RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Luke Watkins was tabbed the Great American Conference Special Teams Player of the Week following an outstanding performance against Northwestern Oklahoma State, the league announced on Monday afternoon.
Only a freshman, it is the second time Watkins has picked up the GAC's weekly honor this season. He is the only specialist to accomplish the feat in OBU history.
The only other Bison kicker to collect the league's nod was Luke Wendl, who garnered the honor once in 2018 as a junior.
Watkins punted a career-high 10 times against the Rangers, totaling 399 yards with an average of 39.9 yards per boot. He landed four punts inside the 20-yard line, a tie for the second-most in the program's DII era.
This season, he leads the GAC with 16 punts inside the 20-yard line and has six boots of 50 yards or more. He totals 1,945 punt yards, averaging 40.5 yards per attempt with a long of 58 yards.
Watkins has been just as effective when attempting field goals, as his nine makes rank in a tie for second in the conference. He has a season-long make of 44 yards and accounts for 41 of OBU's total points scored this season.
Watkins and company return to the gridiron on Saturday for their home finale against Arkansas-Monticello. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. inside Crain Family Stadium at the Hurt Complex.
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