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Oct. 7, 2012

Texas Longhorns senior defensive end Alex Okafor and junior defensive end Jackson Jeffocoat have been selected as CFPA Honorable Mention Defensive Linemen of the Week, and sophomore running back Joe Bergeron has been selected CFPA Honorable Mention Running Back of the Week, the College Football Performance Awards announced on Sunday.

Okafor forced WVU quarterback Geno Smith to fumble twice – Okafor’s fifth and sixth forced fumbles of his career. The first on Saturday was caused in the WVU end zone, recovered by Jackson Jeffcoat for a touchdown. The second was in the fourth quarter, recovered by Chris Whaley at the WVU 12-yard line. Okafor also forced two fumbles last season against Kansas. 


Okafor also matched a career-high with two sacks in the game. He had two earlier this season against Ole Miss and last year versus Texas Tech. In addition, Okafor also blocked a WVU field goal to maintain a 7-7 tie in the first quarter. For the game, Okafor had two solo tackles, two sacks, two TFL, two forced fumbles, one blocked kick and three quarterback hurries.

Okafor is a fourth-year player who has played in 44 career games with 26 starts (tops on the defense) and currently leads the team in sacks (6) and quarterback hurries (12). This season he has 20 total tackles (12 solo), six sacks, six TFL, 12 QBH, twp forced fumbles and one blocked kick. For his career, Okafor has 130 tackles (62 solo), 15.5 sacks, 26 TFL, six forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Okafor was named to the 2012 Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award and CFPA Defensive Lineman of the Year Trophy watch lists and was tabbed 2012 preseason first-team All-America by Athlon, Blue Ribbon and Phil Steele magazines. He was a 2011 AFCA FBS Coaches' All-American, a unanimous first team All-Big 12 selection (Coaches) in 2011, named first team All-Big 12 (AP, Kansas City Star, Fort Worth Star-Telegram) and second team (San Antonio Express-News) and was on the 2011 Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award watch list.

Jeffcoat notched four tackles, .5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss, one quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery for a touchdown against West Virginia.

Jeffcoat has played in 25 career games with 18 starts, and currently leads the team in tackles for loss (10 for 41 total yards) and is tied with Okafor for the team lead in forced fumbles (two). In 2012, Jeffcoat has 29 total tackles (16 solo), 3.5 sacks, 10 TFL, 2 forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, six quarterback hurries, one pass break up and on pass defended. The junior has started all five games this season to help the Horns amass a 4-1 record.

Jeffcoat has already been named to the 2012 Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award, and CFPA Defensive Lineman of the Year Trophy watch lists. He was also named 2012 preseason first-team All-Big 12 by Phil Steele, Athlon, and Lindy's magazines.

The third-year defensive end nabbed 2011 second-team All-Big 12 selections (Coaches, AP, Kansas City Star, San Antonio Express-News, For Worth Star-Telegram) . Jeffcoat played in all 13 games, and racked up 71 tackles, 21 tackles for losses, eight sacks, nine pressures, and three pass breakups. He ended the season fifth in the Big 12 in sacks and tied for third in tackles for loss.

Bergeron set a career-high of four rushing touchdowns to account for all but one of UT’s five offensive touchdowns. In the first half alone, Bergeron tied his previous career high of three rushing touchdowns against Texas Tech in 2011. His four rushing touchdowns rank tied for sixth on the Texas single-game list. He is one of nine players in school history to post four or more rushing TDs in a game and first since Vince Young had four vs. Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl. He now has a team-high nine rushing TDs on the season.

Bergeron leads the team in rushing yardage this season with 300 yards on 69 carries and also has the team-lead in touchdowns (9) and points (54). He also has seven receptions for 72 yards in 2012.

In 2011, Bergeron played in 11 games with 72 carries for 463 yards and five touchdowns. His five rushing touchdowns rank tied for ninth most by a freshman in school history. Bergeron tied a school freshman record with three rushing touchdowns against Texas Tech when he carried the ball 29 times for a 191 yards against the Red Raiders with his rushing total ranking second most in a single game by a freshman at Texas. His total included a 51-yard run, and he had five carries of 10 or more yards in the game which helped him earn the Capital One Cup Impact Performance of the Week, honorable mention CFPA Running Back of the Week and the team Offensive Player of the Week honor. Bergeron had a breakout game against Kansas, rushing for a team-high 136 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries. He joined Malcolm Brown to become the first freshmen duo in school history to each rush for over 100 yards in the same game. The 136 yards are the 15th most in a single game by a Texas freshman.