MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's Erik Walden and David DeFatta were named Sun Belt Conference Players of the Week following their performance in the win over North Texas Saturday.

Walden picked up the Defensive Player of the Week honor for the first time in his career. The senior was a disruptive force on Saturday with three tackles for loss, a quarterback sack, his first career interception, and a safety. Walden, out of Dublin, Ga., also added pressure with teammate Tavares Jones to force an intentional grounding that led to another safety.

DeFatta, from nearby Franklin, Tenn., was a one man wrecking crew on special teams against the Mean Green. The sophomore punted eight times for a career-best 47.2-yard average to go along with an impressive 44.9 net average and continuously put the Mean Green in bad field position.

DeFatta placed four of his eight attempts inside the 15-yard line with four being downed at the one-yard line which led to the Blue Raiders' two safeties. If that was not enough, DeFatta also nailed a career long 39-yard field goal for the Blue Raiders' first points.

Middle Tennessee (4-5; 3-1) will travel to Louisiana-Monroe this Saturday for a second straight road conference game. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 PM.

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