WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ- Monmouth junior defensive tackle Dimitrius Smith (Millstone, NJ/Jackson Memorial/Milford Prep) was named Big South Defensive Player of the Week while redshirt freshman quarterback Cody Williams (Springfield, MA/Central) earned CRONS Brand Freshman of the Week honors after Monmouth's win over Wagner last weekend.

"Dimitrius had a tremendous impact in last week's game," said Monmouth Head Coach Kevin Callahan. "He extremely productive from the defensive tackle position and was part of a defense that forced four turnovers."

Smith dominated Wagner up front with five tackles, three of which were for a loss, a sack and two fumble recoveries. Smith finished with a trio of tackles for a loss, including a sack that dropped the Wagner QB Alex Thomson for a nine yard loss. The junior pounced on a pair of fumbles in the game, including one in the fourth quarter on the Wagner seven yard line that led to a Monmouth touchdown. Smith was part of a Hawk defensive effort that kept Wagner out of the endzone until the final minute of the game.  MU forced a season-high four turnovers in the game, including a pair of interceptions and Smith's two fumble recoveries. Until the final drive, MU held the Seahawk offense to just three points (the other Wagner TD coming on a kickoff return) and just 117 yards passing. Wagner was 3 of 10 on third down, including 0-5 in the first half.

"Cody has shown steady improvement each and every week," said Callahan. "He continues to grow and become more comfortable as the quarterback of our offense. We are looking forward to him continuing to improve as the season progresses."

Williams went 24-of-35 passing for a career-high 259 yards and one touchdown to lead Monmouth to its first victory of the season.  His second quarter touchdown strike put the Hawks ahead, 14-3, and he finished the day with 259 yards of total offense and a 137.39 passing efficiency with no turnovers.  Williams had four pass plays longer than 20 yards and completed five consecutive passes twice during the evening. Williams is completing 64% of his passes through three games in his first year of action for the Hawks.

Safety Deonta Fair became the first player to earn a weekly award from the conference last week after his performance in the Central Michigan game.

Monmouth will look to even its record this weekend against No. 15 ranked Fordham at Coffey Field.