Jermaine Whitehead plucks another INT

AUBURN – Jermaine Whitehead is quickly putting together his most prolific season as a ball hawk.

The Auburn field safety snatched his second interception of the season in No. 5 Auburn's 59-13 romp of San Jose State at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.

With the Spartans trailing just 14-7 in the final minutes of the first quarter, Whitehead picked off Blake Jurich at the Tigers' 36-yard line and returned the ball 19 yards. Auburn scored on the ensuing drive to take a 21-7.

"He's a very savvy guy, very experienced guy," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said of Whitehead. "You can tell he's played a lot of football. He is the operator on the back end, all the communication goes through him. He gives our defense a lot of confidence on the back end."

It was the fifth interception of Whitehead's career, and second in as many games. He is the first Auburn player with interceptions in back-to-back games since Jerraud Powers did it against Georgia and Alabama in 2007.

Whitehead, who was not available for interviews, added five tackles, with one for loss, and nearly had a second interception during the second quarter.