Following the wild weekend of conference play, highlighted by the phenomenal game in Athens between Tennessee and Georgia, the SEC office has officially named the Week 5 SEC Players of the Week.

The top individuals honored by the SEC this week:

Offensive Player of the Week – Derrius Guice, RB, LSU

  • Subbing for an injured Leonard Fournette, rushed for a career-best 163 yards and 3 TDs on 17 carries in LSU’s 42-7 win over Missouri.
  • Averaged 9.6 yards per carry … Scored on runs of 42, 4, and 37 yards, all in the first half as the Tigers built a 21-0 lead at halftime.
  • Also caught a pass for a 21-yard gain … Was the second 100-yard rushing game of the season for Guice and LSU has won both of those games.
  • For the game, the Tigers racked up 418 rushing yards and 634 total yards, the most ever by an LSU team in a Southeastern Conference game.

Defensive Player of the Week – Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee

  • For the second-straight week, Barnett’s standout play in the second half helped Tennessee seize control of the game en route to a comeback victory. He finished with five tackles, 2.0 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the end zone that resulted in a defensive touchdown.
  • Barnett now has 24 career sacks and leaped Todd Kelly Sr. (22.5 from 1989-92) for fifth-most in Tennessee history.
  • Barnett now ranks second among all active FBS players with 24.0 career sacks. • He also has 41.5 career tackles for a loss, leaping Dale Jones (39.5 from 1983-86) and Eric Westmoreland (40.0 in 1996, 1998-00) to move into third-place on UT’s all-time list.
  • Both of Barnett’s sacks came at key moments. Georgia’s opening drive of the third quarter halted at midfield when Barnett broke through the offensive line for a nine-yard sack. With 2:56 remaining in the game and the Vols down 24-21, Barnett sacked Jacob Eason on 2nd-and-11 in the UGA end zone and stripped the ball, which was recovered a split second later by teammate Corey Vereen to give the Vols their first lead of the game.

Special Teams Player of the Week (tie) – Dan Skipper, OL, Arkansas

  • Blocked his second field of the season and the seventh of his career on a 41-yard attempt in the fourth quarter.
  • His seven blocks are just two off the NCAA record of nine. • Helped pave the way for Arkansas’ 353 yards rushing against Alcorn State, marking the Razorbacks most yards on the ground since Sept. 13, 2014 at Texas Tech.
  • Arkansas had two 100-yard rushers and a 100-yard receiver for the first time since last season at Tennessee.

Special Teams Player of the Week (tie) – Riley Lovingood, LS, Tennessee

  • Lovingood was part of one of the most unique plays late in the game on Saturday. With 3:43 remaining in the fourth quarter, Lovingood snapped the ball to punter Trevor Daniel, who booted the ball 37 yards high in the air to the UGA 6-yard line.
  • Lovingood raced down the field to make the catch, downing the ball at the UGA 6. Two plays later, Derek Barnett strip sacked Jacob Eason in the end zone and Corey Vereen recovered the ball in the end zone to give UT its first lead of the game at 28-24 after the extra point.

Freshman of the Week – Joshua Jacobs, RB, Alabama

  • The freshman running back made his first career start and recorded his first 100-yard rushing performance.
  • The native of Tulsa, Okla., rushed for a 100 yards and scored a touchdown on just 16 carries to average 6.2 yards per rush.
  • Also caught a career-best threes passes for 44 yards to give him 144 total yards from scrimmage.
  • Converted nine first downs on 19 touches, including seven rushing first downs and two in the passing game.
  • Averaged 7.6 yards per touch with long plays of 28 yards rushing and 23 yards receiving.

Offensive Lineman of the Week – Ethan Pocic, C, LSU

  • Leader of LSU offensive line that paved the way for the most total yards in a SEC game for the Tigers in school with 634 total yards in 42-7 win over Missouri.
  • Played 80 snaps with five knockdowns … LSU had only two negative plays the entire night and averaged 7.7 yards on 82 plays.
  • Playing without Leonard Fournette, LSU produced two 100-yard rushers on their way to 418 rushing yards and 6 rushing TDs.
  • LSU didn’t commit a turnover and registered 30 first downs and possessed the ball for 42:33.

Defensive Lineman of the Week  – Daeshon Hall, DE, Texas A&M

  • Hall finished the day with 6 total tackles, four solo and recorded 3.5 tackles for losses totaling 16 yards which included two quarterback sacks for losses of 12 yards and added two additional quarterback hurries.
  • After the first play from scrimmage for South Carolina notched a 75-yard touchdown run, the Aggie defense kept the Gamecocks out of the end zone the rest of the afternoon in the 24-13 victory.