Gaither, Morgan earn WAC weekly honors

ARLINGTON – After its fourth consecutive win of the year, Sam Houston brought in another pair of weekly honors from the WAC, per a release by league officials on Monday morning.

Linebacker Kavian Gaither was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week and kicker Seth Morgan was named the WAC Special Teams Player of the Week for their efforts in Saturday's 18-13 win at Utah Tech.

For Gaither, it is his first career honor as a Bearkat, while it marks the third time this season Morgan has been named the league's top special teams performer for the week.

It is the second straight week a Bearkat linebacker has been named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week after Jaylen Phillips claimed the honor following the win over Eastern Kentucky.

Gaither led another stellar defensive performance for the Bearkats on Saturday in Utah that saw the Kats hold the Trailblazers to just 262 total yards of offense and out of the end zone until late in the game.

A sophomore from Waco who has transitioned to linebacker this year from defensive back in 2021, Gaither racked up a team best and career high with total 11 stops in the game, pushing his team-leading total to 45 for the year. He also totaled 4.0 TFLs, including a pair of sacks. He also enters this week's game ranked sixth in the WAC with an average of 7.50 tackles per game.

For Morgan, it was the second straight week where he played a pivotal role in getting the Kats a win, hitting three of his four field goal tries in inclement weather in St. George, making him 7-for-8 on tries in the last two games.

He hit an early 20-yard field goal to tie the game in the second quarter then nailed back-to-back tries from 31 and 28 yards to put the Kats ahead in the third period.

He is now 11-for-15 on field goals this year and leads the WAC with 2.20 field goals made per game, while ranking second in total field goals made.

Gaither, Morgan and the rest of the Kats will look to push their win streak to five in a row on Saturday when they head to Tarleton to take on the Texans. Kickoff from Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

Gaither, Morgan earn WAC weekly honors

Players Mentioned

Kavian Gaither

Seth Morgan

Jaylen Phillips

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