Texas A&M’s convincing victory over the then-No. 17-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium last Saturday yielded weekly honors for juniorArmani Watts, freshman Trayveon Williams and graduate Trevor Knight on Monday.
Watts and Williams earned weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference, while Knight was honored by the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award and the Manning Award.
Watts, a junior safety from Forney, Texas, earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors after contributing a team-high eight tackles and a pair of game-changing plays against the Razorbacks. With Arkansas on the verge of extending their second-quarter lead to 17-7, Watts forced and recovered a fumble by Hog running back Rawleigh Williams. Instead of trailing by 10 points, the Aggies turned the fumble into a made field goal to knot the game at 10-10. Then, in the third quarter, Watts squelched a fourth-down end-around with a tackle for loss that stopped a 19-play, 89-yard drive by the Hogs. Two plays later, A&M scored on a 92-yard TD pass to take a lead they would not relinquish.
Williams, a freshman running back from Houston, Texas, earned SEC Freshman of Week honors for a second consecutive week after posting a career-high 153 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries against Arkansas. With the game still in the balance, the nation’s top true freshman rusher reached the end zone with 33- and 22-yard rushes. Through four games, Williams has rushed for 389 yards and three touchdowns and his 9.7 per carry averages leads the Football Bowl Subdivision among rushers with more than 30 carries.
Knight, a graduate transfer quarterback from San Antonio via the University of Oklahoma, was named one of the Davey O’Brien Award “Great 8” weekly honorees after accounting for 383 total yards and four touchdowns against the Razorbacks. Knight rushed for a game- and career-high 157 yards and scored on 42- and 49-yard touchdown runs. He also passed for 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 92-yarder that gave the Aggies their first lead of the night and tied for the fifth-longest in school history.
SEC Weekly Honors
OFFENSE
Joshua Dobbs, QB, Tennessee
DEFENSE
Armani Watts, DB, Texas A&M
SPECIAL TEAMS
Daniel Carlson, PK, Auburn
FRESHMAN
Traveon Williams, RB, Texas A&M
OFFENSIVE LINE
Jordan Sims, OL, Ole Miss
DEFENSIVE LINE
Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
Denzil Ware, DE, Kentucky
Davey O’Brien Award “Great 8”
Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee, Sr., 6-3, 210, Alpharetta, Ga.
- Led Tennessee back from a 21-3 halftime deficit to a 38-28 win over No. 19 Florida; amassed 399 yards of offense (319 passing) and five touchdowns (four passing).
Lamar Jackson, Louisville, So., 6-3, 205, Boynton Beach, Fla.
- Accounted for seven touchdowns by completing 24 of 44 passes for 417 yards (5 TDs, 1 INT) and rushing 12 times for 62 yards and two scores in a 59-28 win over Marshall.
Daniel Jones, Duke, R-Fr., 6-5, 210, Charlotte, N.C.
- Led Duke to a 38-35 upset win at Notre Dame, turning aside a 14-0 deficit by connecting on 24 of 32 pass attempts for 290 yards and three touchdowns (one interception).
Chad Kelly, Ole Miss, Sr., 6-2, 224, Buffalo, N.Y.
- Was 18-for-24 passing for 282 yards and two scores and ran for 53 yards and a touchdown on four carries in just three quarters of action in a 45-14 rout of No. 12 Georgia.
Trevor Knight, Texas A&M, Sr., 6-1, 215, San Antonio, Texas
- Rushed for a game-high 157 yards on 10 carries, including a pair of rushing touchdowns, and threw for 225 yards and two scores in a 45-24 triumph over 17th-ranked Arkansas.
Steven Montez, Colorado, R-Fr., 6-5, 225, El Paso, Texas
- Became first player in Colorado history to throw for 300 yards (23-for-32, 333 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs) and rush for 100 yards (21 carries, 135 yards, 1 TD) during a 41-38 upset at Oregon.
Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina, Jr., 6-3, 220, Mentor, Ohio
- Threw the game-winning touchdown pass with two seconds remaining to cap a 35-of-46 night (453 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions) in a 37-36 win over Pittsburgh.
Manny Wilkins, Arizona State, So., 6-3, 197, Novato, Calif.
- Helped Arizona State improve to 4-0 by accounting for four touchdowns; tallied three scores and a team-high 72 yards on the ground and completed 21 of 30 passes for 290 yards and a TD.
Manning Award “Stars of the Week”
Jerod Evans, Virginia Tech (13-of-20, 282 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 93.5)
Evans, who also rushes for 97 yards and a TD, directs the Hokies to scores on their final five possessions of the first half as they roll to a 54-17 win over East Carolina.
Riley Ferguson, Memphis (20-of-27, 359 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 96.0)
Ferguson, who adds a rushing touchdown, ties a school-record for touchdowns (all in the first half) as the Tigers cruise to a 77-3 victory over Bowling Green.
Daniel Jones, Duke (24-of-32, 290 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 86.4)
Jones connects on a 64-yard scoring pass midway through the fourth quarter to tie the score and then gets the Blue Devils in position for the game-winning field goal with 1:24 to go as Duke shocks Notre Dame on the road, 38-35.
Trevor Knight, Texas A&M (12-of-22, 225 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 90.5)
Knight, who also rushes for 157 yards and scores of 42 and 48 yards, connects on a 92-yard touchdown pass to snap a 17-17 third-quarter deadlock as the Aggies improve to 4-0 with a critical 45-24 SEC win over Arkansas.
Steven Montez, Colorado (23-of-32, 333 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT, QBR: 89.8)
Montez, making his first career start, adds 135 rushing yards and a score, as the Buffaloes top Oregon, 41-38, for their first win over the Ducks since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.
Seth Russell, Baylor (18-of-28, 387 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 91.0)
Russell, who also leads his team with 65 rushing yards, connects on an 89-yard third-quarter scoring pass to break a 21-21 tie as he leads the Bears to a key 35-24 Big 12 win over Oklahoma State.
Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina (35-of-46, 453 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 87.8)
Trubisky throws for a pair of touchdowns in the final 5:24 as the Tar Heels erase a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Pittsburgh, 37-36.
Troy Williams, Utah (21-of-34, 270 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 80.4)
Williams, who adds a rushing TD, connects on an 18-yard scoring strike with 16 seconds to go to cap a comeback from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit as the Utes stop USC, 31-27, in Pac-12 action.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics