Smith rewriting SEC history books at Mississippi State

Mississippi State defensive end Preston Smith made history Monday when it was announced he had been named the SEC’s Defensive Lineman of the Week for a third straight week to begin the 2014 season.

No other player in SEC history had ever won the award three straight weeks, not even former SEC greats Jadeveon Clowney, Glenn Dorsey, Terrence Cody, Marcus Spears, Nick Fairley or anyone else. Not anyone, that is, until Smith achieved the feat this week.

In the 10-year history of the Defensive Lineman of the Week honor, only four other Mississippi State Bulldogs had ever won the award even once during their careers, and only two of those players ever won it multiple times. The high-water mark among former Bulldogs’ belongs to current NFL star Fletcher Cox, who won the award four times during his career, all in 2011.

Smith is also just the sixth player in SEC history to earn the award in back-to-back weeks, joining Cox, Fairley, Dorsey, Michael Sam and Drake Nevis.

Through just three games this season, Smith has recorded 9 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback hurries, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions (one returned 21 yards for a touchdown) and a forced fumble. He leads Mississippi State and all SEC defensive linemen with his pair of interceptions, and has blocked more field goals by himself (two) than a whopping 113 FBS programs. That’s right, not players, but entire teams.

One final nugget: the last time one player was recognized in the league’s weekly awards for three straight weeks was in 2012, when eventual Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel earned the SEC Freshman of the Week honor three straight weeks.

SEC DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK — MISSISSIPPI STATE HISTORY

Ethan Levine

A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.