South Carolina football: Sadarius Hutcherson named SEC OL of the week

A South Carolina football player has earned SEC player of the week honors.

South Carolina’s Sadarius Hutcherson has been named the SEC offensive lineman of the week after a dominant performance in the Gamecocks’ 41-7 win over Vanderbilt. The Gamecock guard helped the South Carolina offense rush for nearly 300 yards on the day.

The 289-yard output was the most by a Gamecock team against an FBS opponent in almost two decades, going back to the 2001 season. Hutcherson opened up holes for a powerful attack that averaged 7.4 yards a carry and scored on five different occasions.

The Gamecocks broke off long scoring runs of 88, 47, 25, and 10 yards, and they’ve now had a 100-yard rusher in back to back contests. South Carolina’s rush offense now ranks sixth in SEC at 165 yards a game and is tied for second in the league with eight touchdown scores.

Below are the remaining SEC honors from an exciting week three of SEC football.

"OFFENSEKellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M• Completed 25-of-35 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns without turning the ball over against the third-ranked Florida Gators.• His long pass was a 51-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Chapman to tie the game at 38 with 4:30 left on the clock. He also rushed the ball six times for a net of eight yards.• Mond became the all-time leader in Texas A&M history with 8,224 passing yards during his 338-yard game against the Gators.• He has now thrown for 300 yards or better against No. 2-ranked Alabama and No. 4-ranked Florida in back-to-back weekends.Najee Harris, RB, Alabama• The senior running back turned in a career game in a 63-48 win at Ole Miss with 248 all-purpose yards.• Rushed for a career-high five touchdowns, tying Shaun Alexander and Santonio Beard’s school record.• Rushed for a career-best 206 yards on 23 carries for an average of 9.0 yards per carry.• Scored on runs of 5, 33, 3, 16 and 39 yards.• Also caught three passes for 42 yards and averaged 9.5 yards per touch (26 for 248).• Recorded eight explosive plays of at least 12 yards, six rushes and two receptions.• Converted seven first downs on the ground and three more through the air.• His 10 rushing touchdowns through three games is the most in the SEC in at least the last 15 seasons .DEFENSEJordan Wright, LB, Kentucky• Key part of the Kentucky defense that held Mississippi State without an offensive score in UK’s 24-2 win .• Game totals featured a pass interception returned for a touchdown; six tackles; two tackles for loss (-9 yards), including a quarterback sack; and a pass breakup.• With UK ahead 14-2 in the fourth quarter, his pick-six clinched the win for the Wildcats.• His five-yard tackle for loss in the first quarter helped push MSU back, preceding a 56-yard missed field goal.• Had a tackle for no gain on a 3rd-and-1 play in the third quarter.• Added a four-yard sack in the fourth quarter.SPECIAL TEAMSMax Duffy, P, Kentucky• Made a huge impact in Kentucky’s 24-2 win over Mississippi State.• Placed three punts that were downed at the MSU 5, 11 and 2 yard lines.• In the third quarter, a high punt snap sailed over his head into the UK end zone; instead of picking up the ball and running with it (which would have likely given MSU the ball near the UK goal line), he alertly booted the ball out of the end zone, giving up a safety instead of a possible touchdown.• On the ensuing free kick, he flipped the field by launching a 75-yard rocket that was returned only 11 yards, a net of 64 yards that had MSU starting at its own 16-yard line.• For the game, he averaged 44.9 yards on eight punts, a solid average despite having to kick three punts on short fields (note that the 75-yard free kick did not count in his punting average).FRESHMANConnor Bazelak, QB, Missouri• In his second career start, Bazelak engineered an unbelievable day for the Mizzou offense as the Tigers defeated No. 17 and defending national champion LSU, 45-41, Saturday at Mizzou’s Memorial Stadium … The win marked Mizzou’s first over a ranked opponent since Nov. 3, 2018, at No. 13 Florida and it was Mizzou’s first win over a defending national champion since Sept. 9, 1978, when Mizzou defeated fifth-ranked Notre Dame, 3-0 … It was also Mizzou head coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s first win since taking over the program.• At 85.3 percent (29-of-34), Bazelak posted Mizzou’s best-ever completion percentage against a ranked opponent or FBS opponent, a mark that is also a Mizzou freshman record and ranks second in school history … The only performance better than Bazelak’s was Chase Daniel’s 94.1 completion percentage against Southeast Missouri during his senior season in 2008 … He is just the fourth Mizzou QB to have an .830 completion percentage or better when passing at least 30 attempts; the other three – Drew Lock, Blaine Gabbert and Chase Daniel – played in the NFL.• Bazelak’s passer rating of 242.4 was the sixth-best mark in program history, with the other five coming against SEMO, Iowa State, Missouri State, Nevada and Idaho as it was the best-ever rating against a ranked team for a Mizzou QB … Before Bazelak’s performance Saturday, the previous best rating by a Mizzou QB in an SEC game was Drew Lock’s 210.3 at Florida in 2018.• The redshirt freshman passed for over 406 yards and four touchdowns – the first Mizzou freshman to pass for four touchdowns in a game since Maty Mauk against Kentucky in 2013 … Only five Mizzou QBs have ever thrown for more yards than Bazelak did Saturday – keep in mind it was his second career start … Led the offense to 586 total yards, including 406 through the air, and at one point completed 15 consecutive passes, the longest such streak since Chase Daniel had 20 straight against Buffalo in 2008 – Bazelak’s streak ended on a ball he had to throw away after being flushed from the pocket.OFFENSIVE LINESadarius Hutcherson, OG, South Carolina• The fifth-year senior left guard was the key player up front as the Gamecocks’ rolled up 289 rushing yards in the 41-7 road win at Vanderbilt.• The Gamecocks averaged 7.4 yards per carry as they churned out the most rushing yards for a Carolina team against an FBS opponent since the 2001 season.• Hutch graded out at 88 percent with seven knock downs and no missed assignments.DEFENSIVE LINEAzeez Ojulari, DL, Georgia• Ojulari dominated Tennessee’s front finishing with five stops, including two sacks, two forced fumbles and one recovered fumble during the Bulldogs’ third straight win.• He had a strip-sack and recovery (marking Tennessee’s first turnover on the year) on the first series of the second half came with Georgia trailing 21-17. Ojulari followed that up three UT series later with another sack that forced the Vols to punt. Georgia scored on the ensuring series to distance themselves at 30-21.• Ojulari led the attack against Tennessee in the second half as the Vols were held to 71 yards on 39 plays and only 214 total yards on offense during the game."