AUBURN, Ala. – Leading off what could be an exceedingly fruitful week on the awards circuit, Auburn's Derrick Brown was named the defensive player of the year on The Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference football team.
"Derrick is one of the best all-around football players in the entire country. Any position," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "It's not a coincidence he's up for a lot of these awards. I expect him to win quite a few of them. He's a real special player. He's had an unbelievable year. He's played his best football in the biggest games when they matter the most. That's the sign of a great player."
Fellow senior defensive lineman Marlon Davidson and linebacker K.J. Britt joined Brown on the All-SEC first team.
Senior safety Jeremiah Dinson earned second-team All-SEC honors.
Brown and Davidson also shared Most Valuable Player honors Sunday at Auburn's Senior Night banquet. They combined to win SEC defensive lineman of the week honors seven times this season.
Brown recorded a season-high 3.5 tackles for loss in Auburn's 48-45 Iron Bowl win vs. Alabama, giving him 12.5 for the season.
Davidson led Auburn with 7.5 sacks, tying Brown for the team lead with 12.5 TFL. Dinson led the Tigers with 79 tackles. Britt finished third with 61 tackles and nine tackles for loss.
Brown is a finalist for the Bednarik, Nagurski, Wuerffel, Outland, Senior Class, Pop Warner and Lott Impact awards.
No. 9 Auburn will play No. 16 Minnesota on New Year's Day in the 2020 Outback Bowl at noon CT.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer