Jon Halapio earns SEC weekly honor

Another week, another weekly honor for the red-hot Florida Gators football team.

Florida right guard Jon Halapio was named the Co-Southeastern Conference’s Offensive Lineman of the Week, the league announced on Monday. The other Co-SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week is Mississippi State’s Tobias Smith.

Halapio has 18 consecutive starts, the most of any UF offensive player, heading into No. 2 Florida’s game against No. 7 South Carolina at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida is 6-0 overall and sits atop the Eastern Division standings with 5-0 record in SEC play.

The 6-foot-3, 321-pound redshirt junior from St. Petersburg, Fla., graded out the best among the Gators’ offensive linemen during Saturday’s 31-17 win at Vanderbilt. Halapio helped pave the way for Florida’s 326 rushing yards and 9.3 yards per carry.

It’s the most yards per carry in an SEC game since Alabama rolled over Arkansas for 9.4 yards per carry in 2008. Florida’s offense 233.3 yards per game, which is the most since Emmitt Smith powered the 1989 Gators to 241.8 yards per game in 1989.

Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel was listed in the “Other Outstanding Performances from Week 7” section, an honorable mention of sorts. He rushed for a school-record 177 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

It’s the fourth consecutive week following a Gators game for UF players to earn recognition. Running back Mike Gillislee and safety Matt Elam earned honors after a 14-6 win against LSU. Defensive tackle Omar Hunter picked up an award after a 38-0 win against Kentucky. Quarterback Jeff Driskel earned a weekly honor after a 37-20 win against Tennessee.

mikecapshaw
Mike Capshaw brings a wealth of experience to the Gator Country team. He’s been overseeing all editorial aspects of GatorCountry.com and Gator Country magazine by managing our team of staffers, interns and freelancers. He is now moving into a bigger role as a reporter by covering the football and basketball beats as well as providing coverage of all sports on campus. Mike’s 15 years in the business has included more than six years of covering SEC sports and recruiting at a daily newspaper in Arkansas. He has also helped launch a newspaper, magazines, websites and even a sports talk radio show. Because Mike puts family ahead of his career, he left the place where he was established when his wife received an opportunity to further her career at UF. He took a leap of faith that he could find a job in the Gainesville area and worked for a year at a newspaper group before joining the Gator Country family in November, 2011. Mike has won Florida Press Association awards for Best Sports Game Story and Best Sports Feature Story in the past two years as well as a company-wide award at his former newspaper group that includes some 60 publications, for Excellence in Sports Reporting. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeCapshawGC.