Photo credit: Allen Sharpe/South Carolina athletics
Another week of SEC football, another week of helmet stickers.
Each week, we hand out helmet stickers to the top performers from each SEC school on each side of the ball. Here are the top performers from the SEC East after a wild Week 5 of the regular season:
Florida
Offense: QB Emory Jones
A late turnover by Jones proved costly for Florida, but he still managed to lead the Gators in both passing and rushing yards in a 20-13 loss at Kentucky.
Jones was efficient through the air, completing 74% of his passes for 203 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He added 63 yards on 13 carries on the ground.
Defense: LB Mohamoud Diabete
Diabete had another big night for the Gators, coming away with a season-high 11 tackles.
With 37 tackles for the season, Diabete is on pace to break his career-high of 67 tackles set last season.
Georgia
Offense: RB Zamir White
Georgia had to rely on the running game more as quarterback JT Daniels was absent against Arkansas.
White found the end zone three times. He scored twice on the ground, and once by recovering a blocked punt in the end zone during a 37-0 shutout.
The Bulldogs proved they can run the ball effectively, finishing with 273 yards as a team.
Defense: DT Devonte Wyatt
The middle of the defense was anchored by Devonte Wyatt, who finished with six total tackles.
Wyatt was living in the Arkansas backfield, adding 1.5 sacks.
Kentucky
Offense: RB Chris Rodriguez Jr.
Rodriguez stepped up in the absence of an adequate Kentucky passing game.
He led the way for Kentucky, rushing for 99 yards on 19 carries.
His lone touchdown came late in the game to help put away the top-10 Gators.
Defense: DE Josh Paschal
Paschal was all over the field for Kentucky, and was a prime factor in the upset win over Florida.
The Maryland native finished with seven tackles and 2.5 for loss, but it was his work on special teams that made a difference.
Paschal blocked a field goal, which set up a 76-yard return for a touchdown. That proved huge in a 7-point win.
Missouri
Offense: WR Keke Chism
Connor Bazelak struggled with turnovers and Tyler Badie was held at bay, so the leading receiver for the Tigers in Week 5 gets the helmet sticker.
Chism finished with 76 yards on four receptions in a 62-24 home loss to Tennessee.
On the year, Chism has 257 yards on 21 receptions.
Defense: DB Kris Abrams-Draine
The Alabama native came away with three tackles and a pass breakup for the Tigers.
More importantly, he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score.
With the offense struggling, Abrams-Draine found a way to put some points on the board in the kicking game.
South Carolina
Offense: QB Luke Doty
Doty was tackled behind the line of scrimmage multiple times, but he responded well in a 23-14 win over Troy.
The former 4-star was pretty effective through the air. He finished with 20 completions on 34 attempts for 255 yards and a touchdown.
Defense: DB David Spaulding
The sophomore came away with a 74-yard interception return for a touchdown, which was just one of the two touchdowns scored against Troy.
So far, Spaulding has been productive in his bigger role for the Gamecocks this year.
Tennessee
Offense: RB Tiyon Evans
Evans was held at bay early, but broke off a 92-yard touchdown run en route to a career performance against Missouri.
Evans was a critical part of a Tennessee offense that scored 62 points. On 15 carries, Evans rushed for more than 150 yards and found the end zone three times on the ground.
For the year, Evans has rushed for 367 yards on 6.4 yards per carry.
Defense: LB Aaron Beasley
The Volunteers stuffed the Missouri rushing attack, and that was largely thanks to good linebacker play.
Aaron Beasley led the way for Tennessee with eight tackles. 1.5 of them were for loss.
So far, the Georgia native has been one of the most productive players for the Volunteers on defense.
Vanderbilt
Offense: K Joseph Buvolas
For the second time this year, a kicker takes home a helmet sticker for the Commodores.
Buvolas, a former Alabama kicker, knocked through his second game-winning field goal of the season in a 30-28 victory over Connecticut. For the evening, Buvolas was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals with a long of 39 yards.
Defense: LB Anfernee Orji
Orji had a huge day behind the line of scrimmage against UConn, finishing with three tackles for loss.
On the night, the Texas native finished with five total tackles. That gives him 16 for the season.