Pac-12 announces football players of the week

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Running back Ka’Deem Carey of ARIZONA, safety Jordan Richards of STANFORD and ARIZONA STATE kicker Zane Gonzalez have been named offensive, defensive and special teams Pac-12 Players of the Week in football.

Carey, a junior from Tucson, Ariz., carried the ball a school-record 39 times for 232 yards and a game-clinching touchdown as Arizona beat Utah 35-24 on Saturday night at home. He gained 30-yards on his first carry of the game and ran for a 44-yard touchdown on his last carry with 90 seconds remaining to secure the Wildcats‘ first Conference win. The 236 rushing yards is Carey’s second-highest career tally and third-highest in Arizona single-game history. The reigning national rushing champion now leads the nation with 161.0 rushing yards per game.      

Richards, a junior from Folsom, Calif., intercepted two passes, broke up another pass and recorded a team-leading 10 tackles as Stanford rebounded after its first loss of the season to take down No. 9 UCLA 24-10 on Saturday afternoon. Both of Richards’ interceptions set up Stanford touchdowns, which proved to be the difference in the game. It was his first multi-interception game of his career.

Gonzalez, a freshman from Deer Park, Texas, set a career-high for field goals, going 4-for-4 in the Sun Devil’s 53-24 win over No. 20 Washington at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday. He has connected on 11-straight field goal attempts and is 15-of-18 on the season. Gonzalez scored 17 points in the game, bringing his season total to 80 points and ranks No. 5 nationally in scoring at 11.4 ppg.    

Also nominated for offensive player of the week honors were quarterbacks Sean Mannion of OREGON STATE and Connor Halliday of WASHINGTON STATE; running backs Marion Grice of Arizona State, Byron Marshall of OREGON, Tyler Gaffney of Stanford, and Silas Redd of USC; and tailback Michael Adkins of COLORADO. Also nominated for defensive player of the week honors were defensive linemen Sione Tuihalamka of Arizona, Will Sutton of Arizona State, Scott Crichton of Oregon State, Leonard Williams of USC and Trevor Reilly of Utah; and safety Randall Goforth of UCLA. Also nominated for special teams player of the week honors were kickers Conrad Ukropina of Stanford and Ka’imi Fairbairn of UCLA, UTAH punter Tom Hackett; wide receiver/punt returner Nelson Agholor of USC; and Arizona running back Terris Jones-Grigsby.

2013 Pac-12 Football Players of the Week