Morgan State junior safety Justin McIlwain has been named the Aeneas Williams Award HBCU Defensive Back of the Week for Week 5, the university announced October 6, after a performance that swung the Bears' third straight win.
McIlwain recorded a game- and season-high nine tackles, six of them solo, and intercepted a pass early in the second quarter that set up a 39-yard Alex Amaya field goal and a 17-7 lead. Through five games the Upper Marlboro, Maryland product is tied for third on the team with 20 tackles.
The Aeneas Williams Award, presented by the Chickasaw Nation and established in 2022, honours the best defensive back in Division I HBCU football, weighing performance and character. It is named for Southern University walk-on turned Pro Football Hall of Famer Aeneas Williams.
Morgan State returns home Saturday, October 10 for Homecoming, hosting the Robert Morris Colonials at Hughes Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon, with ESPN+ carrying the broadcast and WEAA 88.9 FM on radio.
The Bears' three-game winning streak gives Homecoming a competitive edge to match the celebration, and McIlwain's emergence gives the defence a headline act: a Maryland player, at a Maryland university, playing the best football of his career in front of the home crowd.
Homecoming at Hughes Stadium will now double as a showcase for the Bears' secondary. Robert Morris arrives facing a defence whose junior safety has just played the best game of his career, and a Morgan State team protecting a three-game winning streak in front of its largest and loudest crowd of the season.
The award's selection is made in partnership with DraftHBCUPlayers, the university noted, and weekly honourees build the shortlist from which the season's national winner is chosen at year's end.
Kickoff against Robert Morris is at noon Eastern on Saturday, October 10, with the Bears' home crowd arriving off a three-game winning streak and an award week for their junior safety.
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