SPARTANBURG, S.C.—Samford junior free safety Jaquiski Tartt was named the Southern Conference's Defensive Player of the Week when the league released its weekly football awards on Monday.
 
Tartt tied his career high with a game-high 17 tackles as Samford topped 17^th-ranked Chattanooga, 17-14 in overtime Saturday.  Tartt tallied 13 solo tackles and added a pass break-up. 
 
The Mobile, Ala., native came up with two key fourth-down tackles to stop potential UTC scoring drives.  Tartt stopped Marquis Green on fourth-and-four in the first quarter to halt a 12-play UTC drive.  Later in the third quarter, Tartt pushed Green out of bounds three yards shy of the first-down marker at the Samford 10-yard line to give the ball back to the Bulldogs' offense.
 
This marks the second time Tartt has been named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week. He also earned the honor on Sept. 2. Samford player have been named Player of the Week seven times so far this season.
 
For the season, Samford has a record of 7-4 overall and 5-2 in Southern Conference play. If the Bulldogs can earn a win Saturday over Elon, they would earn a share of their first-ever Southern Conference title.
 
Tartt and the Bulldogs will wrap up the regular season Saturday when they play host to Elon. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kickoff from Seibert Stadium
 
2013 SAMFORD SOCON PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Player                         Off/Def/ST     Week
Fabian Truss                ST                    Sept. 2
Jaquiski Tartt               Def.                 Sept. 2
Justin Shade                Def.                 Sept. 9
Josh Kimberlin            Def.                 Sept. 16
Andy Summerlin         Off.                 Sept. 30
Andy Summerlin         Off.                 Oct. 7
Jaquiski Tartt               Def.                 Nov. 18