Two Tigers earn SEC honors
Two members of the Auburn defense were honored Monday with Player of the Week awards by the Southeastern Conference. Senior cornerback Walt McFadden was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week, and senior defensive end Antonio Coleman earned the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week award.
McFadden had two interceptions during Auburn's 33-20 upset of No. 24 Ole Miss, and tied a career high with five tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss (-5 yards). He returned his first interception 29 yards for a touchdown, giving Auburn a 24-7 lead in the third quarter.
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His second interception came at the 6-yard line with under three minutes left and sealed Auburn's victory.
McFadden now has four interceptions this season, which ranks tied for second in the SEC and tied for 25th nationally. He has seven career interceptions, and has returned two for scores, having previously returned an interception 93 yards for a score against Tennessee Tech in 2007.
Coleman recorded five tackles against Ole Miss, tying career highs with four tackles for loss (-15 yards) including two sacks (-11). He also had four quarterback hurries, forced a fumble and blocked a PAT that was returned for a defensive two-point conversion.
Coleman leads the team and the SEC with 11.0 tackles for loss, and also has a team-high 5.5 sacks. He has pushed his career sacks total to 20.0, which ranks fifth in Auburn history, just one behind his current defensive line coach -- Tracy Rocker.
It marked the second time this season that Coleman was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, having previously earned the award for his performance against Mississippi State Sept. 12.
McFadden's honor gave Auburn its second SEC Defensive Player of the Week this year. Craig Stevens received the award after the Tigers' Sept. 19 victory over West Virginia.
Auburn (6-3, 3-3 SEC) returns to action Saturday when the Tigers host Furman (4-4, 3-3 Southern Conference) in the Tigers' Homecoming contest. The game kicks off at 12:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on a pay-per-view basis.