WALESKA, Ga. – After throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for two more on Saturday, University of Pikeville quarterback Lee Kirkland was named the AAC offensive player of the week on Monday.
 
Kirkland, a 6-6, 265-pound graduate student from Bluffton, S.C., led the Bears to a 47-21 win over Reinhardt (Ga.) University on Saturday in the opener of conference play. It was Reinhardt's first ever loss in the AAC and their first conference loss in any league since Nov. 7, 2015, when they were a member of the Mid-South Conference.
 
Kirkland was 35-of-51 in the air for 299 yards, completing 68.7 percent of his passes. In addition, he ran for 54 yards on 12 carries, an average of 4.5 yards per carry.
 
He threw touchdown passes covering four, seven and 27 yards, while rushing for scores from one and two yards. Also, he didn't throw an interception and had a 40-yard punt that pinned the Eagles inside their own 20-yard line.
 
Kirkland did this on the day he broke the career passing yardage record for the university. With a half-season remaining, he has thrown for 7,515 yards in his career.
 
He now holds the career records for passes thrown and completed, touchdown passes and yardage.
 
This is the third time this season Kirkland has been offensive player of the week in the AAC and the seventh time he's taken the award since the Bears joined the league before the beginning of the 2023 campaign.
 
Through five games this season, Kirkland is 153-for-251 for 1,636 yards and 14 touchdowns. His completion percentage is 60.96 and he's averaging 327.2 yards per game.
 
He has also scored half of UPike's eight rushing touchdowns.
 
The Bears will be back in action on Saturday evening, when they visit Kentucky Christian University in Grayson. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.