Samuel Named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week Again

Sept. 11, 2017

University of South Carolina junior kick returner Deebo Samuel has been named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced today. It is the second week in a row that Samuel has earned that honor.

Samuel, a 6-0, 215-pounder, was a key performer in the Gamecocks’ 31-13 win at Missouri on Saturday night. With the Gamecocks trailing 10-0 in the second quarter, the Inman, S.C., product returned a kick 97 yards for a touchdown. It was the second-straight week he has returned a kick 97 yards to paydirt. Thirty seconds later, he was in the end zone again on a 25-yard run, giving Carolina a lead that they would not relinquish. Samuel was also the Gamecocks’ top receiver with five catches for 45 yards, as he totaled 167 all-purpose yards. The two kick returns for touchdowns this season ties the school’s single-season record and Samuel now owns the school record for kick returns for touchdowns in a career with three, all coming in the last five games.

In addition to being named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week for a second-consecutive week, Samuel was also one of five players named to the Week Two Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll. It marked the second-straight week in which Samuel has made the Hornung Award Honor Roll as presented by Texas Roadhouse and given annually by the Louisville Sports Commission to the most versatile player in major college football.

Samuel and his Gamecock teammates will be in action again Saturday, September 16, when South Carolina (2-0, 1-0 SEC) hosts the Kentucky Wildcats (2-0, 0-0 SEC) in an SEC Eastern Division matchup at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. Game time is set for 7:30 pm ET and the game will be televised on SEC Network and broadcast nationally on the Westwood One radio network.