BATON ROUGE, La. — McNeese State junior tailback Jessie Burton and LSU sophomore defensive back Damien James earned honors as the top players for week two of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Louisiana College Football Players of the Week.
Burton was named the top offensive player for his performance in a 41-0 victory over Prairie View, while James was the defensive star for his efforts in LSU’s 28-13 win over Houston on Saturday night.
Burton earned the honor despite playing only the first half of the game against Prairie View, but his stats were dominant, carrying 13 times for 152 yards. He scored touchdowns on runs of 43, 33 and 4 yards. The 152 yards lifted his career total over 2,000 rushing.
James registered a career-best eight tackles and two interceptions in his first career start. His first interception came in the end zone that thwarted Houston’s potential game-tying drive with 3:12 left in the game as Houston had the ball on a third down at the LSU five. His second interception came with just under a minute left as James returned the pick 56 yards for the touchdowns to seal LSU win.
The nominations were made by SIDs of football playing universities and voted on by a panel of LSWA members.