Football
Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders (offensive), Kansas’ Lonnie Phelps Jr. (defensive), TCU’s Derius Davis (special teams) and West Virginia’s CJ Donaldson (newcomer) captured Big 12 honors in the first week of the season . Sanders earned his third weekly award after receiving newcomer recognition twice in 2019. Davis earned his second special teams recognition with his first in 2020. Phelps and Donaldson were recognized for the first time.
Sanders became just the second player in Big 12 history with 300 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in one half in Oklahoma State’s 58-44 victory over Central Michigan. He joined Patrick Mahomes (Texas Tech), who accomplished the feat in 2016. Sanders became the first cowboy to score six touchdowns in a game since 2018. The senior set career highs with 406 passing yards, six total touchdowns and two touchdowns. terrestrial. His four touchdown passes also tied his career high. With 313 first-half passing yards, he became the first Cowboy to pass 300 yards in a half since Taylor Cornelius on Nov. 10, 2018. Sanders completed passes to 11 different players and threw touchdown passes to four different players. He surpassed 7,000 career passing yards for him, becoming the fifth quarterback in program history to reach the mark.
Redshirt junior defensive end Phelps made his presence known in his first career game as a Jayhawk as Kansas beat Tennessee Tech 56-10. He led the team in tackles (7), tackles for loss (4.0) and sacks (3.0). His three sacks were the most for a Jayhawk since 2016, while his 4.0 tackles for loss were the most since 2017. Phelps rated Pro Football Focus (PFF) a 96.3, which is the highest among defensive ends in the country. (before games played from September 4). Phelps’ 3.0 sacks currently rank second in the FBS.
Davis turned the momentum of the game with his 60-yard punt return for a touchdown in TCU’s 38-13 win at Colorado. Trailing 3-0 at the time, TCU used the senior’s return to take a lead it wouldn’t lose. Davis tied the TCU program record with his fourth career punt return for a touchdown. He totaled 72 punt return yards in the game while adding a 27-yard rushing touchdown and two receptions for 25 yards.
In the first game of his college career, Donaldson scored his first touchdown on a 5-yard run in the third quarter against No. 17 Pitt. His first career carry was 44 yards and he finished with a game-high 125 yards on seven carries. Donaldson is the first Mountaineer to rush for 100 yards in his college debut since Martell Pettaway on Nov. 26, 2016, at Iowa State. The freshman also blocked a third-quarter punt, West Virginia’s first since Logan Thimons on Sept. 14, 2019, against NC State.
The 12 great soccer players of the week
September 5
Offense: Spencer Sanders, OSU, QB, Mr.
Defense: Lonnie Phelps Jr., KU, DE, Jr.
Special Teams: Derius Davis, TCU, WR/PR/KR, Mr.
Newcomer: CJ Donaldson, WVU, RB, p.