Georgia OLB Jones Named FWAA National Defensive Player Of The Week
By BigLeadSports
Jones, a 6-3, 241-pound sophomore from Columbus, Ga., registered four sacks for 27 yards in losses and forced a fumble in the Bulldogs’ 24-20 victory over Florida in Jacksonville.
The four sacks tie for the second most in a game in Georgia history and are the most by a Georgia player since 2001. Florida was held to minus-19 yards rushing and a single touchdown by the Georgia defense as the Bulldogs won their sixth straight game.
Jones is only the fifth player in school history to record at least four sacks in a game and he now leads the Southeastern Conference and is fifth nationally with eight sacks on the season.
Other defensive players who had strong games this past weekend include:
• Jemea Thomas, S, Georgia Tech: In a 31-17 victory against Clemson, Thomas, in his first start, had the first two interceptions of his career, both in the fourth quarter, broke up two passes, had five tackles (one for a loss) and forced a fumble.
• Preston Brown, LB, Louisville: Had seven tackles and two sacks during Louisville’s 27-10 win against Syracuse.
• Darwin Cook, LB, West Virginia: Had a game-high 11 tackles with two pass breakups, including one on a fake field goal attempt, in a 41-31 win over Rutgers.
• Jarred Holley, S, Pittsburgh: Nine tackles and a sack in a 35-20 win against Connecticut.
• E.J. Gaines, CB, Missouri: In a 38-31 OT win against Texas A&M, Gaines had 10 tackles and broke up four passes.
• Aaron Brown, LB, Hawaii: During a 16-14 win over Idaho, Brown recorded nine tackles (five solo), including 1.5 for a loss, and an interception.
Jones will be added to the 2011 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. Five finalists for the Nagurski Trophy will be announced on Nov. 17.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be presented to the best defensive player in college football on Dec. 12 by the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C.