FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Oct. 2, 2017) – Northern Arizona senior Elijah Marks (Goodyear, Ariz.) has been honored as the ROOT SPORTS Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for the period ending Sept. 30, conference officials announced on Monday.

Marks ran back a kickoff 100-yards for a touchdown in the Lumberjacks' 48-20 victory over Northern Colorado on Saturday, which moved NAU to a perfect 2-0 in Big Sky Conference action (2-2 overall).

The runback came at a pivotal moment in the contest as it followed Northern Colorado touchdown that had just trimmed a 20-0 Lumberjack advantage to 20-14 with 11:03 left in the third quarter.

Marks' 100-yard kickoff return marked the first of his career and the first for NAU since Oct. 26, 2013 vs. Cal Poly (Marcus Alford/100 yards).

The 100-yard return also tied for the longest scoring play in NAU history - matching 100-yard kickoff returns by Len Raney (1994 vs. Idaho State) and Randy Ferrell (1974 vs. Drake).

Marks finished with a total of 123 yards on a pair of kickoff returns while also running back one punt for 10 yards in the vs. Northern Colorado.

The selection marks the second consecutive week and the second time this season that a NAU football player has been named a standout by the conference as senior safety Wes Sutton (Chandler, Ariz.) was recognized as the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 25.

The 'Jacks (2-2) return to action on Saturday, Oct. 7 at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome for a showdown with No. 7/11 Illinois State (4-0) in a 4 p.m. PT kickoff.