DeKALB – Three days after his career-best rushing performance in NIU football’s 34-20 victory over the University of Massachusetts on Saturday, NIU redshirt freshman running back Jaylen Poe was one of five players named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll by the Louisville Sports Commission on Tuesday,

After senior starting running back Antario Brown left the game with an injury in the second quarter, Poe was one of two backs that stepped up in his absence alongside redshirt senior running back Gavin Williams. Poe carried the ball 15 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns – a 22-yarder in the third quarter and a 3-yarder in the fourth. The Dallas, Georgia, product also had an 89-yard kickoff return late in the game to set up NIU’s final score of the game.

The award’s four other honorees were United States Naval Academy junior running back Eli Heidenreich, Western Michigan University junior running back Jaden Nixon, University of Mississippi senior defensive tackle JJ Pegues and University of Minnesota freshman defensive back Koi Perich.

Players are selected for the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll each week of the regular season by a panel of college football experts based on their performance that week.