 total yards of offense, as the Moraga, Calif., native carried the ball 15 times for 196 yards and scored on an 82-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give the Wonder Boys a 35-17 edge and he was 27-for-54 passing for 350 yards and had two touchdowns and one interception. The 546 yards of offense is a single-game Tech record and also the sixth-best total offensive effort in GSC history. Along with gaining a school record 546 yards of offense, Graziano also became Tech’s single-season leader in passing yards (3,013 yards), total offense (3,402 yards) and touchdown passes (27). All three of those school marks were formally held by former Wonder Boy Jason Campbell in 2004 as he passed for 2,922 yards, gained 2,924 yards of total offense and threw 26 touchdown passes. Along with setting those records, Graziano became the school’s single-season leader in pass completions as he has completed 225 passes this season, which is one better than Barthel had last season.   

On the season, Graziano is 225-for-368 passing for 3,013 yards and has completed 61.1 percent of his passes and is averaging a GSC-best 334.8 passing yards per game and also is averaging a GSC-best 378.0 yards of total offense per contest. In nine games, Graziano has thrown 27 touchdowns and nine interceptions and has had a hand in 32 of Tech’s 50 touchdowns, as he has scored five times on the ground. He enters Saturday’s regular season finale with Harding ranked second nationally in total offense, third nationally in passing yards and 19th in passing efficiency (149.2). Graziano holds all of the school’s single-season passing marks, except passing attempts, as he is four shy of Barthel’s record of 372 set last season.

Graziano and the Wonder Boys (7-2 overall, 5-2 GSC) return to action this Saturday, Nov. 7, when they conclude the regular season with a 2 p.m. contest at Harding (5-5 overall, 3-4 GSC).

-- Tech Athletics --