Skai Moore Named SEC Defensive Player of the Week

On Thursday night in Charlotte, NC, Shon Carson wasn’t the only one to turn in a heroic performance against the North Carolina Tarheels. Skai Moore delivered a heroic performance of his own. As a result, he has been named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week.

With 10 tackles and two interceptions, @GamecockFB's SKAI MOORE is your #SEC Defensive Player of the Week. pic.twitter.com/GDjMDNlW5c
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) September 7, 2015

The two interception were more important than a single tweet can describe. Skai Moore’s interceptions were both in the touchdown preventing, game saving, game changing interceptions. His 10 tackles also lead the team in that category. To say Skai Moore had a good game would be an incredibly vast understatement. Moore turned in a game that most players could only dream of – robbing an opponent of what could have been their first touchdown and then stealing away their potentially game winning touchdown on their last possession of the game. The first interception occurred in the first quarter, on the Tarheels first drive. On 3rd and goal from the South Carolina 6 yard line, North Carolina was knockin’ looking to score the first points of the season. Skai Moore wasn’t ready to let that happen.

Moore’s second interception came with 3:40 left to play in the game. The Tarheels had the ball 4th and goal and were on the South Carolina 8 yard line after a sack on 3rd down by Dante Sawyer moved the ball back 5 yards. With the offense struggling much of the game, the Gamecocks needed someone to step up, and Skai Moore answered the call.

Although the defense wasn’t perfect, there were some signs that things are moving in the right direction. Sure there were some tackling issues, some coverage busts, and some bad angles taken to catch the ball carrier. Those issues seemed to get corrected as the game continued.

There were several things to be happy about, however. For one, the Gamecocks were able to accrue four sacks in the game. They also intercepted 3 passes. Perhaps, the most important thing was just seeing a revitalized defense that had several player come through and make big plays when needed. No one was bigger than Skai Moore, though. On a night where Gamecocks had many questions about whether or not the defense would be better, Moore and the rest of the defense gave them a glimmer of hope.

Next: Putting Connor Mitch's First Start Into Perspective

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