:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51948497/usa-today-9690808.0.jpeg)
Son of Crow:
Player of the game: Jeremy Johnson. The greatest "what if" for Auburn has to be what if he had been the player we saw early in his career. All the recruiting Auburn did for two years was done with the assumption JJ would be the starter and a good one. My hope and dream is that he starts next week and is just incredible.
Defense: Mon Adams. He was as unblockable as he should have been and his pick was such an athletic play.
Play of the game: the touchdown pass that made it 14-0. Jeremy Johnson made a difficult pass look pretty routine. When he makes plays like that you realize he actually is the most physically talented player on this roster.
Tuco:
Offensive player of the game: Kam Martin. He made the second half worth watching. He's a fun back who could develop into the McCalebb/Grant "speed back" in the future.
Defensive player of the game: Montravious Adams. The man is a beast and will be missed.Play of the game: Jeremy Johnson's touchdown pass to Kyle Davis. Great throw, great catch.
Dr. Z:
Offensive Game Ball: I gotta give it to Kam, who lit up the A&M defense for 176 in the second half.
Defense: Adams. Please repeat next week.
Bobby Barkley:
OPOTG: JJ
DPOTG: Montra
Hipster Player of the Game: Jordan-Hare for the ovation the crowd gave JJ when he was announced in the lineups
AU_Jonesy:
STAY IN YOUR LANE BOBBY
Offensive player of the game: Jeremy. He missed a few throws (the 3rd down where he threw the corner to K. Davis into double-coverage with Stove wide open on the hitch will kill us next week), but it was great to see him get a last hurrah.
Hipster offensive player of the game: Kyle Davis. Great high-point catch and he had a pancake block on a throw to Kerryon later in the game.
Defensive player of the game: Monty. Gracious. He is not fair against SEC offensive lines, much less A&M's.
Hipster defensive player of the game: Derrick Brown. He was EVERYWHERE after the starting D-line's night was done.
Play of the game: the interception by Adams. Not that we really had a lot of doubts, but that erased them quickly.
Ryan Sterritt:
With all of the reasoning everyone else has already used, Jeremy and Mon were players of the game. Don't get me wrong, Jeremy still showed why he can't be a starting SEC QB with some of the awful reads he made, but he also showed how talented he is physically both throwing and running the ball. He's been through everything a kid can go through in college, and he still stuck it out and gave it all for his team every chance he got. Also, I've been saying privately for a few weeks now I think Mon might be the best pro player on this team (sorry Carl!). He's continuing to abuse offensive lines, and he is going to be the key to beating Alabama. If he can disrupt the timing of the reads for Jalen Hurts, we *might* just have a chance. Did I mention he had an interception Saturday, too? Eat Mon. Eat.
Walt:
Player of the Game: The sentimental pick is Jeremy Johnson. He accounted for three touchdowns and one of them was a pass that made us all dream of what could have been. I do have to give major props to Kam Martin, though. He showed there's a lot of future at the running back position.
Defense: Montravius Adams is the easy choice. For three years we watched and hoped he could become something great. Boy has he. He may end up a Top 10 draft choice and is the poster child for "sometimes it's best to come back for one more year." He is a force of nature on the interior line.
Let's be contrary, though. I'm going to say the 2nd String defense is the player of the game. They had better stats in the 2nd half than the normal cast of characters did in the 1st. These are the types of games where you talk about "garbage time" scores. This defense did not allow there to be a garbage time. They were just as brutal in the 2nd half, and that's got to give you a lot of confidence about the future.
Play of the Game: Definitely the touchdown pass to Kyle Davis. It was just a thing of pure beauty.