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After every weekend of games, you always hear about the performances of stars like Leonard Fournette and Myles Garrett. But there are also the performances you don’t hear as much about, coming from some under-the-radar SEC players — the sleepers.
Who were the best of the Saturday Sleepers from Week 9? Take a look.
JOVON ROBINSON, AUBURN
With starting running Peyton Barber not at full strength for the Tigers, Robinson stepped up and led Auburn in rushing with 91 yards. The Tigers have been excited about Robinson since he transferred from junior college, but this is the first game he has had a major impact. Entering the game, Robinson had just 4 carries for 20 yards and had not played in Auburn’s last four games.
JORDAN SCARLETT, FLORIDA
As a true freshman, Scarlett hasn’t had a ton of opportunities this season. But in the 27-3 beatdown of Georgia, Scarlett saw his fair share of action and made the most of it. He gashed the Bulldogs for a 60-yard run in the fourth quarter, which set up a rushing touchdown by Gators starting running back Kelvin Taylor. Scarlett finished the game with 9 carries for 96 yards — both season highs.
JAMES WHITE, TEXAS A&M
White’s first touchdown of the season turned out to be a crucial one because the Aggies held on to beat the Gamecocks in a one-score game. His score came with one minute left in the second quarter to tie the game 21-21 right before halftime. Besides finding pay dirt for the first time, White also set season highs for himself in carries (10) and yards (44). The sophomore accounted for one of Texas A&M’s 3 rushing touchdowns in its 35-28 win over South Carolina.
DOMINIQUE REED, ARKANSAS
The Razorbacks finished their 63-point showing against Tennessee-Martin with 591 yards of total offense. And it was big plays like Reed had in the third quarter that helped lead to the offensive explosion. The junior caught a pass from quarterback Brandon Allen and took it 71 yards to the house to give Arkansas a 42-21 lead.
JOSH MALONE, TENNESSEE
Malone’s 75-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Joshua Dobbs gave Tennessee a 17-14 lead over Kentucky in the second quarter. And the Volunteers would not look back from there on their way to a 52-21 rout of the Wildcats. Malone finished the game with 4 receptions and a career-high 103 receiving yards. The touchdown was his second of the year.
Pat Donohue is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter @SportsDownPat.
