Penn State linebacker Brandon Smith is this week’s Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday.

It’s the first time the Virginia native has won the award. The honor comes after Smith had a career-high 10 tackles in Penn State’s 28-20 win over Auburn, besting his previous record of eight. Smith helped the Nittany Lions limit Auburn to its lowest total offensive numbers of the season so far, as the Tigers had only 185 passing yards.

Smith had seven tackles in the first half alone to help shut down the Tigers’ offense. Additionally, three of his 10 tackles held Auburn to one yard or fewer. Smith leads the Nittany Lions through their first three games with 25 tackles, ranking fifth in the Big Ten for that category.

Smith helped lead Penn State to its first win over an SEC team since 1990, and he’s the first Penn State player to achieve the honor of Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week since Robert Windsor back in 2018.

The 3-0 Nittany Lions will host Villanova at noon on Saturday, September 25. It’ll be the first time the two meet since 1951.