ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Following a stout defensive performance by the South Dakota defensive unit against Indiana State this past weekend, defensive lineman Mi’Quise Grace has been named the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), the league announced Monday morning.
Grace lived in the Indiana State backfield all day long, picking up a career-best three tackles for loss in the 49-0 shutout victory of the Sycamores. He also had 1.5 sacks, forced a fumble, recorded five total tackles, and was credited with three quarterback hurries as South Dakota shutout multiple MVFC teams in the same season for the first time in program history.
The Cincinnati native was instrumental to the Coyote defensive unit that held the Sycamores to a whopping (-3) rushing yards, with the Sycamores not having a rush of longer than six yards the entire day, in a dominant defensive showing. The top-10 FCS South Dakota defense surrendered just 129 total yards of offense, setting a new season best.
On the season, Grace leads the team with his 12.0 tackles for loss, which sits second in the MVFC. He sits second on the team and second in the Valley with his 6.5 sacks on the season, while also pacing the team with his eight quarterback hurries coming off the edge of the Coyote line.
The sophomore becomes the fourth Coyote to earn a MVFC Player of the Week honors this season and the second Defensive Player of the Week (Gary Bryant). He joins Keyondray Jones-Logan (Special Teams, Northern State) and Quaron Adams (Newcomer, Murray State) in weekly honors.