Shemar James Named SEC Defensive Player of the Week

The junior linebacker led the way with two of Florida's seven sacks against LSU and finished with a season-high 11 tackles.

Nov 16, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators linebacker Shemar James (6) and defensive lineman Caleb Banks (88) sack LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Florida Gators linebacker Shemar James is the SEC's Defensive Player of the Week for Week 12, the conference announced Monday.

In the 27-16 upset over LSU, James led the Gators' seven-sack effort with two of his own during his season-high 11-tackle performance. He also had two tackles-for-loss and two pass breakups.

"I think lately he's really starting to play well," head coach Billy Napier said. "Shemar is a three-down player. He can play -- I thought he's improved as a tackler. Just his stopping power has improved. And I think just in general him as a communicator, as a leader. He's a guy that has a ton of positive energy. Fun to be around. Does a great job throughout the week affecting the other players."

James' performance, as well as the rest of the defense's, comes on the heels of a blowout loss on the road against Texas where the Gators gave up a season-high 49 points. Not to mention, the Florida defense was able to shut down LSU's offense despite the Tigers running 92 plays and having the ball for nearly 42 minutes.

"We kind of knew that that wasn't our brand of football that we played in Texas, and that's kind of why we came out tonight, and we were, like, giving 110 percent," James said on Saturday. "That was a bad taste we had, and we got it out of our mouth."

James is one of three Gators to win an individual conference award this week, joining quarterback DJ Lagway (Freshman of the Week) and kicker Trey Smack (Special Teams Player of the Week).

James' individual performance was a microcosm of an overall dominant effort from the Gators against LSU offense. Six different Florida defenders recorded a sack, and the seven sacks more than doubled the Tigers' total given up on the year.

The Gators held LSU to 2.9 yards per carry and recorded 11 total tackles-for-loss while snapping a five-game losing streak to the Tigers.