Hercules Mata'afa

A redshirt junior from Lahaina, Hawai`i, Hercules was named the AP’s Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named to the Walter Camp, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic's, FWAA, and the AP All-American Teams.

Mata’afa was the cornerstone of the Washington State defense, leading the Pac-12 with 21.5 tackles-for-loss and 9.5 sacks. He started all 12 games for the Cougars while recording 43 tackles with two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, had multiple tackles-for-loss eight separate times and earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors following the Washington State win at Utah.