SEC Football Players Of The Week: Oct. 20

On Monday, the SEC announced the league's Football Players of the Week for October 20:

OFFENSIVE
Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt

-Accounted for 246 yards and three total touchdowns to lead Vanderbilt past No. 10/10 LSU

-Was 14-of-22 passing for 160 yards with one score and no interceptions

-Led all players with 86 yards on 17 carries

-Had season-high two rushing touchdowns, with the first giving the Commodores their first lead of the day and the second providing the final margin of victory

-Helped Vandy score most points and record the first 200-yard rushing game against LSU’s defense this season

-Highlights included scrambling to convert 4th-and-1 pass for gain of 10 yards late in the third quarter, leading to the the Dores’ final points in the closing minute of the period

-Moved into a tie for fifth on Vanderbilt’s all-time list with 35 touchdown passes and ninth with 3,862 passing yards in his Commodore career

-Also became the seventh individual in program history to post 5,000 yards of total offense in a career

-Helped Vandy defeat LSU for the first time since the 1990 season


Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia

-Went 26-for-31 for 289 yards and a career-high four touchdowns and added 10 carries for 59 yards and a score during Georgia’s 43-35 victory over No. 5 Ole Miss

-Trailing by as many as nine in the second half, Stockton went 12-for-12 for 135 yards with a passing touchdown while directing the Bulldogs to a 17-0 run in the final period

-On 3rd-and-4 and 3rd-and-1 situations on a drive in the first quarter, he ran for first downs to help to set up Georgia’s first TD

-Bulldog took a 17-14 lead in the second period after weaving through the defense for a 22-yard touchdown run

-Led team to score on its first eight drives vs AP top 10 opponent since 2016 (Ohio State)

-First QB to go 12-for-12 or better in a half against an AP top five opponent since Cal’s Aaron Rodgers did it against then No. 1 USC in 2004

DEFENSIVE
Yhonzae Pierre, LB, Alabama

-Helped the Crimson Tide to its fourth consecutive top-25 victory in the 37-20 win over No. 11 Tennessee

-Played a key role in limiting UT to only 20 points and 410 yards, well-below their season averages entering Saturday's contest

-Matched his career-best total with six tackles, including a team-high tying five solo stops

-Registered a career-high three sacks (-31 yards), part of the Tide's four on the evening

Recorded his three sacks against a Volunteer offensive line unit that had only allowed four total sacks over six games entering the Third Saturday in October

-Pierre's three sacks were the most by a Tide defender in a game since the 2021 season


Zabien Brown, DB, Alabama

-Put together one of his best games to date in the Crimson Tide's 37-20 victory over No. 11 Tennessee

-Totaled 57 coverage snaps and allowed just 16 yards across six targets on the night

-Tied for the team-high total and set a new career-best mark for tackles with seven stops

-Added a pick-six of 99 yards on the Vols' final drive of the first half, flipping the momentum in favor of the Tide instantly heading into halftime

-The interception return ranked as the second-longest pick-six in program history and helped Brown account for the third-most interception return yards in Alabama single-game history

-The pick was also the Tide's first for a score since 2023

SPECIAL TEAMS
Mason Shipley, PK, Texas

-Shipley connected on all three of his field goal attempts, all of which came in the second half of Texas’ 16-13 road win at Kentucky and included a season long 53-yarder with two minutes left in the third quarter, a go-ahead 39-yarder with 57 second left in regulation, and the game-winning 45-yarder in overtime.

-Also kicked a PAT to account of 10 of the team’s 16 points, in addition to handling primary kickoff duties for the first time this season.

-Shipley kicked off four times for an average of 63.2 yards with a touchback.

-Shipley’s first field goal that came from 53 yards out provided an immediate answer to

-Kentucky’s first points of the game and provided the Longhorns a 10-3 lead. The second field goal came with 57 seconds left and broke a 10-10 tie to regain the lead for Texas.

-Although Kentucky would tie it again to force overtime, the Longhorns’ defense stopped the Wildcats at the goal line on the opening possession, providing Texas the chance to win with a score.

-Shipley delivered that from 45 yards out even after a penalty had pushed the team back.

-He is now 6-of-8 on field goals this season with his only misses coming from 55 and 56 yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE
Jordan White, C, Vanderbilt

-Credited by PFF with the team’s highest overall and run block grades following victory over No. 10/10 LSU

-Helped the Commodores record 239 rushing yards, the most given up by the Tigers this year, while averaging over five yards per carry

-Did not allow a sack or a quarterback hit in 32 pass block snaps

-Anchored unit that contributed to Vandy finishing with 399 total yards and an average of six yards per snap

-Aided the Dores in posting 20 first downs and a season-best 36½ minutes time of possession

-The 31 points and 239 rushing yards recorded by Vanderbilt were the most allowed by the Tigers this year

-Efforts also helped the Commodores to their first defeat of LSU since the 1990 campaign

DEFENSIVE LINE
Colin Simmons, EDGE, Texas

-Simmons posted a career-high three sacks and his first forced fumble of the season as Texas went on the road and earned a 16-13 overtime win at Kentucky.

-The defense held Kentucky scoreless in the first half and out of the end zone until the fourth quarter for a stretch of eight-straight quarters without allowing a touchdown going back to the third quarter at Florida.

-Simmons’ first sack came early in the second quarter on a 3rd-and-five when the Wildcats had advanced to the Texas 39-yard line with the game still scoreless. Any forward progress might have led to a fourth-down attempt, but Simmons first dropped into coverage before charging the quarterback after a rollout. The sack resulted in a loss of five yards and forced a punt.

-His other two sacks came on consecutive plays in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 10-10. After Kentucky had just completed a 19-yards pass to UK 34, Simmons killed the momentum with a 3-yard sack on first down and 2-yard sack with the forced fumble on second down. A defensive teammate was inches from recovering the fumble on a diving attempt, and although the Wildcats managed to get it back, the series ended on the next play, forcing a punt.

-The teams would exchange field goals in the last minute of the game to go to overtime where Texas prevailed.

-Simmons is second in the SEC and seventh nationally this season with seven sacks, while his eight tackles for loss leads the team. It was also Simmons’ fourth-straight game with a sack.

Zion Young, EDGE, Missouri

-Young’s efforts on the Mizzou defensive line were key to the Tigers 23-17 double-overtime victory at Auburn.

-He registered 2.5 tackles for loss (-14 yards) and two sacks.

-He recorded five total tackles with three stops and was credited with two hurries by Pro Football Focus.

-Young helped hold Auburn to just 104 total yards and three points in the fourth quarter and the two overtime periods.

FRESHMAN
Tory Blaylock, RB, Oklahoma

-True freshman running back Tory Blaylock rushed for a career-high 101 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries (5.3 yards per rush) in Oklahoma's 26-7 road win over South Carolina on Saturday.

-It was his second career 100-yard rushing game (rushed for 100 yards at Temple).

-Scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the season on an 18-yard play on the opening drive of the game. He had two runs of 18 yards on that possession.

-His 101 rushing yards were the most by an SEC freshman running back this week.

-Led a rushing attack that totaled 171 rushing yards, OU's most against a Power Four opponent this season.

-OU's 171 rushing yards were the second most allowed this season by a South Carolina defensive unit that entered the contest allowing 147.0 rushing yards per game.

(Release via LSU Athletics)