Click HERE for PDF Release

NEC Offensive Player of the Week: AJ Duffy, New Haven
NEC Defensive Player of the Week: Geno Calgaro, Saint Francis
NEC Special Teams Co-Player of the Week: Will Lynch, LIU
NEC Special Teams Co-Player of the Week: Jayson Jenkins, Robert Morris
NEC Rookie of the Week: Jack Hennessey, Central Connecticut

Previous NEC Releases: Preseason Poll Release | TV Package Release

NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
AJ Duffy, New Haven
Quarterback, Jr, 6-2, St. Augustine, FL/Rancho Verde (Florida State/San Diego State)
Week 1 Stats: 21/55, 377 passing yards, 2 passing TDs, 1 INT
Duffy dazzled in his Chargers debut at Marist on Friday, which also served as his first career start and New Haven’s first-ever contest as a Division I program. Under the lights of Tenney Stadium in Poughkeepsie, NY, the junior transfer and Floridian completed 31-of-55 passes for 377 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. In the second quarter of the new season, Duffy completed a five-yard pass to teammate Evan Chieca to cap a nine-play, 72-yard drive that put New Haven on the board for the first time in the young season. Later in the game, the 6-foot-2 quarterback struck again when he hit Logan Schmidt with a 21-yarder for the Chargers’ second score of the night. His 377 yards through the air against the Red Foxes are the third-most registered by an FCS signal caller this season. This is the first-ever weekly award for a New Haven player.

NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Geno Calgaro, Saint Francis
Linebacker, So, 5-10, 215 lbs., Canonsburg, PA/Canon-McMillan
Week 1 Stats: 12 tackles (7 solo), 2.0 TFL (4 yards)
The recipient of two NEC Rookie of the Week awards a year ago in 2024, Calgaro wasted little time in adding another feather to his cap, as he claimed the first NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Defensive Player of the Week award of the 2025 campaign. The 2025 Preseason All-NEC selection had himself an impressive outing in Saint Francis’ season opener at FBS opponent Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday evening. Calgaro registered 12 tackles, including seven solo stops and 2.0 tackles-for-loss. The 12 tackles were tied for the most by an NEC player during opening weekend. In addition, the Keystone State product helped keep his team within arms’ reach in the first half as the Red Flash defense limited the Warhawks to 10 points in that stretch. 

NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE SPECIAL TEAMS CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Will Lynch, LIU
Punter, Sr, 6-3, 180 lbs., Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia/Somerset College
Week 1 Stats: 9 punts, 383 punting yards (58-yard long), 42.6 yards per punt, 1 inside 20
Against No. 15 Florida, Lynch attempted nine punts and averaged 42.6 yards per boot for the Sharks after racking up 383 total yards. Registering a long of 58 yards, the veteran placed one inside the 20-yard line. With this week’s award, Lynch has pushed his NEC Special Teams Player of the Week award count to five in his LIU career.

Jayson Jenkins, Robert Morris
Punter, Gr., 5-11, 180 lbs., Monroeville, PA/Gateway
Week 1 Stats: 11 punts, 453 punting yards (54-yard long), 41.2 yards per punt, 5 inside 20, 1-1 FG (36 yards)
Jenkins averaged 41.2 yards per punt in Robert Morris’ season opener at Big 12 opponent West Virginia on Saturday. The graduate student booted 11 punts for 453 yards and landed five of those inside the Mountaineers’ 20-yard line. In addition, Jenkins provided the Colonials’ lone points of the game when he converted on his lone field goal attempt — a 36-yarder — in the second quarter.

NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Jack Hennessey, Central Connecticut
Kicker, Redshirt Freshman, 5-10, 185, Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell
Week 1 Stats: 2-2 FG (20, 29 yards), 1-1 PAT
Hennessey turned in a perfect 3-for-3 effort in each of his kicking attempts in Central Connecticut’s season opener at FBS and in-state foe UConn on Saturday afternoon. The redshirt freshman registered his first career point early, as he helped give the Blue Devils a 7-0 edge just 2:06 after opening kickoff when he converted on the ensuing PAT that followed a touchdown from Elijah Howard. The Endwell, NY native went on to drill field goals from 20 and 29-yards out to finish with a team-leading seven points in his collegiate debut. 


#NECFB PRIME PERFORMERS (Week 1)

Joey Isabella, DUQ (WR, Gr)
Isabella caught for 120 yards — second-most among NEC players this week — on eight receptions to average 15.0 yards per catch against Big 12 and FBS foe Pitt on Saturday. It marked the fourth time in his career that he surpassed the century mark in receiving yards. 
 
Dylan Evans, MU (WR, R-So)
Evans caught nine balls for 95 yards and a touchdown in Mercyhurst’s season-opening defeat to RV Youngstown State on Thursday. The redshirt sophomore wide receiver hauled in an eight-yard pass from senior quarterback Adam Urena with 6:59 left to play to pull the Lakers within single digits after they trailed by as many as 17 in the second half. 
 
Adam Urena, MU (QB, Sr)
Urena was one of nine FCS quarterbacks to throw for 300-or-more yards this season when he registered 311 yards through the air in Mercyhurst’s hard-fought, season-opening defeat to RV Youngstown State on Thursday night. The NEC’s active leader in passing yards, he made things interesting late in the game with his second touchdown of the night, an eight-yard pass to Dylan Evans that made it a single-digit game with 6:59 remaining.
 
AJ Duffy, NHVN (QB, Jr)
Duffy registered the third-most passing yards by an FCS quarterback in a game this season when he threw for 377 at Marist in New Haven’s first-ever game as a Division I program on Friday. The junior transfer from San Diego State and Florida State had a pair of touchdown throws in his first-ever collegiate start. Duffy was also named the NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
Josh Tracey, NHVN (WR, Sr)
In his Division I debut, Tracey caught for the fifth-most yards by an FCS receiver when he hauled in nine balls for 145 yards in Friday’s season opener at Marist. The senior capped off a 15-play, 84-yard Chargers’ drive in the final quarter with an eight-yard touchdown catch in the final quarter of play. 
 
Patrick McDonnell, RMU (LB, Sr)
McDonnell racked up the most stops by an NEC tackler this weekend after registering 12, including a league-leading nine solo tackles, at Big 12 member West Virginia on Saturday. The veteran linebacker also added a fumble recovery against the Mountaineers. 
 
Geno Calgaro, SFU (LB, So)
Calgaro, an All-NEC Preseason team selection, picked up where he left off from a season ago, registering 12 tackles — the most by an NEC player during opening weekend — against FBS member Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday night. The sophomore linebacker helped keep the Red Flash within arms’ reach in the opening half after holding the Warhawks to 10 points in that stretch. Calgaro was also named the NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Defensive Player of the Week.
 
Jayden Brown, WC (DB, Sr)
Tallying seven tackles against Big 12 opponent Kansas, Brown intercepted a pass in the endzone to prevent the Jayhawks from adding a touchdown to the scoreboard before halftime. The pick was the No. 3 play on Sports Center’s Top 10 that evening.

 
AROUND THE NEC IN 8 SENTENCES

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT: Central Connecticut was perfect in each of the three times they drove inside the red zone at UConn on Saturday, as the Blue Devils scored a touchdown and converted on two field goals. 

DUQUESNE: In its first game against intracity squad Pitt since 1939, Duquesne played in front of a crowd of 53,006, the largest crowd for the Dukes since the program’s reinstatement in 1969. 

LIU: LIU’s season opener at Florida on Saturday evening marked the first time ever that the Sharks battled an opponent from the Southeastern Conference. 

MERCYHURST: Senior quarterback Adam Urena threw for 300-plus yards against a Division I opponent for the second time in his career after recording 311 yards in the air against RV Youngstown State. 

NEW HAVEN: New Haven’s defensive backs held Marist to just 75 yards through the air, a number that was quintupled by the Chargers’ offense, which accumulated 377 receiving yards. 

ROBERT MORRIS: The Colonials recovered four fumbles in Saturday’s season opener at West Virginia, marking the most by an FCS squad in a game this season. 

SAINT FRANCIS: Saint Francis opened the season against an FBS opponent for the fourth time in the past five years when it took on Louisiana-Monroe for the first-ever meeting between the two teams. 
 
STONEHILL: Senior Jack O’Connell threw the fifth most completions in program history against Sacred Heart on Saturday after going 30-of-39. 

WAGNER: Wagner’s season debut at Big 12 member Kansas on Friday marked the first time the Seahawks opened a new season against an FBS opponent since 2021 (Buffalo).  


2025 NEC FOOTBALL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS:

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 1: AJ Duffy (New Haven)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 1: Geno Calgaro (Saint Francis)

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 1: Will Lynch (LIU) & Jayson Jenkins (Robert Morris)

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Sept. 1: Jack Hennessey (Central Connecticut)