Oct. 9, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- For the third straight week, Auburn was represented when the SEC released its Player of the Week honors Monday. This week, it was running back Kerryon Johnson who earned Offensive Player of the Week and Daniel Carlson who was named Special Teams Player of the Week following the Tigers' 44-23 win over Ole Miss.
Johnson rushed for a career-high 204 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. The junior running back has now rushed for 11 touchdowns in Auburn's last three games and leads the nation in scoring with 12 touchdowns on the season.
"When you get 28 carries and the blocking is that good, it's pretty easy to get up to 200," Johnson said after the game. "I just focused on taking care of the ball, winning one-on-one matchups when I got them, and I was able to do that."
The scary part? Johnson hasn't quite been 100 percent healthy since injuring his hamstring in the season opener, though he says he's close to full strength.
1st SEC player in the last 20 yrs to rush for at least 3 TD in 3 straight games.@AuburnFootball's @AyeyoKEJO is the #SECFB Offensive POTW. pic.twitter.com/ptq7bON9gI
-- SEC (@SEC) October 9, 2017
Carlson made all three of his field-goal attempts (49, 25, 35) and connected on five PATs Saturday, which is nothing new for the senior kicker. But more importantly, he became the SEC's all-time leading scorer with 413 career points, passing Blair Walsh (412), Billy Bennett (409) and Marshall Morgan (407).
"It's a big deal," Carlson said. "It's been a long time coming. A lot of kicks. It's something I personally have wanted to do, coming back this senior year. That was one of the things I really wanted to do. It's something I'll be bragging about until the day I die."
"Daniel's one of our team leaders," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "He's earned that. He's got respect from both sides of the football, from the coaches. He's not looked at just as a kicker on our team. We're very proud of him."
Carlson, a Lou Groza Award finalist the past two years, is now 11 of 15 on field-goal attempts and has made all 26 extra-point opportunities this season.
Became the SEC's all-time leading scorer with 413 points.@AuburnFootball's @DanielCarlson38 is the #SECFB Special Teams POTW. pic.twitter.com/y9aE5SxunE
-- SEC (@SEC) October 9, 2017
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf