COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo sophomore linebacker Carter Daniels (Centennial, Colo./Mountain Vista) earned another Player of the Week honor Tuesday morning, becoming this season's inaugural National Football Foundation Colorado Chapter Player of the Week. 

On Monday afternoon, Daniels was named the inaugural Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Since the award's inception in 2003, Daniels is the 38th Pack player to earn an NFF Colorado Chapter Player of the Week honor. The 38 honorees tie Colorado School of Mines for second-most in the state of Colorado, behind Colorado's 50 all-time selections. Daniels is the 10th Pack defensive player to be recognized and the first since Bryson Torrie was honored on Sept. 30, 2025.

Daniels earns this week's NFF Colorado Chapter Player of the Week accolade after his standout performance in the Pack's 44-25 season-opening home win last Thursday against Central Missouri. In the win against Central Missouri, Daniels, who was making his first career start, recorded a game and career-high 16 tackles, including five solo stops, and added 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for a loss, and a fourth-quarter pick-six to lead the Pack to its season-opening victory.

The 16 tackles were tied for third most in Division II for the week and tied for the most by a Pack player in a season opener since Lee Meisner recorded 16 tackles in the 2010 season opener against Oklahoma Panhandle State. Daniels capped off the scoring for the Pack in the game as he returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Pack a 44-18 lead with 6:10 left in the game. The interception return for a score was the 56th for the Pack since 2008, and the 20th interception return to a score since the beginning of the 2019 season.

Daniels and the sixth-ranked ThunderWolves (1-0 overall, 0-0 RMAC) return to action this coming Thursday, Sept. 3, as they travel to Hays, Kan., for a 6 p.m. MT non-conference game against Fort Hays State. Fort Hays State, which is ranked No. 23 in this week's D2Football.com poll, opened the 2026 season last Thursday with an impressive 35-14 win at Angelo State.