KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Junior defensive back Taj McClellan (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) was named the NAIA Football Defensive Player of the Week for the Saint Xavier University football team (1-2, 0-0 MSFA Midwest) when the awards were announced by the national office Monday afternoon. He tied the single-game program record for interceptions with three in a 21-7 victory over Madonna University (Mich.) in a Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) crossover contest Saturday evening at Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field in Chicago, Ill. McClellan tied the record originally set by former standout Tom Bijak (2000-23), who collected three interceptions in a 48-3 victory over former NAIA program Urbana University (Ohio) on September 28, 2002, at Deaton Field when it was still known as the SXU Football Field.

McClellan is the 15^th player in program history to earn NAIA Player of the Week honors. He is just the fourth player for the Cougars to win NAIA Defensive Player of the Week, joining SXU Hall-of-Fame defensive back Pat Geary (2006-10), who won on November 8, 2010, and former NAIA All-American linebacker Zach Dolph (2010-13), who won the award three times, first on September 17, 2012, and twice in 2013 on September 9 and October 28. McClellan is the first player for Saint Xavier to claim national honors since his former teammate, Brandt Hixson (2020-24) won NAIA Special Teams Player of the Week on September 20, 2021. He was also named the MSFA Midwest League Defensive Player of the Week.

• McClellan finished the game with six total tackles (five solos) and a pair of pass breakups.
• His first interception set the Cougars up for its third scoring drive of the contest in the second quarter.
• McClellan picked off his second pass of the game deep in SXU territory at their own eight-yard line to stop a Crusader scoring drive in the third quarter.
• He recorded his third takeaway at the end of the third period to halt another MU drive while falling on to his back.
• In three games this season, McClellan leads Saint Xavier with four interceptions and six pass breakups. He also had 19 tackles (13 solos) and a tackle for loss for four yards. McClellan is tied for the most interceptions in the NAIA along with Isaiah Hasten from Benedictine College (Kan.).

Saint Xavier (1-2/0-0 MSFA Midwest) travels to Southfield, Mich. to play Lawrence Tech University (Mich.) in another MSFA crossover game on Saturday, September 27. The game is scheduled for a 12:00 pm central start.