Tag: sec player of the week

Gators DE Zachary Carter named SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week

A team captain on Saturday, Zachary Carter led by example recording three sacks against FAU.

After tallying a career-high three sacks against FAU on Saturday, Florida defensive end Zachary Carter was named an SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week.

Carter totaled four tackles on the day and forced a fumble in the first quarter. Following the game, he sits at 12.5 career sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss. Carter only recorded five sacks last year, so he’s already well on his way to a breakout season.

“I have to give credit to my backend,” Carter said following Saturday’s game “They did a great job covering the line and helping me get back there. I want to give credit to my guys inside for giving me that push. It was just one of those games and I was feeling it tonight. I’m excited for this year. I’m planning on having a big year.”

Carter’s three-sack performance is the first for a Gator since Jonathan Greenard in the Florida State game in November 2019. Florida has three senior transfers on the line helping to guide a young rotation and free things up for Carter.

The line should see a similar result facing USF next week after the Bulls got blown out 45-0 by NC State last week. It’ll be a homecoming for Carter who played high school ball in Tampa.

“I’m excited, “Carter said. “I’m really excited to just play in front of my home crowd. You know, I haven’t played a game in Tampa in about four years. I’m getting old, but I’m just excited to be back in Tampa. I’m
going to have a big crowd there.”

Georgia nose guard Jordan Davis joins Carter as the other Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week. He helped the Bulldogs hold the Clemson Tigers to just three points in a defensive battle between top-five teams.

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This Florida baseball player earned Co-SEC Player of the Week honors

Jud Fabian not only swung the bat well but also provided a highlight-reel catch to rob a home run on Friday, earning him this week’s award.

The fifth-ranked Florida Gators baseball team got back on the winning track in sweeping fashion this weekend taking all three games at home from the visiting Texas A&M Aggies. UF managed to win the first trio of games on its Southeastern Conference schedule thanks to some superb pitching as well as some offensive outbursts.

One of the biggest reasons for Florida’s success against TAMU was sophomore centerfielder Jud Fabian, who not only swung the bat well but also provided a highlight-reel catch to rob the Aggies of a home run on Friday, hilariously losing his shoe in the process.

For his efforts, the conference named the potential MLB first-round draft pick its Co-Player of the Week, sharing the honor with the Arkansas Razorbacks’ Casey Opitz. Here is what the press release had to say about Fabian’s accolade.

Co-Player of the Week: Jud Fabian, Florida
Florida’s Jud Fabian recorded two more home runs during Florida’s homestand against Texas A&M. He scored four runs and had four RBI to help lead the Gators to a sweep. Fabian also made a key defensive play in the series to rob the Aggies of a home run. He had three hits in the series finale.

Florida is off until this weekend when they open up a three-game series at the South Carolina Gamecocks. Friday night’s first pitch is slated for 7 p.m. EDT and all three games will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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Colin Castleton joins an impressive list with second SEC Player of the Week honor

Florida’s center is having a breakout season in his first year as a transfer from Michigan. He now joins an exclusive list of UF players.

Florida center Colin Castleton‘s efforts in recent games haven’t gone unnoticed. After a big game on Saturday in UF’s road upset over No. 11 West Virginia, he’s earned his second SEC Player of the Week honor of the season.

Castleton led the Gators with 21 points against the Mountaineers, and he also had seven rebounds and five blocks. He came up clutch at the free-throw line when his team needed him, converting on all nine of his attempts (seven of which were in the second half).

In the first game of the week against Vanderbilt, he was limited by foul trouble, but he still ended up in double figures scoring with all 13 of his points coming in the second half.

With multiple conference Player of the Week titles under his belt, he joins an impressive fraternity of Florida players to do so in one season.

He’s the first Gator with multiple POW awards since 2017-18, when Jalen Hudson had three. Scottie Wilbekin and Michael Frazier each had two during UF’s Final Four season in 2013-14, as did Joakim Noah during the first championship run in 2005-06. It had only been done twice, by Dan Cross and Vernon Maxwell, before that.

Castleton’s play has elevated the Gators’ entire team, and he is stepping into the leadership role that has been somewhat vacant since Keyontae Johnson‘s collapse. How far Florida goes this season will likely depend on whether or not he can keep it up.

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This Florida Gator earned SEC Player of the Week for men’s basketball

Castleton’s emergence as a force in the paint has been a godsend for the Gators who are missing their star forward and point-scorer.

Florida Gators men’s basketball team got a rather pleasant surprise on Monday when the Southeastern Conference announced its weekly awards for men’s college basketball.

Colin Castleton, a junior transfer from the Michigan Wolverines who was permitted to play this season via an NCAA waiver, turned things up several notches over his past two games, leading the Gators to a pair of SEC wins despite the loss of star forward Keyontae Johnson. For his efforts, he earned SEC Player of the Week honors for Week 6 of conference play.

The 6-foot-11-inch center from Deland, Florida, started off the SEC schedule averaging just 6.5 points along with 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per over the first four games — all starts – in 19 minutes played on average. Since the team returned from Keyontae’s collapse, he has put 23 and 21 points up against the Vanderbilt Commodores and LSU Tigers, respectively — including an 11-for-13 performance against the former, in which he played a season-high 30 minutes.

Castleton’s emergence as a force in the paint has been a godsend for the Gators who are missing their star forward and point-scorer. Along with his defensive presence down low and ability to execute on the pick-and-roll, the former Wolverine could pay massive dividends for Mike White’s team this season.

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Every Gators fan knows who the SEC Offensive Player of the Week was

SEC Week 7 players of the week are out and Florida’s quarterback Kyle Trask and placekicker Evan McPherson both earned honors after the win.

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The Florida Gators football team got more good news on Monday when the Southeastern Conference announced its players of the week for the league’s Week 7 of action. Among those named to the prestigious list were quarterback Kyle Trask and placekicker Evan McPherson, both of whom put together a clinic on superlative play Saturday.

Starting with the Gators’ gunslinger, Trask was easily the difference-maker against the Georgia Bulldogs, putting up a 34-for-43 passing performance that translated into 474 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. The redshirt senior found 10 different targets for his throws, utilizing his backfield and tight ends effectively as second options for his receivers.

Despite Georgia’s reputation on defense — with the caveat that the cohort was decimated by injuries — the ‘Dawgs just could not contain Trask on Saturday. Not that they should feel badly about that part, as nobody has contained him so far this season.

Here is SECSports.com‘s breakdown of his performance and accolades.

  • Trask was 30-of-43 for 474 yards passing and four touchdown passes as he led Florida to a 44-28 victory over No. 5 Georgia in Jacksonville on Saturday.
  • Set career highs in passing attempts (43), completions (30) and passing yards (474).
  • Entering this game, Georgia ranked No. 1 in the SEC in total defense, scoring defense and passing efficiency defense.
  • UGA also ranked No. 3 in the SEC in passing defense.
  • Finished with 474 passing yards, the second-highest total in school history and just eight yards shy of Tim Tebow’s single-game school record of 482 set in the 2010 Sugar Bowl.
  • Trask set a single-game school record for passing yards against Georgia by the end of the third quarter, which he finished with 412 passing yards. He is the first player in SEC history with 4 pass TD in 5 straight games.

NEXT: Placekicker Evan McPherson

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Rodrigo Blankenship congratulates Georgia P Jake Camarda for winning SEC honor

Georgia football punter Jake Camarda’s earned himself SEC special teams player of the week honors and Rodrigo Blankenship was quick to congr

In Saturday’s win at Auburn, Georgia punter Jake Camarda’s performance earned him the honor of Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. Camarda isn’t the first recipient of the award to suit up for the Silver Britches this season.

His teammate, kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, is no stranger to the award and was among the first to congratulate Camarda this afternoon.

This is the fourth time this season that a Georgia Bulldog has been named the SEC’s Special Teamer of the week. The other three were awarded to Camarda’s hype man Blankenship.

Camarda was called to punt 11 times for the Dawgs against the Tigers, averaging 50.7 yards per attempt including an early 67 yard bomb that stuck Auburn at their own goal line.

Blankenship recently called for Camarda to be recognized as game MVP in the Bulldogs’ win on The Plains.

In a defensive struggle that 1) was heavily reliant on field position and 2) resulted in a division-clinching win for Georgia, it’s hard to argue with Hot Rod. Jake Camarda came up big.