Jaybo Shaw is not expected to miss any action.

The senior Georgia Southern quarterback left last Saturday's 52-20 win over Western Carolina in the third quarter with a right-knee injury that turned out to be a deep bruise.

"It's a bruise on the bone, which is quite painful and creates some swelling," said GSU coach Jeff Monken. "Sometimes it will mimic an injury that is more intense — an ACL or an MCL — but no signs of any damage there.

"We expect him to be ready to play on Saturday."

Shaw had no doubt he would be leading the Eagles (3-0, 2-0 Southern Conference) when they take on Elon Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

"I knew how my knee felt," said Shaw. "I've been going to treatment for the last couple days and I'll continue to do that. It feels better each day."

Heyden out indefinitely

Senior safety Derek Heyden, a starter since 2008, is not expected to return to action after leaving the WCU game with a more serious injury.

He was taken to Memorial Hospital in Savannah by ambulance after being evaluated by the GSU staff.

"Derek is out, probably for the year with his injury. It's a neck injury," said Monken. "It's not a life-threatening injury, and it's not a debilitating injury. It's not going to affect his performance or his ability to do anything physically once it's healed. With that said, neck injuries are serious - neck and head injuries - so we're treating it serious. We'll have more information once he gets out of doctor's care, which should be [Tuesday]. We expected him [Monday], but they're going to keep him one more day as a precaution."

Freshman of the Week

Backup GSU quarterback Ezayi Youyoute was named the Southern Conference Freshman of the week after rushing for 119 yards on just four carries against WCU, including an 83-yard touchdown run.

Youyoute and sophomore Jerick McKinnon each topped 100 yards rushing, and McKinnon, who plays quarterback, running back and receiver, leads the Eagles with seven total touchdown, including one passing and one receiving.

His first touchdown Saturday was also his first carry of the game — a 75-yard run.

The two battle it out at the quarterback position behind Shaw, but it's a friendly — and encouraging — competition.

"When [McKinnon] broke his 75-yard run I got so excited," Youyoute said. "I think I was the first one to go out there and congratulate him. When I scored, he was the the first one to congratulate me. I love seeing him play."

Big numbers

Georgia Southern's rushing offense, which averages 416 yards per game, is the best in the country.

In fact, The SoCon's three option teams - GSU, Wofford (355.7 ypg) and The Citadel (298.3 ypg) - have the top three rushing attacks in the nation.

The Eagles are averaging 48.3 points per game, almost 15 more than the SoCon's second-place team Furman (33.7 ppg).

Could the Eagles have seen it coming?

"To be honest, I didn't," said junior slotback J.J. Wilcox, who has racked up 215 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 15 carries this season. "Our coaches, they told us just to trust in the program, and it's turned out to be pretty good."