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You know the saying: “Respect your elders.”
It seems like every year, underclassmen are becoming more and more prominent in the college game. In recent years, we’ve seen the younger crowd take home prestigious awards that had always been held down by juniors and seniors.
Here at Saturday Down South, we don’t overlook the old men of the college game. Let’s run down five of the best seniors from this past week.
MICHAEL BENNETT
Bennett is far from the flashiest receiver in the SEC, but he is among the most consistent players at his position in the conference. Georgia’s senior standout had another impressive showing in last weekend’s 34-0 rout of Missouri, catching five passes for 53 yards and a touchdown to aid a winning effort by his team. Those numbers have become standard for Bennett, who has become the prototypical possession receiver in the Bulldogs’ offense. He will never outrun his defender or out-jump an opponent to catch a pass, but he always runs precise routes and has impeccable timing with his quarterback, making him an asset whenever Georgia needs tough yards through the air.
JAVESS BLUE
Blue had been quiet since Kentucky’s Week 1 win over UT Martin, but he emerged as a threat in UK’s offense once again in last week’s win over Louisiana-Monroe. Blue made just three catches for the game, but those three catches went for 109 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-14 Kentucky victory. The Cats trailed 14-3 in the second quarter when Blue recorded a dazzling 83-yard catch and run for a touchdown to awaken the Kentucky sideline. He’d later make a spectacular one-handed catch for his second touchdown of the game, and the play later earned the No. 1 spot on SportsCenter’s Top Plays segment that night. Blue finally looked like the No. 1 wideout Kentucky expected him to be this year, and the Big Blue Nation hopes the dynamic senior can continue this level of production in the second half of the season.
A.J. JOHNSON
Johnson has been a machine from the middle of the Volunteers’ defense this season, and Saturday’s 45-10 dismantling of Chattanooga was just another chapter in what has become an illustrious career in Knoxville. As he always seems to do, Johnson led Tennessee in tackles with nine for the game, but more importantly, he added a forced fumble to help UT silence an overmatched Mocs team for most of the afternoon. Johnson also registered a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry, and he flew from sideline to sideline to ensure Chattanooga never earned an easy yard on offense. The senior sets a tone for the entire UT defense, and without him the other moving pieces on the defense would not be nearly as effective. He has been as valuable a player as he has been a leader in 2014, and with Johnson in the lineup the Volunteers have the ability to stifle any offense in the SEC.
CODY PREWITT
Prewitt recorded seven tackles in a 35-20 Ole Miss victory over Texas A&M, but he earns recognition as one of the SEC’s top seniors this week thanks to his 75-yard pick-six in the second quarter to extend the Rebels’ lead at the time to 21 points. At 14-0, Texas A&M still clung to life, especially with an offense known for scoring points in a hurry. However, Prewitt’s interception-turned-touchdown not only killed yet another A&M drive, but it extended the Ole Miss lead to a margin that had A&M panicking a bit. It wasn’t until Prewitt’s big play that the game truly felt one-sided, and as he always seems to do, he saved his biggest play of the year for a huge moment to help Ole Miss to an easy victory. The former All-American continues to shine as the leader of the best secondary in America, and his exciting pick-six is just one example of what Prewitt adds to the No. 3 team in the country.
BO WALLACE
Wallace has been heavily criticized throughout his career for his tendency to throw costly interceptions in bunches, but the SEC’s most veteran quarterback played a second straight turnover-free game in taking down Texas A&M in College Station Saturday night. Wallace has now played back to back games without committing a turnover, and it’s no surprise Ole Miss won both of those games over top 15 SEC West opponents. Wallace completed just 13 of 19 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown, which is more or less an average night for an SEC quarterback, but he put up those numbers without committing a turnover in front of an SEC-record crowd of more than 110,000 fans at Kyle Field. The senior showed amazing poise in a chaotic atmosphere, and he even had his best rushing performance of the year with 50 yards and two first half rushing touchdowns to break the game wide open. If Wallace continues to limit his turnovers, Ole Miss can be as dangerous as any team in America.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
