Alabama Football: Which Tide Players Impressed This Week?

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) Early this week, Alabama named the players who earned recognition and awards for their play against Kent State this past Saturday.

In total, eight players were cited as standouts on offense, defense and special teams. Freshman Trey DePriest was also given an award by the SEC as Freshman of the Week.

Here is the official release as given by the UA Media Relations Department:

"Eight Alabama players were recognized for their outstanding play by the coaching staff following the Crimson Tide’s 48-7 victory over Kent State as announced by head coach Nick Saban Monday. Barrett Jones and Eddie Lacy were named players of the week on offense, Courtney Upshaw and DeQuan Menzie represented the defense, while Marquise Maze, Will Lowery, Trey Depriest and Vinnie Sunseri were listed on special teams.

"Jones played three positions on the offensive line with snaps at left tackle, left guard and center. He had the top grade on the offensive line and did not allow a sack or get called for a penalty. Lacy rushed for 62 yards on eight carries (7.2 average) with one score and added three catches for 76 yards. He had a long run of 23 and a long reception of 48 yards.

"Defensively, Upshaw totaled seven tackles with four solo stops to finish second on the team. He combined on a sack and finished with 1.5 tackles for loss. Menzie came up from his cornerback position to record six tackles (three solo) and also had a half of a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.

"Maze had a big day with 253 all-purpose yards in the win over Kent State, which included eight catches for 118 yards and the second touchdown of the game from 24 yards out. He added 96 punt return yards and one kickoff return for 39 yards. Maze tied a school record with eight punt returns and the 96 punt return yards were the seventh-most in a single game in UA history. Lowery, Depriest and Sunseri are members of the kickoff, kickoff return and punt return teams. Depriest and Sunseri had four tackles each on special teams while Lowery was credited with two special teams stops.

"Depriest was also honored as SEC Freshman of the Week by the league office."