Bulldog football trio earn SEC weekly honors

ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia freshmen Isaiah McKenzie, Nick Chubb and Lorenzo Carter have all earned Southeastern Conference weekly honors following the Bulldogs’ 63-31 win at Kentucky, according to a league announcement.

McKenzie has been named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week for the first time in his career while Carter brought his first SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honor back to Athens. Chubb also earned the SEC Freshman Player of the Week award for the third time after being named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week following the Arkansas game.

These mark the ninth, 10th and 11th SEC weekly awards this season for the Bulldogs. Junior tailback Todd Gurley has been named the Offensive Player of the Week twice, senior inside linebacker Amarlo Herrera and senior STAR Damian Swann have each been named the Defensive Player of the Week once and freshman tailback Sony Michel has also been named the Freshman Player of the Week in addition to Chubb’s other four honors and McKenzie and Carter’s recognitions this week.

McKenzie, a receiver/return specialist from Miami, Fla., made history by becoming only the 12th player in NCAA FBS history to have a punt return and a kickoff return for touchdowns in the same game. He went 90 yards on the opening kickoff to give the Bulldogs an early 7-0 edge. McKenzie is the first Georgia player to start a game with a kickoff return for a touchdown since 1988 when Tim Worley raced 93 yards in 12 seconds against Ole Miss.

In the third quarter, McKenzie had a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown, giving him two punt returns for touchdowns this season. He is tied nationally with three return touchdowns this season. Utah senior Kaelin Clay has four (three punt returns, one kickoff return) while Missouri senior Marcus Murphy (one punt return, two kickoff returns) also has three.

Chubb, a tailback from Cedartown, Ga., had his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game thanks to 170 yards, including a career long 55 yarder, on just 13 carries (13.1 avg.) and a touchdown. He finished the opening half with 116 yards and a score on seven carries (16.6 avg.) and ended up only playing three quarters.
During Gurley’s absence, Chubb has started the last four games and has 671 yards on 102 carries (6.6 yards per carry) and five rushing touchdowns.

Carter, an outside linebacker from Norcross, Ga., got his first career start against the Wildcats and responded with a career-high nine tackles, including 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Carter and the rest of the starting defense played only three quarters and allowed just 285 total yards.
The No. 14 Bulldogs (7-2, 5-2 SEC) take on No. 9 Auburn (7-2, 4-2) in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Nov. 15. ESPN will televise the game at 7:15 p.m.