COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football RS freshman TE Albert Okwuegbunam (Springfield, Ill.) was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week, announced Monday by the league office. Okwuegbunam (pronounced Oh-coo-way-boo-nahm) caught four passes for 57 yards, including three TD grabs, tying the school record for touchdowns in a single game by a Mizzou TE. The three TD grabs tie him with former Mackey Award winner Chase Coffman, who had three against Colorado in 2007, and Swayne Blakley, who had three against Western Michigan in 1999.

At 6-5, 260 pounds, Okwuegbunam is emerging as the Tigers’ top red zone threat as all three of his scores Saturday came from inside the 20 yard line (scores of 19, 18 and 10). All three grabs came in the first quarter as Mizzou raced to a 34-7 lead, its most points ever in a single quarter of action.

Okwuegbunam has been part of a TE renaissance at Mizzou under the direction of second-year OC Josh Heupel. The group has combined to haul in 20 catches for 403 yards and are on pace for the most yards by a Mizzou TE group since 2010. The group also has eight TD grabs, highlighted by Okwuegbunam’s team-high five, the most by a Mizzou TE group since 2008.

Mizzou will be back in action Saturday as it heads to UConn for its final nonconference game of the season. The game will air on ESPN 1550 at 5:30 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —