VALDOSTA, Ga. – Fresh off a 59-6 victory at Shorter on Saturday, Valdosta State senior quarterback Sammy Edwards and graduate student defensive back Larry Elder earned Gulf South Conference Player of the Week honors, the league office announced Monday.  
 
Edwards, a native of Saint Augustine, Fla., earned his second GSC Offensive Player of the Week accolades after going 19 of 29 passing for a season-high 348 yards and two touchdowns, while he ran for one.  He has 13 passing touchdowns in five games this season with no interceptions as VSU is one of six teams in the country in NCAA Division II with no passing interceptions allowed this season.
 
He is putting together another standout season as a starter as he is 17-2 as a starter for his career (5-0 this season), while he is third nationally in passing efficiency (193.0), 13^th in passing touchdowns (13), 15^th in passing yards (1,348) and 14^th in passing yards per game (269.6), as all lead the GSC in 2024.  Edwards also leads the GSC in total offense at 283.0 yards per game for 14^th nationally and is second nationally in yards per pass attempt at a 10.7 clip. 
 
Elder, a native of Richmond, Va., earned Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season.  He accounted for five total tackles and three solo stops, along with a season-high 2.5 sacks and registered his first career interception as a Blazer last week.  Elder and the Blazer "D" grounded the Hawks to just nine first downs, 30 yards rushing and just 195 yards of total offense. 
 
He shares the weekly honor with Ahmir Taylor of Delta State.  Both Edwards and Elder earned POW accolades on Sept. 2 following the victory over Albany State to open the season.
 
Elder and the Blazer defense is third nationally in total defense holding teams to just 203.8 yards per game to lead the team.  VSU is 15^th nationally in rushing defense holding teams to just 80.6 yards per game, while the team is allowing 123.2 yards per game through the air for third nationally and have surrendered just 59 first downs for fifth nationally.  VSU is 16^th nationally in third down conversion defense at a .271 clip (19/70) and fourth nationally in fourth down conversion defense at a .167 clip (1/6).  
 
The No. 3 Blazers (5-0, 1-0 GSC) continue on the road this week for their third trip of the season to South Carolina as they visit North Greenville (2-2, 1-0 GSC) for a Saturday evening matchup in Tigerville, S.C., at 7 p.m.
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more.