Ad Disclosure
Several true freshmen continue to make an impact this season around the SEC. Here’s a look at some of the biggest contributions from the past week:
Alabama: Wide receiver Calvin Ridley continues to develop into the kind of big-play threat the Crimson Tide envisioned when he was signed. In Saturday’s victory against Arkansas, Ridley made an 81-yard reception for a touchdown to give the Tide the lead in the second half. He finished with 9 catches for 140 yards. Minkah Fitzpatrick also continued a stellar freshman season, making a tackle and breaking up 2 passes.
Arkansas: Coming off his first 100-yard rushing game of his career, Rawleigh Williams couldn’t get anything going as Alabama shut down the Razorbacks’ running game. Williams finished with 12 yards on 5 carries.
Auburn: The Tigers had a bye week.
Florida: Antonio Callaway had 1 catch for 6 yards as the Gators stayed unbeaten with a 21-3 win at Missouri. Running back Jordan Cronkrite rushed 4 times for 11 yards.
Georgia: The Bulldogs suffered their second straight loss, but Terry Godwin finished with 1 catch for 19 yards. Trenton Thompson had the best day of his young career on defense, making 8 tackles with 1 for a loss.
Kentucky: The Wildcats had a bye week.
LSU: In a rare instance when somebody other than Leonard Fournette led the Tigers in rushing, freshman Derrius Guice racked up a career-high 161 yards on 16 carries with 1 touchdown in the win against South Carolina. Donte Jackson had one kickoff return for 20 yards. On defense, Arden Key had 5 tackles and a quarterback hurry.
Mississippi State: Running back Malik Dear continues to get playing time, but he struggled in the win against Troy. He carried the ball 2 times for a loss of 3 yards and had 1 catch for a loss of 4.
Ole Miss: The Rebels are redshirting most of their freshman class, but offensive tackle Javon Patterson continues to start on the offensive line.
Missouri: Quarterback Drew Lock got his second straight start but struggled in the loss to Florida, completing 16 of 39 passes for 151 yards and 2 interceptions without a touchdown. Corey Fatony punted 9 times for an average of 47.8 yards and a long of 61. Defensive lineman Terry Beckner Jr. recorded his first career sack.
South Carolina: Quarterback Lorenzo Nunez went back to the bench after a rough game at Missouri last week, and the Gamecocks didn’t get any significant contributions from true freshmen in the loss to LSU.
Tennessee: Jauan Jennings had a catch for 13 yards and carried twice for 1 yard as the Vols continue to try to figure out ways to get him involved in multiple parts of the offense. Darrin Kirkland Jr. had 1 tackle and a quarterback hurry.
Texas A&M: The Aggies had a bye week.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores had a bye week.
Shane Mettlen is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Texas A&M, Missouri and Alabama.
