Oct. 31, 2016 PITTSBURGH - Receiver Blair Roberts Rochester, NY/Old Dominion) and running back A.J. Hines (Wilson, NC/Fike) both received weekly awards from the Northeast Conference for their performance in Duquesne's 35-31 win over Bryant on Saturday.
Roberts, a first year graduate transfer from Old Dominion, caught eight passes for a career-high 153 yards and a school record-tying four touchdowns (15, 7, 43, 13) to earn co-Offensive Player of the Week, while Hines, who carried 30 times for 147 yards and one touchdown, was named Rookie of the Week for a conference record-tying seventh time.
Roberts had a touchdown reception in each quarter to help the Dukes rally from a 24-7 deficit. He also had a big 19 yard reception on a 3rd-and-7 play late in the fourth quarter to help DU protect its four-point lead. Roberts' previous career high was 104 yards set as a freshman at ODU against Duquesne.
Hines accounted for 147 of DU's 197 rushing yards, to help the Dukes to an over 12 minute advantage in time of possession. His season-long 54 yard run helped set up the eventual game-winning score - a 13 yard pass from Dillon Buechel to Roberts that made it 35-31 with 9:15 remaining. The freshman running back carried eight times on a 12-play drive that erased 7:05 off the clock and left Bryant with only 42 seconds to travel 84 yards.
Hines, who has topped the 100-yard mark five times, will enter Saturday's game at Wagner with 959 yards. His 119.9 yards per game average ranks sixth nationally.