Bama Central

Jaylen Waddle Named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year

Crimson Tide sophomore was selected for the award by the league’s coaches
Christopher Walsh|
T.G. Paschal/BamaCentral

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama sophomore Jaylen Waddle was named the Southeastern Conference's Special Teams Player of the Year on Wednesday. 

Waddle leads the nation in punt return average at 24.9 yards per return, which was 10-plus yards better than anyone else in the league. Overall, he had 19 returns for 474 yards and a touchdown, including a long of 77.

He also returned four kickoffs for 152 yards and one score and has added more than 53 yards and six touchdowns on 32 catches at wideout this season. 

Waddle earned All-SEC honors on Tuesday and is the first Alabama player to be named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year since Christion Jones in 2013.

Also announced by the league: 

LSU’s Joe Burrow was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year, while Auburn’s Derrick Brown was named Defensive Player of the Year. 

Auburn’s Bo Nix was voted SEC Freshman of the Year, Georgia’s Andrew Thomas was named winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy and LSU coach Ed Orgeron was named SEC Coach of the Year. 

Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

The SEC All-Freshman Team will be announced Thursday.

2019 SEC Football Awards

Offensive Player of the Year

Joe Burrow, LSU

Defensive Player of the Year

Derrick Brown, Auburn

Special Teams Player of the Year

Jaylen Waddle, Alabama

Freshman of the Year

Bo Nix, Auburn

Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Rodrigo Blankenship, Georgia

Jacobs Blocking Trophy

Andrew Thomas, Georgia

Coach of the Year

Ed Orgeron, LSU

Published
Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of Alabama Crimson Tide On SI, which first published as BamaCentral in 2018, and is also the publisher of the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt sites . He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004 and is the author of 27 books including “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Nick Saban vs. College Football.” He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

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