Staff honors six players in Akron win

AUBURN | When you beat a team 60-10 as Auburn did to Akron Saturday night, there’s probably a lot of players that earned praise from the coaching staff.

But only six were named Players of the Game.

Quarterback Bo Nix on offense, linebacker Zakoby McClain on defense, linebacker Wesley Steiner on special teams, Brodarious Hamm on the offensive line and both T.D. Moultry and Marquis Burks on the defensive line were singled out by coach Bryan Harsin during his Monday press conference.

“Those guys got recognized internally, and we’ll do that when we have success in games and do that as long as we can handle that as a team,” said Harsin.

Nix set a school record for completion percentage connecting on 20 of 22 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns. He received an 82.2 pass rating by PFF.

McClain was credited with seven tackles including three solo stops. PFF gave him a 70.8 defensive rating, which included a team-best 81.7 tackle rating.

Steiner was credited with two tackles in the game. He played 14 snaps according to PFF.

Hamm led the offensive line with an 85.4 run blocking grade and was fourth with an 80.6 pass blocking grade. He played 47 snaps.

Moultry, who tied McClain with a team-high seven tackles, added three tackles-for-loss and one sack. He received an 81.8 defensive rating from PFF, the fifth-best on the team.

Burks had three tackles, two tackles-for-loss and two sacks. He had a 64.4 defense rating, which included a missed tackle according to PFF.

Harsin also honored offensive tackle Kilian Zierer and defensive back Donovan Kaufman as Academic Scholars of the Week.

Auburn (1-0) returns to action Saturday as Alabama State visits Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network.