Brookins Claims MVFC Defensive & Newcomer of the Week Honors

CEDAR Falls, Iowa – After sparking Northern Iowa's 34-29 upset over No. 6 South Dakota on Saturday, senior Keelon Brookins claimed the Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive and Newcomer Player of the Week awards, the league announced on Sunday.

Brookins put the Panthers up 34-23 with 2:23 remaining after taking an interception back 29 yards for a touchdown against the Coyotes. Both the interception and touchdown were career firsts for Brookins as the senior finished the game with six total tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups to go along with his crucial interception.

"I want to thank my parents, family, friends and most importantly my teammates for supporting me this season," Brookins said. "The Panther coaching staff is awesome, and my teammates handled business this past week. I am grateful, humbled and honored to receive this recognition."

Brookins becomes the fourth Panther to win a weekly MVFC award on the defensive side of the ball, with Jared Farley and Rickey Neal earning DPOW honors while Suni Lane claimed Newcomer of the Week status earlier in the season. With his interception return on Saturday, Brookins joined Seth Thomas as the only Panthers to return and interception for six points.

The St. Paul, Minn., native's performance helped hold the Coyotes well below their season average of 214 rushing yards on the ground, as the UNI defense allowed only 89 to USD.

This season, Brookins has earned 22 tackles, 3.0 sacks and four pass breakups at the linebacker position. The redshirt senior transfer from Wisconsin has started in the last four games in that spot, despite playing as a defensive back the previous three seasons.

UP NEXT
UNI hits the road for Missouri State next Saturday, with the Panthers and Bears kicking off at 2 p.m. CT. The Panthers will close out the regular season the following weekend when UNI hosts Indiana State for Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 4 p.m. CT.

TICKETS
Fans can purchase season and single-game tickets to UNI football home games through UNITIX. Call 319-273-4849 or visit www.UNITIX.uni.edu.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the UNI football program, follow the Panthers on Twitter at "@UNIFootball" and on Facebook at "UNI Football."

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Brookins Claims MVFC Defensive & Newcomer of the Week Honors

Players Mentioned

Keelon Brookins

Jared Farley

Suni Lane

Rickey Neal Jr.

Seth Thomas

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University of Northern Iowa Athletics