GREENVILLE, S.C. — Furman's Joshua Stoneking has been named Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Paladins' 24-14 victory over The Citadel on Saturday.

The honor is the third of the season for the 6-foot-3, 264-pound Paladin defensive end — tops among league defenders. 

Stoneking, a Raleigh, N.C., product, headlined a solid Furman defensive effort versus The Citadel by recording four tackles, including 2.5 for a loss of 17 yards, two sacks for a loss of 14 yards, a forced fumble, and one quarterback hurry.  His strip sack and forced fumble in the fourth quarter preserved the victory and upped his FCS leading tackles for loss and sack tallies to 18.0 and 12.5, respectively, and extended his nation best run in the two categories to five consecutive weeks.

The Paladin defense limited The Citadel to just 133 rushing yards, 90 yards below its season average, and just 3-of-12 third down conversions.

Furman (5-3, 3-2 SoCon) plays host to SoCon front runner Mercer (6-1, 5-0 SoCon) this Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. contest in Paladin Stadium.