Washington, Johnson named ‘Players of the Week’ following Vanderbilt win

Two Ole Miss defensive players collected weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference after a 33-7 win over Vanderbilt, the league office announced Monday.

Safety Trey Washington earned “SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week” honors, while senior Cedric Johnson took home “SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week” accolades. It’s the second SEC weekly award of the season for both players.

The defensive duo helped lead an Ole Miss defense that limited Vanderbilt to just 229 yards of total offense, the fewest against an SEC opponent since holding Texas A&M to 192 in 2015. The Landshark defense also held Vanderbilt to just 60 yards passing, the least against an SEC foe since stuffing the Dores to 60 yards in 2014.

Washington intercepted two passes and led a stifling Ole Miss defense against the Commodores. It marked the first time a Rebel player had two picks in a game since A.J. Finley vs. Liberty in 2021.

Johnson tallied a career high seven tackles, including four solos. The Mobile, Ala., native registered two tackles for loss and a sack, as well as two quarterback hurries. Johnson’s 17.0 career sacks have the senior defensive end in a tie for seventh in school history.

Others receiving conference honors are offensive player of the week Ladd McConkey, wide receiver from Georgia; co-defensive player of the week Edgerrin Cooper, linebacker from Texas A&M; special teams player Tennessee kicker Charles Campbell; co-offensive lineman of the week Gunner Britton of Auburn and John Campbell Jr. of Tennessee. Freshman of the Week is Connor Lew of Auburn.

No. 10 Ole Miss (7-1, 4-1 SEC) plays host to Texas A&M (5-3, 3-2 SEC) this weekend at 11 a.m. CT.