Monday, September 23, 2002

Johnson City, Tenn. (Sept. 23, 2002) - Safety Montreal Harkley (Hanahan, S.C.) of East Tennessee State's football team was named the Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week today for his play in the Buccaneers' 35-21 win over VMI on Saturday. Harkley picked off a pair of passes on the evening to stop a pair of Keydet drives, returning them for a total of 80 yards. He now has three interceptions on the year, tying him for the lead in the SoCon. Harkley also led the team in tackles during the game with 10, including stopping a VMI running back for a two-yard loss on a fourth and goal from the ETSU one-yard line, thwarting another Keydet scoring opportunity. He was a part of a defense that limited VMI to just 64 yards rushing during the contest. Harkley is the first ETSU player to receive defensive player of the week honors in the conference since Rahim El Amin earned the honor on October 21, 2000 after ETSU's upset win over sixth-ranked Furman.