WATCH: SEC sack leader says he goes out to ‘have fun,’ bring energy to the team

One of the surprises of the SEC season has been Auburn’s pass rusher who’s in a new position this season.

Jeff Holland leads the SEC with eight sacks in his first season in the Buck position. Holland has at least a half sack in all but one game, and had two sacks against LSU. For perspective, Holland had two sacks last season. Coach Gus Malzahn said Holland has been a disruptive force against the run and pass.

“Jeff makes life a lot easier in the secondary,” secondary coach Greg Brown said in a video put out by the Auburn football program. “As a secondary coach, our defensive backs absolutely love being with Jeff. He’s going to bring passion off that edge all that time, I mean fire, he goes, he plays fast, he’s smart, tough. Does all the things you need to do.”

For his part, Holland explained how he approaches each game.

“I just go out there and have fun,” he said. “That’s the one of the big things I’ve always been told, just play the game and have fun, bring energy and have fun. If I bring energy more energy to the team, the team will play with more energy. Even when we’re on offense and special teams, I’ll be on the sideline bringing energy.”

The video reported that Holland studied mixed martial arts to improve his game, and therefore developed the nickname, “Sensei Mud.”

“He’s going to bring passion off that edge every single time.”

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— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) November 1, 2017

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.