AUBURN, Ala. – After securing Auburn’s season-opening victory with a game-saving tackle at the goal line, sophomore safety Eric Winters is the Southeastern Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week, the SEC announced Monday.
Winters’ textbook takedown of Baylor tight end Matthew Klopfenstein inches from the goal line negated the Bears’ two-point attempt and preserved Auburn’s 17-16 win Saturday in the Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“We were prepared for it,” Winters said. “Once I saw him go, I went too. As soon as he caught the ball, I wrapped him up.”
“Eric Winters was absolutely huge there at the end,” head coach Alex Golesh said.
Winter’s late-game heroics capped a career day that featured 11 tackles and two tackles for loss, both career highs. The 6-foot, 215-pounder from Enterprise, Alabama, also recorded his first career forced fumble to end Baylor’s opening possession.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer