Four Tigers named SEC Players of the Week

As impressed as head coach Eliah Drinkwitz must already be with his team this week, the announcement on Monday morning regarding the four players who were named SEC Players of the Week had to delight him all the more.

Generally, fans love to see one, maybe two, of their favorite players featured, but four, in a conference as good as the SEC this year, is something not seen too often at all.

This gives the entire squad, not just the one's who won, motivation going into future games, knowing the world is watching, and appreciating their work.

On the offense, should-be Heisman favorite Ahmad Hardy took home SEC Offensive Player of the Week. He leads the conference in yards by over 200, and has dominated in every contest he's played in, truly coming out of nowhere.

He's the anchor of the offense, and someone they can lean on when nothing else is working offensively. Drinkwitz described trying to tackle him as "trying to tackle a dump truck."

Hardy ran for 138 yards and a score Saturday versus South Carolina.

Continuing on with the offensive awards is Keegan Trost, who was given the nod for the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.

With all of the uncertainty, lineup changes, and injuries along the front so far this year, Trost has been a great surprise as a trustworthy right tackle this season.

The Illinois native is a 6-foot-4, 315lb tank, who previously played at Morgan State and Wake Forest before transferring to the Tigers late last December.

Trost did a good job handling the Gamecock defensive line on Saturday night, specifically holding sophomore defensive end Dylan Stewart to a below average game, continuing to take care of business, as he had been all season long.

On the opposite side, Zion Young took home the SEC Defensive Player of the Week, after another great showing.

The fan-favorite senior came over from Michigan State ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, and put up great numbers. He's continued that so far this year, already recording a pair of sacks, just a half back of his career high, as well as a forced fumble and ten total tackles.

Young notched a sack and two tackles for loss on star South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers, at home last Saturday night. He's a game wrrecker who constantly stops what could be huge plays for the opposing sideline, and Drinkwitz raves about him non-stop.

Finally, freshman kicker Robert Meyer was awarded the SEC Freshman Player of the Week. It's always good to see special teams get some love, and there's no doubt that Meyer deserves it.

He was thrown into the starting role after star kicker Blake Craigg went down with an injury, during Mizzou's week one win versus Central Arkansas.

On Saturday, Meyer extended the lead late with a 40-yard field goal, and, though he has struggled at points, he's stepped up more recently, giving him all the reason to take home the award.

This team provides a lot of special weapons on all sides of the ball, and in all grades. Coach Drinkwitz has to be thrilled with the outcome of this week, and his squad cannot wait to find a way to out-do that performance in their next contest.

The Tigers next play on Saturday night, in their homecoming matchup versus UMass.