COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri junior LB Nick Bolton (Frisco, Texas) and redshirt sophomore DL Trajan Jeffcoat (Columbia, S.C.) were both named to the Associated Press All-SEC First Team, announced by the outlet on Wednesday. It is the second first team honor of the week for the duo, who were also named to the All-SEC First Team by the league’s coaches on Tuesday.
Bolton, a Butkus Award finalist and Jason Witten Man of the Year semifinalist, earned first-team honors for the second-straight season. He becomes the first Tiger since Michael Egnew (TE, 2010-11) to earn back-to-back AP all-conference first-team honors and the first defensive player to do so since Sean Weatherspoon (LB, 2008-09). Bolton continues to impress on the field week-in and week-out, as his 67 solo tackles lead the conference while his 95 total tackles rank fifth. He also ranks among the SEC’s Top-10 in tackles per game (9.5, seventh) and tackles-for-loss (8.0, 10th). He’s also added 2.0 sacks, five pass break-ups and a fumble recovery on the season. He was named the FWAA Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week after Mizzou’s win over LSU (Oct. 10) where he had 11 tackles (nine solo) and three pass break-ups. He was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week after playing every snap of the Tigers win over Kentucky, recording seven tackles and 1.0 TFL. Bolton was named to the SEC Community Service Team on Dec. 16.
Jeffcoat earned first-team honors after a breakout season on the Tiger defensive line where he has produced 6.0 sacks, 18 tackles, seven QB hurries and one forced fumble. Jeffcoat’s selection gives Mizzou defensive linemen back-to-back AP first-team honors after Jordan Elliott earned the distinction in 2019. Jeffcoat’s 6.0 sacks rank second in the SEC and are the most by a Tiger defensive end since Charles Harris recorded 9.0 in 2016. He has produced a sack in six of Mizzou’s 10 games this season, including one against Arkansas (Dec. 5), where he had a career-high five tackles. He also forced a fumble in Mizzou’s win over Vanderbilt (Nov. 28).
Mizzou is slated to face No. 15 Iowa in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 30. Kickoff from Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on ESPN.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI