Murray Named SEC Freshman of the Week

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Texas A&M’s Kyler Murray garnered Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week honors on Monday for his standout performance in the Aggies’ 35-28 win over South Carolina at Kyle Field last Saturday.

Murray  made his first career start against the Gamecocks. The Allen, Texas native became the first freshman quarterback to rush for over 100 yards in his starting debut in school history with 156 yards on 20 carries. He also passed for 223 yards to become the first A&M QB with 200 passing/100 rushing in a game since Johnny Manziel vs. Ole Miss in 2013 (346 pass/124 rush). The 156 rushing yards were the 11th-best total by an A&M freshman.

Murray matched Auburn’s Cam Newton in 2012 as the only SEC players in the last 20 years to finish their first career start with 100 rush yards, 100 passing yards, a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown.

Murray and senior running back Tra Carson became the first Texas A&M tandem to both have 100 rushing yards in a game since Johnny Manziel and Ben Malena did against Mississippi State in 2012, which is also the last time Texas A&M sported all-black uniforms.

Texas A&M rushed for 321 yards, which easily bested the previous season-high of 233 vs. Nevada. It was the first time the Aggies had surpassed the 300-yard mark in rushing yards since rushing for 326 yards against Oklahoma in the 2013 Cotton Bowl. It was the fourth 300-yard rushing game of the Kevin Sumlin era.

Complete SEC Weekly Honors

OFFENSE
Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss

  • Topped 400 yards of total offense and tossed two big second-half touchdowns to lead Ole Miss to a 27-19 road win at Auburn.
  • Completed 33 of 51 passes for 381 yards with two TDs and rushed eight times for 21 yards.
  • Broke a tie game with a 45-yard TD toss in the third quarter and threw a 21-yard scoring strike in the fourth quarter with the Rebels clinging to a one-point lead.
  • Extended his single-season school record with his sixth 300-yard passing game and moved into third on the career chart behind Bo Wallace (11) and Eli Manning (10).
  • Leads the SEC in total offense (335.3 ypg) and passing average (317.3 ypg).

DEFENSE
Antonio Morrison, LB, Florida

  • Anchored the Gator defense which limited Georgia to 223 yards of total offense.
  • Morrison led the way for the Gators with six tackles, four of those being unassisted.
  • UF held Georgia to only three points in the contest, the fewest since 1984.
  • Morrison and the Gator defense only allowed Georgia to convert two third-downs in the game.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Evan Berry, RS, Tennessee

  • The sophomore returned his third kickoff of the season for a touchdown on a 100-yard return at Kentucky.
  • Berry tied the Tennessee record for kickoff returns for touchdowns in a season, set by Willie Gault in 1980 with three. Berry’s 100-yard return also tied the Tennessee record for longest kickoff return, last accomplished by Leonard Scott vs. Georgia in 1999.

FRESHMAN
Kyler Murray, QB, Texas A&M

  • Murray made his first career start at quarterback for Texas A&M and responded with a 20-for-28 outing through the air for 223 yards and one touchdown.
  • He rushed 20 times for a team-leading 156 net yards and one touchdown. More importantly, no offensive turnovers.

OFFENSIVE LINE
Mitch Smothers, C, Arkansas

  • Made his 21st straight start at center.
  • Earned the highest grade on the line at 91 percent without a missed assignment.
  • Paved the way for season-bests of 291 yards and six touchdowns on the ground in the win over UT Martin.
  • First time since Sept. 10, 2011, against New Mexico that Arkansas has passed for over 300 and run for over 250 yards in a single game.
  • Arkansas passed for over 200 yards and ran for over 200 yards for the fourth time in the last five games compared to twice all of last year.
  • Running back Alex Collins broke the 100-yard mark on the ground for the sixth time this season with a season-high 173 yards on 16 carries – all 16 carries went for positive yards

DEFENSIVE LINE
Marquis Haynes, DE, Ole Miss
• Posted 3.0 TFLs and 2.0 sacks in leading Ole Miss to a 27-19 road win at Auburn.
• Led the team with six solo stops and added a QB pressure.
• Moved into a tie for sixth on the Ole Miss career sacks list with 15.0 in just under two seasons.
• His 5.0 sacks in SEC play equals the most in the league.

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

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