Mizzou middle linebacker Cale Garrett is the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The senior captain led the way with nine tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown that keyed Mizzou’s 34-14 SEC-opening win over South Carolina Saturday. Garrett is the second Mizzou player to earn a Defensive Player of the Week nod this season, joining sophomore LB Nick Bolton (Frisco, Texas), who earned the honor following Mizzou’s week-two win over West Virginia.
Garrett made a huge heads-up play in the first quarter of the South Carolina game with no score, when he alertly picked up a ball in the South Carolina endzone that had been ruled an incomplete forward pass initially. After he jumped on the ball, an instant replay review confirmed that the Gamecock quarterback Ryan Hilinksi had thrown a backward pass, giving MU a 7-0 lead, and Garrett his second defensive touchdown of the season – matching the pick-six interception he ran back 27 yards against SEMO in week three.
Garrett leads Mizzou with 37 tackles through four games.