Charleston Southern football had a pair of players receive Mid-Season All-America status from Phil Steele last week for their successes so far this fall. Both earned a nod onto the Fourth-Team with Chris Rhone as a punt returner while Justin Waters got on as a linebacker.
Waters leads all levels of NCAA football in forced fumbles with seven on the season. He is averaging 0.88 per game which also leads all divisions. Additionally, he is averaging 7.4 tackles per game which ranks within the top 100 nationally and eighth in the conference. He was named OVC / Big South Defensive Player of the Week on October 6 following the game at Gardner-Webb where he had a pair of forced fumbles to go with 19 tackles which tied the association record. On the season, he has 59 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, a sack, an interception and two pass breakups.
Rhone has continued to be a steady presence on the outside for the Buccaneer offense as he has compiled 23 receptions for 254 yards. His best game of the season came against South Carolina State as he had five catches for 106 yards in the home victory. Rhone has caught national attention for his ability as a punt returner though as he has nine returns for 127 yards, an average of 14.1 per attempt.
Charleston Southern returns to Buccaneer Field this weekend to take on Eastern Illinois. The contest is slated for a 2 p.m. kickoff with the game to be available live on ESPN+ with Justin Biegel and Ford Werness on the call. This weekend also marks Homecoming for the University with festivities scheduled all throughout the weekend and game.