Tedric Thompson wins Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week

For the second time this season, Tedric Thompson has been awarded the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for his invaluable performance in the Buffs’ 27-22 victory over Utah. His previous honor was for his two spectacular interceptions in Colorado's win over Stanford.

In the regular season finale that decided the Pac-12 South, Thompson was the unquestioned star of Colorado’s defense. The senior safety was everywhere on the field and picked up four tackles, four pass breakups and two interceptions.

Thompson’s two interceptions were his sixth and seventh just this season, which places him third in the nation in that stat. He’s now tied with Dick Anderson (1967) and Cullen Bryant (1972) for the most interceptions in a single season by a Colorado player. Thompson now has 13 in his career and will be able to build upon that mark in his two final games, the Pac-12 Championship and whichever bowl game the Buffs play.

Also of note, Thompson’s four passes defended, a career high, give him 14 on the season, which is tied for 6th in the nation. Atop that national leaderboard is Colorado’s own Akhello Witherspoon, who had four pass breakups of his own on Saturday. The Colorado defense as a whole had ten pass deflections as they held Utah quarterback Troy Williams to a meager 160 passing yards on a putrid 13-40 (32.5%) passing performance.

Colorado now has nine Pac-12 Players of the Week, first in the conference. The others, in chronological order: Sefo Liufau against Colorado State, Steven Montez passing and running through Oregon, Davis Price hitting a 54-yard field goal, Phillip Lindsay running up and down on Arizona State, Thompson against Stanford, Isaiah Oliver (on special teams) for his game-clinching punt return TD against UCLA, and for Liufau and Nick Fisher’s brilliant performances against Washington State.

Joining Tedric Thompson in the Players of the Week are Oregon State’s Ryan Nall (offense) and USC’s Adoree’ Jackson (special teams). Nall had 155 rushing yards and four touchdowns in leading the Beavers past Oregon in the Civil War. Jackson, the magnificent player and wonderful person he is, had a 52-yard receiving tochdown, a 55-yard punt return touchdown, a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown and played lockdown defense against one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Also from Jackson: