Atkinson Captures National Freshman Of The Week Again
10/27/2025 5:03:00 PM | Football
MACON – A record-breaking performance in Saturday's 62-0 Southern Conference victory over visiting VMI landed quarterback Braden Atkinson in familiar territory on Monday when he was named as the Stats Perform National Freshman of the Week for the second time this season.
Atkinson racked up a school record 533 yards on 29-of-35 passing, while also matching a program superlative for the second time this season with five passing touchdowns, as the 14th-ranked Bears stretched their win streak out to six games. The rookie averaged 18.4 yards per completion, including seven completions that went for 20 or more yards, and logged scoring passes of 75, 32, 59, 75 and 84 yards.
A product of Rolesville, N.C., Atkinson has already thrown for 2,048 yards and 21 touchdowns on 72.3 percent passing this season with just four interceptions. His initial campaign in Macon includes a quintet of 300+-yard passing games, and he has thrown three or more touchdown passes in five of his six starts.
He ranks second among FCS signal callers in completion percentage, completions per game (25.17) and passing yards per game (342.2).
The 13th-ranked Bears (6-1, 5-0 SoCon) will open up a two-game road trip on Saturday when they travel to Greenville, S.C., to take on SoCon nemesis Furman (5-3, 3-2) in a 2 p.m. contest at Paladin Stadium.
Atkinson racked up a school record 533 yards on 29-of-35 passing, while also matching a program superlative for the second time this season with five passing touchdowns, as the 14th-ranked Bears stretched their win streak out to six games. The rookie averaged 18.4 yards per completion, including seven completions that went for 20 or more yards, and logged scoring passes of 75, 32, 59, 75 and 84 yards.
A product of Rolesville, N.C., Atkinson has already thrown for 2,048 yards and 21 touchdowns on 72.3 percent passing this season with just four interceptions. His initial campaign in Macon includes a quintet of 300+-yard passing games, and he has thrown three or more touchdown passes in five of his six starts.
He ranks second among FCS signal callers in completion percentage, completions per game (25.17) and passing yards per game (342.2).
The 13th-ranked Bears (6-1, 5-0 SoCon) will open up a two-game road trip on Saturday when they travel to Greenville, S.C., to take on SoCon nemesis Furman (5-3, 3-2) in a 2 p.m. contest at Paladin Stadium.
Players Mentioned
QB
/ FootballMen’s Basketball Preview | Head Coach Ryan Ridder
Monday, October 27
Women’s Basketball Preview | Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard
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Mercer Football Press Conference (Week 9 vs Furman)
Monday, October 27
Mercer 62 | VMI 0 Post Game Press Conference 10.25.25
Sunday, October 26
