Josh Nichols of the Kalamazoo College football team was named the SAAC Men's Hornet of the Week on Tuesday (Sept. 27).

Although the Hornets dropped their first game of the season on the road to Alfred by a 31-23 score, Nichols did everything he could to keep them in the game. Kalamazoo had the ball with 1:27 left on the clock in the fourth with a chance to tie the ball game up and send it into overtime. However, Alfred barely hung on as the Hornets fell on their longest road trip of the year up to New York. 

Offensively for Kalamazoo, 305 of the 343 total yards came through the air as the rushing game could not get going. Although the team leaned on the arm of Nichols, he still gave them a chance to win. He connected on 28 passes (a career-high) for 305 yards and threw two touchdowns. The first came in the two-minute drill of the first half as Nichols linked up with Andrew Widger on a five-yard pass with 53 seconds left. This score gave Kalamazoo a 13-10 lead heading into halftime. The second score came at the 3:03 mark in the fourth quarter as a six-yard pass to Lance Taylor brought the Hornets back within a touchdown at 31-23. 

On the season, Nichols has 87 completions for 1,075 yards and 10 touchdowns through four games. He has a 55% completion percentage, averages 268.8 yards per game, and a 128 efficiency rating. He has already surpassed his career-high in season touchdowns this year and is closing in on another career-high in passing yards, as he had 1,266 last season. In 14 games the past two seasons, Nichols has 202 completions for 2,341 yards and 17 touchdowns. 

Kalamazoo will host #20 Albion on Saturday (Oct. 1) at Angell Field in its MIAA opener at 1 p.m.

2022-23 Men's Hornets of the Week
Josh Nichols, Football
Lance Taylor, Football
Bubba Wilson, Football
Ian Burr, Football