LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Redshirt senior quarterback Juwan Carter of Norfolk State and graduate defensive back Decobie Durant of South Carolina State were named 2021 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, on Tuesday.
The MEAC’s top football honors were bestowed upon the two stars during the 63rd Annual National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame Press Conference.
“These two young men represent the continuing legacy of stellar student-athletes that this conference has produced since its founding more than 50 years ago,” said MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis E. Thomas. “The work that they have done as both students in the classroom and athletes on the football field are a direct correlation to ideals taught by the institutions that they represent. So, congratulations are extended to them as they close out their college careers and take aim at what we know will be successful and productive lives.”
Carter put a period on his stellar career at Norfolk State by leading all MEAC quarterbacks in passing yards (2,511), touchdown passes (21), completion percentage (63.8) and pass efficiency (150.4). He also ran for 390 yards and six touchdowns.
A four-time MEAC Offensive Player of the Week in 2021, Carter leaves Norfolk State as the school’s all-time leader with 9,271 career passing yards, 10,249 total yards, 749 completions and 1,270 attempts. For much of the 2021 FCS season, he ranked among the NCAA’s Top 25 in passing efficiency, passing touchdowns, points responsible for, yards per completion and yards per game.
Durant considered one of the MEAC’s top pro prospects, earned MEAC Defensive Player of the Year following a final season that saw him accumulate 37 tackles, including 29 solo stops. He led the league in passes defended with 14 and tied for second in interceptions with three. Two of his interceptions came against nationally-ranked Clemson on Sept. 11.
Named a Preseason All-American and Preseason MEAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, Durant has two games left in his collegiate career: the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 18 in Atlanta, Ga., and the East/West Shrine Bowl on Feb. 3, 2022 in Las Vegas, for which he has accepted an invitation.
Durant was named to the MEAC All-Academic Team earlier this fall.
Courtesy: MEAC
