Jett Johnson named Week 2 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week
Starkville - For a second consecutive week, a Mississippi State Bulldog has been honored with one of the SEC's weekly awards.
After a dominant performance in Saturday's win over Arizona, graduate linebacker Jett Johnson was named the Week 2 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week alongside Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante. Kicker Kyle Ferrie was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for Week 1.
Johnson ranked third in the SEC this week with 11 tackles and was tied for 1st with 2.0 tackles for loss. He also tacked on the Bulldogs' only sack, but his biggest impact came in pass coverage, hauling in two interceptions from Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura, the second and third interceptions of his career and his first two-interception game since his sophomore year at Tupelo High School.
"I did sophomore year against Shannon," Johnson recalled. "I didn’t take those to the house either."
The Mississippi State defense picked off four de Laura passes, all of which of which were hauled in by seniors. Bookie Watson and Shawn Preston each had one, and Preston also had a forced fumble near the goal line in the second quarter. The turnovers forced allowed the Bulldogs to jolt ahead to an early lead.
"Bookie had one. Then I had one and Shawn had one. We were creating turnovers," Johnson said. "I don’t want to speak for Will (Rogers) and the offense, but I know they would say they want to capitalize on them. It’s our job to create them and their job to capitalize on them. Creating turnovers is always good."
Johnson is one of the most experienced football players in the SEC. The sixth-year senior has led Mississippi State in tackles each of the last two seasons, and his 115 tackles in 2022 were #1 in the SEC. He's off to a hot start in 2023, ranking 12th in the SEC with 17 tackles, 8th with 10 solo tackles, 5th with 2.0 sacks, and 7th with 3.0 tackles for loss. Johnson's two interceptions and two forced fumbles are also tied for first in the conference.
"Every time age gets brought up I bring up that it's hard to emulate game experience," Johnson said. "Being in the fire and just having a lot of veteran guys who have played a lot of football and been in the fire, you can’t emulate it, so it’s nice to have."
Johnson doesn't take all the credit for his performance on Saturday. He praised the defensive backs behind him that tipped passes leading to his second interception along with Watson's in the first quarter.
"It’s honestly a testament to the DBs. We were just in our drops," Johnson said. "They made great plays on the ball. They get a pass breakup and we get a pick, so we kind of got rewarded for their hard work, and we were just in the right spot pursuing the ball. So thank you to our DBs for getting us some picks."
The full list of the Week 2 SEC Players of the Week are as follows:
Offensive Player of the Week: Spencer Rattler, QB, South Carolina
Co-Defensive Player of the Week: Jett Johnson, LB, Mississippi State
Co-Defensive Player of the Week: Eugene Asante, LB, Auburn
Special Teams Player of the Week: Caden Davis, K, Ole Miss
Offensive Lineman of the Week: Eli Cox, RG, Kentucky
Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week: Nyles Gaddy, DE, Missouri
Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week: Trajan Jeffcoat, DE, Arkansas
Freshman of the Week: London Humphreys, WR, Vanderbilt
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