Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel walks the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
KNOXVILLE 69制片厂制作传媒 The Tennessee Volunteers are on their bye week and it comes at a good time so they can abs or all the honors they have received since last Saturday69制片厂制作传媒檚 big win over arch-rival Alabama.
After the Vols turned back the Tide 24-17, the awards came streaming in starting on Monday and haven69制片厂制作传媒檛 stopped through mid-week. The SEC named junior running back Dylan Sampson the SEC Offensive Player of the Week and senior center Cooper Mays the Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week.
In a game that featured multiple big plays on defense, no play was larger than Will Brooks69制片厂制作传媒 interception of Jalen Milroe with 1:24 remaining in the contest. For his efforts, Brooks was named the Burlsworth Trophy Walk-on of the Week. He also added a key tackle in the first quarter when he grabbed Milroe by the shoes in the first quarter when the Bama quarterback looked like he was easily going to score. Brooks led the defense with eight tackles-five of which were solo- and added a tackle for loss.
Sampson had a career day as he rushed for 139 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns. His big day against the Crimson Tide has moved him into second place in Tennessee69制片厂制作传媒檚 single-season rushing touchdown record list and he needs one more to pass Gene McEver who had 18 in 1929. The 100+ yard performance against Bama was the sixth game Sampson crossed the century mark this season. No other running back this century has had more than five in the entire season.
Mays was one of the keys to UT rolling up 408 total yards which included 214 on the ground. He had 76 offensive snaps and didn69制片厂制作传媒檛 allow a sack or commit a penalty on any of them. Saturday69制片厂制作传媒檚 contest was the 21st in a row Mays hasn69制片厂制作传媒檛 allowed a sack.
Bru McCoy has been tabbed as a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award. The Witten Award honors collegiate players who demonstrate character and commitment to the community, their families and teammates. It is named after Elizabethton native and former Volunteer Jason Witten. McCoy leads the Vols with 20 receptions and is second on the team in receiving yards with 289.
After bouncing back from a gruesome ankle injury last season, McCoy has led on and off the field as he has helped provide automated external defibrillators to youth sports organizations through the Huddle for Hearts initiative.
Head coach Josh Heupel was awarded the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Peach Bowl. The award goes each week to a coach who led his team to a significant win the previous week while also exemplifying the award69制片厂制作传媒檚 three main areas of focus which are scholarship, leadership and integrity. Additionally, Heupel has been named to the midseason watch list for the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year award.
The Tennessee head coach defeated the school69制片厂制作传媒檚 two biggest rivals in Florida and Alabama in consecutive weeks, the first time that has happened since 1970. He is now 4-2 against the Gators and Tide.
Heupel69制片厂制作传媒檚 record overall is 33-13 but six of the losses came in his first season when he took over a morbid program that was coming off a losing record and possible NCAA sanctions. His overall winning percentage of .717 is the second-highest by a UT coach in 50 years and the win over the 7th-ranked at the time Crimson Tide was his 11th against a ranked opponent since he has been in Knoxville.
It69制片厂制作传媒檚 just not on the field where Heupel is excelling as the leader of the program but also in the classroom. The Vols have blown past previous program records for team GPA in the past three Fall semesters and in 2023, Tennessee had a program record 63 SEC Academic Honor Roll recipients which was second most in the conference.
After this week69制片厂制作传媒檚 bye week, the Vols will host Kentucky on November 2.
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