RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Ouachita Baptist University running back TJ Cole has been named the Great American Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Tigers to a 41-7 win over Arkansas-Monticello this past Saturday at home.

In the win over the Weevils, Cole busted loose for 232 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries for an average of 10.5 yards per touch. It was the second time the Texarkana, Texas native has gone over the 200-yard mark in rushing and the 15th time with at least 100 yards in his career.

With his performance against UAM, Cole eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season with four games remaining in the regular season. Cole is one of six players in all levels of NCAA football with at least 1,000 rushing yards this season. He ranks third at the D2 level in total rushing yards (1,040) and fourth nationally in rushing yards per game (148.6).

Cole, along with teammate Kendel Givens, also moved up in Ouachita's career scoring charts in the win over UAM. The duo is now tied with 35 career rushing touchdowns, moving them into a three-way tie with Chris Rycraw (2010-13) for fourth place at Ouachita all-time in the category. The record is 43 by Brockton Brown (2016-19).

Cole eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark for his career two weeks ago in the Homecoming win over Southwestern Oklahoma State, and now sits at 3,356 career rushing yards, which is good for sixth all-time at Ouachita. He is now 308 yards away from tying fifth place Montoya Brown's mark of 3,664 from 2000-03.

Cole and the 7-0 Tigers are back in action this Saturday, October 22 in the Murphy USA Classic against Southern Arkansas. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. in El Dorado.