Football | 9/28/2026 9:10:00 AM
GREENSBORO – Following North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University's upset win over the nationally ranked University of Rhode Island Rams on Saturday, the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Football Conference and BOXTOROW took notice.
The Aggies earned their first two CAA weekly superlatives of the season, and freshmen claimed both. Redshirt freshman linebacker
Donavan Frederick was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week, while freshman teammate
Asher Holland earned CAA Special Teams Player of the Week. A&T also earned its first win over a ranked team in eight years. Frederick also earned HBCU Co-National Player of the Week honors from BOXTOROW.
In A&T's 22-18 win over No. 19/21 URI at Truist Stadium on Saturday, Frederick posted a career-high 12 tackles, along with 2.0 tackles for loss and three pass breakups. Frederick and the Aggies' defense forced four turnovers, the most since forcing four against Norfolk State on Nov. 5, 2022, at Truist. The A&T defense also scored on a 69-yard fumble return by
Tyrek Brown.
Frederick also had a PBU on URI's final drive to help clinch the win for A&T. A Division I-FCS transfer from Campbell University, he earned the starting inside linebacker job in Aggieland and is the team's second-leading tackler with 29 tackles, including 17 solo tackles. Holland, meanwhile, inherited the difficult task of replacing one of the best kickers in program history,
Andrew Brown.
On Saturday, he stepped up in a big way, helping the Aggies take a 15-3 lead into the locker room at halftime. Holland helped the Aggies complete a 12-play, 59-yard drive that took 5:48 off the clock, giving A&T a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. The Aggies then capitalized on a 63-yard run by senior
JT Smith with a 31-yard field goal from Holland, pushing the lead to 12-3 with 3:03 remaining in the first half.
Holland's final field goal came after a 10-play, 76-yard drive that ended with a 21-yard kick to give A&T a 12-point halftime lead. He also kicked the ball off six times for an average of 56.5 yards. Frederick, Holland, and the Aggies will head to Rhode Island this week to face the Bryant Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m., at Beirne Stadium.
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