Jaylin Simpson is prime candidate for SEC Defensive Player of the Year
As we reach the halfway point of the regular season, college football teams’ identities are beginning to unfold. It is also beginning to become clear who the top players in the country are, and which will walk away with special awards at the season’s end.
The Auburn Tigers are 3-3 heading into the second half and will rely heavily on one of the SEC’s top defensive players to lead them to bowl contention.
The Athletic has released its SEC midseason superlatives list. An Auburn Tiger failed to make the cut, but Kennington Smith III is keeping an eye on Auburn safety Jaylin Simpson. He lists Alabama‘s Dallas Turner as the midseason SEC defensive player of the year, but Simpson has a chance to win it by the end of the year.
There are several deserving candidates around the league, from defensive backs Jaylin Simpson (Auburn) and Maxwell Hairston (Kentucky) to linebackers Jaheim Thomas (Arkansas) and Nathaniel Watson (Mississippi State), but what Turner is doing cannot be ignored.
Simpson is tied for 2nd in the SEC with four interceptions through six games. He has also recorded 20 total tackles with two pass deflections and a fumble recovery.
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