PAC-12 ANNOUNCES FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Pac-12 Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Quarterback Travis Wilson of UTAH, defensive end Kyle Kragen of CALIFORNIA and punter Tom Hackett of UTAH have been named offensive, defensive and special teams Pac-12 Players of the Week in football.
Wilson, a senior quarterback from San Clemente, Calif., had 327 yards of total offense (227 passing, 100 rushing) in his return to action after missing last week’s game due to injury. Wilson recorded five total touchdowns, four passing and one rushing, in then-No. 18 Utah’s defeat of then-No. 13 Oregon, 62-20, at Autzen Stadium. The senior quarterback went 18-of-30 passing to nine different receivers with no interceptions, and had a career-long rush of 60 yards. After Utah punted on its first offensive possession, Wilson led the Utes on five-straight scoring drives to take a 27-13 halftime lead. Coming out from halftime, Utah scored on its first three offensive possessions to go up 48-13. Utah’s 62 points were the most scored against a Pac-12 opponent since joining the Conference in 2011, and the most the Ducks have ever allowed in Eugene.
Kragen, a senior defensive end from Danville, Calif., registered career highs of six tackles and 1.5 sacks (-16 yards) as well as a career-high-tying 1.5 tackles for loss (-16 yards) in California’s 30-24 victory over Washington. Kragen marked his first forced fumble and pass break up of the year, assisting in Cal’s first win over Washington on Montlake since 2005. The undefeated Golden Bears (4-0, 1-0) return to the top 25 (No. 24 AP/T24 Amway Coaches) for the first time since 2010.
Hackett, a senior punter from Melbourne, Australia, had three punts for 181 yards (60.3 average), dropping all three punts inside the 10-yard line (8, 1 and 4-yard lines) in Utah’s 62-20 win over Oregon. Hackett had a career-long punt of 76 yards, which ranks seventh in program history, of which landed on Oregon’s 8-yard line. Hackett corralled a high snap on fourth-and-13 on a called fake punt and turned it into a 33-yard rush to the Oregon 39-yard line. Utah went on to score a touchdown on the possession to take a 48-13 lead. With the statement win, the No. 10 Utes received its first ever first-place vote in the regular season AP Poll.
Also nominated for Offensive Player of the Week: Kenny Lawler, WR, CAL; Seth Collins, QB, OSU; Christian McCaffrey, RB, STAN; Jordan Payton, WR, UCLA; JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC; Also nominated for Defensive Player of the Week: Blake Martinez, LB, STAN; Chris Hawkins, CB, USC; Jason Fanaika, LB, UTAH; Also nominated for Special Teams Player of the Week: Matt Anderson, PK, CAL; Devin Fuller, WR, UCLA; Adoree’ Jackson, CB/WR/RET, USC
2015 Pac-12 Players of the Week
Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams
Sept. 7 Josh Rosen, UCLA Justin Thomas, UTAH Dante Pettis, WASH
Sept. 14 Luke Falk, WSU Gionni Paul, UTAH Bralon Addison, ORE
Sept. 21 Kevin Hogan, STAN Kenneth Olugbode, COLO Cory Butler-Byrd, UTAH
Sept. 28 Travis Wilson, UTAH Kyle Kragen, CAL Tom Hackett, UTAH
