COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (November 2, 2026) – Colorado State University Pueblo sophomore linebacker Carter Daniels (Centennial, Colo./Mountain Vista) has been named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Defensive Football Player of the Week for the second time this season following his outstanding performance in the fourth-ranked ThunderWolves' 38-31 Halloween victory over Black Hills State, as announced by the league office Monday afternoon.

Daniels, who also earned RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors following the Pack's season-opening victory over Central Missouri on Aug. 27, becomes the latest CSU Pueblo player to receive weekly recognition from the conference. Through nine weeks of the season, the ThunderWolves have collected seven RMAC Football Player of the Week accolades, including three offensive honors by sophomore quarterback Navi Bruzon (Peoria, Ariz./Highland CC) and special teams honors by senior kicker Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) and sophomore receiver and return specialist Nyir Jones (Camden, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas).

In Saturday's hard-fought seven-point victory over the Yellow Jackets at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl, Daniels turned in one of his best defensive performances of the season as he recorded a game-high nine tackles, including four solo stops, along with career highs of two sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss. He also added two quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to help the ThunderWolves remain unbeaten on the season.

Daniels made his presence felt immediately against Black Hills State as he recorded a strip-sack of Yellow Jackets quarterback Kade Weber on the game's opening offensive play and recovered the loose ball at the BHSU 11-yard line. The turnover set up the Pack's first points of the afternoon as Smith connected on a 29-yard field goal just four plays later to give CSU Pueblo a 3-0 lead only 56 seconds into the contest.

Behind Daniels' performance, the Pack defense limited Black Hills State to 343 yards of total offense on 77 plays, an average of just 4.5 yards per play. The Yellow Jackets finished with 187 rushing yards on 50 attempts, averaging 3.7 yards per carry, while adding 156 yards through the air. CSU Pueblo also recorded seven tackles for a loss and tied a season high with five quarterback sacks in the victory.

Saturday's performance continued an impressive sophomore campaign for Daniels, who has now recorded seven or more tackles in six of the Pack's nine games this season, including three contests with at least nine stops. His two sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss against Black Hills State established new career highs in both categories.

Through nine games this season, Daniels has recorded 67 total tackles, including 10 tackles for a loss and six sacks, along with one interception, two quarterback hurries, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He ranks third in the RMAC in tackles for a loss per game (1.11) and second in sacks per game (0.67).

Additionally, Daniels ranks second in the conference in total tackles for a loss (10) and sacks (6), trailing only CSU Pueblo teammate, senior defensive end Jaylen Booth (Merced, Calif./Merced College), who leads the league with 10.5 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks. The duo has combined for 20.5 tackles for a loss and 12.5 sacks this season, helping anchor one of the RMAC's top defensive units.

Joining Daniels as this week's RMAC Football Players of the Week were New Mexico Highlands quarterback Collin Stucki, who earned Offensive Player of the Week honors, and Colorado Mesa receiver and return specialist Noah Greer, who was named the league's Special Teams Player of the Week.

Daniels and the nationally third-ranked ThunderWolves (9-0 overall, 7-0 RMAC) return to action this coming Saturday, Nov. 7, when they travel to Rapid City, S.D., for an 2 p.m. RMAC road contest against South Dakota Mines (5-4 overall, 3-4 RMAC).