Hightower Named SEC Top Defender

Dont’a Hightower has been playing well enough to be winning awards in every game, and it was no surprise that he is the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower was selected as SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Alabama’s 24-7 win over Mississippi State in Starkville Saturday night.

Hightower, a 6-4, 260-pound junior from Lewisburg, Tenn.,led Bama with 11 total tackles with two and a half tackles for loss and one and a half sacks and a pass break-up as the Crimson Tide improved its record to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in SEC games.

Hightower’s unassisted sack came on a third-and-8 at midfield late in first quarter, forcing a Bulldog punt attempt. Hightower led an Alabama defense that had five sacks and nine tackles for loss and held the Bulldogs to nine first downs, 12 yards rushing, and just 131 total yards.

The Tide has not allowed an opponent to score more than 14 points during the first 10 games of the season and 11 dating back to the bowl game (longest since 1975-76 when the Tide did that for 14 games).

Hightower is UA’s leading tackler with 66 total stops on the season (8.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks)

The SEC also noted the performance of Bama tailback Trent Richardson, who rushed for 127 yards on 32 carries and scored a touchdown, and also caught two passes for 26 yards against Mississippi State.

This week Alabama hosts Georgia Southern at 1 p.m. CST Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, the final non-conference game of the year for Bama. The only television of the game is pay-per-view.