Pac-12 Football Players of the Week – Week 6
OFFENSIVE: Laviska Shenault Jr., So., WR, Colorado (DeSoto, Texas)
• In Colorado’s 28-21 win over Arizona State, Shenault caught 13 passes for 127 yards and 2 TDs, while rushing 5 times for 13 yards and two more scores.
• This was his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the year; the only other two players in CU history to have four 100-yard games in the first five games in a season were Michael Westbrook in 1992 and Nelson Spruce in 2014.
• He has caught at least one TD pass in all five games this season; that ties the second-longest streak of consecutive games with a TD reception in school history.
• He is the first player in Colorado history to score multiple touchdowns rushing and receiving in the same game (the 15th four-plus TD game at CU); it was his first multiple receiving TD game of his career, and he is now the third player to have four or more of each in the same season.
• He now has 51 receptions for 708 yards (five games); he has one receiving TD in all four games.
• Shenault is the fifth receiver to earn the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honor twice in the same season.
Also nominated: Eno Benjamin, RB, ASU; Jermar Jefferson, RB, OSU; KJ Costello, QB, STAN; Joshua Kelley, RB, UCLA; Zack Moss, RB, UTAH; Gardner Minshew II, QB, WSU
DEFENSIVE: Jaylon Johnson, So., DB, Utah (Fresno, Calif.)
• Johnson tallied seven tackles and one interception return for a touchdown in the 40-21 win at No. 14 Stanford.
• He became just the third Ute in history, and the first since 1994, to return an interception 100 yards for a touchdown. His interception return for the touchdown came in the second quarter with Stanford on the Utah 9-yard line and the Utes clinging to a 7-0 lead.
• Johnson’s 100-yard interception return is the longest in the nation this year.
Also nominated: Scottie Young Jr., S, ARIZ; Mustafa Johnson, DE, COLO; Bobby Okereke, LB, STAN; Adarius Pickett, S, UCLA; Ben Burr-Kirven, LB, WASH; Peyton Pelluer, LB, WSU
SPECIAL TEAMS: Matt Gay, Sr., K, Utah (Orem, Utah)
• Gay was integral in Utah’s 40-21 win at No. 14 Stanford, making 4-of-4 field goals, including back-to-back kicks of 48 and 49 yards to end the first half and the start the second half. His 49-yard field goal was a season-long.
• Gay’s other field goals were from 34 and 37 yards putting him at 4-of-4 made field goals inside the 40-yard line this season and 25-of-26 in his career.
• Gay also made 4-of-4 PATs giving him 16 points on the night.
• Gay ranks first in the Pac-12 in field goals per game (1.60) and is tied for first in the league in kick-scoring points per game (7.8).
Also nominated: Champ Flemings, WR/KR, OSU; Jake Bailey, P, STAN; Kainoa Wilson, WR, WSU
