COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri sophomore DT Jordan Elliott (Missouri City, Texas) has been named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week, as announced this morning by the league office. Elliott, who shares the weekly award with LB Devin White of LSU, was cited after a career performance on Friday which keyed Mizzou’s 38-0 shutout win over Arkansas that closed the regular season and improved the Tigers to 8-4.
It is rare for an interior lineman to impact a game the way Elliott did Friday, but he was a virtual one-man wrecking crew against the Razorbacks as the Tiger defense pitched its first SEC shutout in program history, while earning MU’s first shutout of a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school since a 14-0 win at Iowa State in 2010. It was also Mizzou’s largest shutout win over an FBS foe since a 58-0 win over Colorado in 2008.
Elliott keyed the day thanks to career highs in both quarterback sacks (3.0) and tackles for loss (4.0), on his way to a five-tackle day. His second-quarter blind-side sack jarred the ball loose and ended in a fumble recovery for a touchdown for teammate Akial Byers which made the score 21-0 with 12:33 left in the first half. Elliott’s three sacks marked the first of his Tiger career, and his four tackles behind the line of scrimmage equaled his 11-game season total coming into the contest.
Mizzou held Arkansas to just 187 yards of total offense in the shutout effort, well below the Razorbacks’ season average of 349.2 yards and 23.6 points per game coming in. Arkansas’ minus 21 yards rushing in the first half was also the lowest first-half rushing total by any FBS team in 2018.
He is the first Tiger to win SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors since Nov. 6, 2017 when safety Anthony Sherrils was honored for his game against Florida – and he’s also the first Tiger defensive tackle to win the award.
This marks the ninth time since Mizzou joined the SEC in 2012 that a Tiger has won or shared the weekly Defensive Player of the Week award. That history includes: 2012 – S Kenronte Walker (Sept. 17 vs. Arizona State); 2013 – LB Kentrell Brothers (Oct. 14 vs. Georgia); 2013 – DE Michael Sam (Oct. 21 vs. Florida); 2013 – CB E.J. Gaines (Dec. 2 vs. Texas A&M); 2014 – DE Shane Ray (Sept. 13 vs. UCF); 2014 – DE Markus Golden (Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee); 2015 – LB Kentrell Brothers (Sept. 12 vs. Arkansas State); 2017 – SS Anthony Sherrils (Nov. 6 vs. Florida).
Mizzou will be heading to its second-straight bowl game under Head Coach Barry Odom, and the Tigers will learn of their bowl destination this Sunday afternoon.
