South Carolina football: Horn, Kroeger earn SEC Player of the Week honors

Two members of the South Carolina football team were recognized by the SEC on Monday.

Junior Cornerback Jaycee Horn and freshman punter Kai Kroeger were both honored by the SEC on Monday afternoon as top performers over the weekend. South Carolina defeated No. 15 Auburn by a score of 30-22 on Saturday, earning their second straight win.

Horn was the SEC’s co-defensive player of the week, sharing the honor with Arkansas linebacker Grant Morgan. The corner recorded two interceptions on the day, the first two of his career, and locked down Auburn’s top target in wideout Seth Williams.

Horn held Williams to just four catches on the day, and he kept the talented pass catcher out of the endzone. His final stat line included three tackles, four pass breakups, and those two picks. He nearly returned his second turnover for a defensive score, but was stopped just inside the 10-yard line. The South Carolina offense cashed in touchdowns on both of Horn’s interceptions.

Horn was not only recognized as the conference’s top defender, but he also earned National Defensive Player of the Week honors yesterday from the Walter Camp Foundation.

Kroeger had the best day of his young career, booting five punts for an average of 48.4 yards as he took home SEC special teams player of the week honors. He recorded his longest punt of the season, a 53-yarder that was downed at the 19-yard line, and twice pinned the Auburn offense inside their own 10-yard line.

With the performance, Kroeger improved his punt average to more than 42 yards an attempt.

Check out the rest of the conference’s top performers below.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mac Jones, QB, Alabama

DEFENSIVE PLAYER(S) OF THE WEEK
Grant Morgan, LB, Arkansas

Jaycee Horn, DB, South Carolina

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kai Kroeger, P, South Carolina

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Hudson Clark, DB, Arkansas

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK
Landon Young, OT, Kentucky

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK
Jayden Peevy, DT, Texas A&M