University of St. Thomas Athletics
Adebayo named PFL Offensive Player of the Week
10/22/2023 4:21:00 PM | Football
Junior running back becomes fifth Tommie to earn PFL weekly honors
ST. LOUIS, MO.– The University of St. Thomas football is known for its statement wins this season. The Tommies earned yet another this past weekend, dominating in all facets of the game in a 38-6 win at Stetson. Key to St. Thomas' victory was none other than junior running back Hope Adebayo (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley), who was named the PFL Offensive Player of the Week Sunday afternoon.
Adebayo earned his first PFL Athlete of the Week honor this season after a dominant performance by the Tommies offense in their victory over Stetson. The junior running back put together a breakout performance, rushing for 197 yards on 13 carries in the win. Adebayo opened the day with a 67-yard touchdown run, the second longest of the season by any St. Thomas running back this season, bolstering the Tommies to a 7-0 advantage in the first quarter. He then scored his second touchdown of the game to open the fourth, extending the St. Thomas lead to 31-0 and all but cementing the team's victory, and also added rushes for 28 and 26 yards to his stat line.
However, it wasn't just Adebayo's play that garnered him Offensive Player of the Week honors. The junior broke a nine game streak without a 100+ rush yard performance, tallying his first since the Tommies win over Valparaiso on November 5, 2022. He additionally helped St. Thomas set Division I records for rush yards in a game, closing Saturday's contest with 378 total. It marked the first time in the DI era the Tommies rushed for over 300 yards as a team, and the most single-game rushing yards since tallying 500 in a win over Hamline on September 19, 2021.
Adebayo and the rest of St. Thomas will return to action on Saturday, October 28 when they host Marist College in their final home game of October. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
