Dexter McDonald receives Big 12 honors

Dexter McDonald was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Monday morning.

McDonald is the first Jayhawk to win Player of the Week honors from the Big 12 since last November when James Sims won Offensive Co-Player of the Week for his effort vs. West Virginia.

McDonald intercepted two passes versus Southeast Missouri State in KU’s 34-28 win on Saturday. Additionally, McDonald had two solo tackles and two pass breakups.

Here’s the press release from Big 12:

Seth Russell (Baylor), Jake Waters (K-State), Dexter McDonald (Kansas) and Jarvis West (Iowa State) were named Big 12 Football Players of the Week for September 6 games by a panel of media that cover the Conference. West (special teams) was honored for the second time in his career while Russell (offense), Waters (offense) and McDonald (defense) picked up their first award.

Big 12 Offensive Co-Players of the Week
Seth Russell, Baylor, QB, So, Garland, Texas
In his first career start, Seth Russell threw for 438 yards and five touchdowns in the first half of Baylor’s 70-6 win over Northwestern State before sitting out the second half. His yards and touchdowns are both BU records for a half. He also rushed for a touchdown with a three-yard scamper in the first quarter. The sophomore’s six TDs tied the Baylor record, which had been accomplished three other times and his 438 passing yards were the third-most in a game in BU history. Russell’s touchdown passes were from 81, 50, 42, 61 and 57 yards. He leads the NCAA in ESPN’s total QBR with a score of 95.4.

Jake Waters, K-State, QB, Sr, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Senior quarterback Jake Waters led K-State back from a 15-point deficit to a 32-28 win at Iowa State. He rushed 20 times for a career-best 138 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning eight-yard run with 1:30 left in the game. Waters also went 16-of-29 for 239 yards through the air and totaled 377 yards of offense. He fueled K-State’s largest double-digit comeback win on the road since 2010 (North Texas).

Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week
Dexter McDonald, Kansas, CB, Sr, Kansas City, Mo.
Dexter McDonald led the Kansas defense with the first multiple interception game of his career in a 34-28 win over Southeast Missouri State. The senior cornerback first picked off SEMO quarterback Kyle Snyder in the end zone and returned it 62 yards to keep the Redhawks scoreless in the first half. He then grabbed a second interception off of Snyder five minutes into the third quarter, returning it 10 yards. Additionally, McDonald was credited with two solo tackles and two pass breakups, giving him four passes defended in the game.

 Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week
Jarvis West, Iowa State, WR/PR, Sr, St. Petersburg, Fla. 
Jarvis West posted one of the best all-around games of his career with three touchdowns in a 32-28 loss to No. 20 K-State. The senior caught a career-high eight passes for 75 yards and a TD. He also threw a scoring pass on a reverse play, hitting Allen Lazard for 29 yards for the touchdown and ran a punt back 82 yards to the end zone. West became the first player in FBS or FCS with punt return, passing and receiving touchdowns in the same game since Sept. 11, 2010 (Randall Cobb, Kentucky vs. Western Kentucky) and is only the third player to accomplish the feat since 1998. He is just the fourth Cyclone in school history with both a punt and kickoff return touchdown. West has been responsible for a TD in every possible way on offense/special teams in his career (catch, run, pass, punt return, kickoff return).