Conference

West Long Branch, NJ -- Monmouth junior linebacker Dan Sullivan (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) has been named National Defensive Player of the Week by The Sports Network and the College Football Performance Awards.

"Through our first three games, Dan has been very productive," said Head Coach Kevin Callahan. "He is a versatile player that we can use in a variety of ways."

Sullivan, who was also CFPA National Linebacker of the Week, spearheaded a defense that shut Wagner down for most of the game, holding the Seahawks to 145 yards of total offense, including 54 rushing yards. Sullivan finished with 3.5 sacks, .5 short of tying the Monmouth record for sacks in a game. He totaled 4.5 tackles for a loss and had a team-leading nine tackles, seven of which were solo stops. Wagner was 2 of 13 on third down and committed three turnovers in the contest. The defense yielded just 10 points in the contest and has allowed just one touchdown in the last 10 quarters of play. Sullivan and company shut down all-conference running back candidate Dominique Williams, holding the speedster to 47 yards on eight carries. Sullivan currently leads the Hawks with 18 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for a loss. He ranks tied for seventh in the country in sacks and tied for 16th in TFLs.

The Monmouth defense is ranked sixth in the country in total defense, allowing just 235 yards per game. The Hawks are ranked first in the NEC in seven different defensive categories, including scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense.

Monmouth, 2-1 on the season, hosts Sacred Heart on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Full Sports Network Release: http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/news/news.aspx?id=4530150