NEW ORLEANS (JMU Athletics) – James Madison linebacker Trent Hendrick was selected as the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week while safety Curtis Harris-Lopez was voted Special Teams Player of the Week following their respective performances in the Dukes’ 35-10 victory over Georgia Southern last Saturday.

This is the first career weekly honor for Hendrick and the second for Harris-Lopez, who earned Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week once in 2024 while at Holy Cross.

Hendrick led JMU’s defense with career highs of 11 tackles and 3.0 sacks, to go with a forced fumble and pass breakup. He also set a career-high in solo tackles (8) and total TFL (3.0), as the Dukes forced season highs of 10 TFL and seven sacks. JMU limited Georgia Southern’s defense to just 192 yards and an impressive 27 rushing yards on 26 carries (1.04 per rush). The three sacks for Hendrick were the most by a JMU player since Oct. 19, 2023, when Jalen Green registered a program-record five at Marshall.

Harris-Lopez returned his first kickoff return at JMU for a touchdown, taking it 88 yards to the house. That score gave JMU a 21-3 lead in the second quarter, and the Dukes never led by any less the rest of the way. It was his second career kick return for a score, as he also had one last season at Holy Cross. It was JMU’s first kick return for a touchdown since October. 26, 2024, and was JMU’s 20th all-time kick return for a touchdown.

JMU (3-1, 1-0 Sun Belt) returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 4 when it flies to Atlanta to face Georgia Southern in a 3:30 p.m. kickoff at Center Parc Stadium.

— JMU Athletics —