Erath native Elijah Mitchell earns Sun Belt Conference honors

The Louisiana Football Team saw two players pick up Sun Belt Conference honors after Elijah Mitchell was named the Offensive Player of the Week and Rhys Byrns was named the Special Teams Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday.
With the announcement, Louisiana has now had at least two players earn the award in consecutive weeks for just the fourth time in the Sun Belt era and the 23rd time it has had two earn the honors in the same week overall.
Mitchell has now earned the award three times in his career, while Byrns has now earned the weekly recognition twice.
A native of Erath, Louisiana, Mitchell had a monster game against Georgia State, rushing the ball 16 times for 164 yards and two touchdowns, the second being the game winner. His 164 yards on the ground was the second-highest rushing output of his career and is tied for fourth most in all of college football this season.
He has now gone over the century mark 11 times in his career and has posted nine games in his career with at least two touchdowns.
Byrns played a pivotal role in helping the Ragin' Cajuns flip the field in the team's overtime win at Georgia State. He matched a career high with seven punts for 315 yards and averaged 45.0 yards per punt, a season high.
He also pinned three balls inside the 20 and sent two balls over 50 yards, including a season-high, 53-yard boot.
No. 19 Louisiana returns to Lafayette for its Sun Belt Conference home opener on Saturday, Sept. 26, when it hosts Georgia Southern at Cajun Field. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. CST and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
More information on Louisiana Football tickets can be obtained by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at the CAJUNDOME, (337) 265-2170. For information on parking passes, contact RCAF by phone at (337) 851-2903.