College Football Week 3: PFF Team of the Week & Player Awards

• 2023 Draft Prospects Shine: PFF’s Week 3 Team of the Week features a star-studded group on both sides of the ball. Six of the players that cracked a spot on the Team of the Week for Week 3 are also featured in PFF’s 2023 Top 100 Draft Board.

• Florida guard O’Cyrus Torrence: The 2021 PFF All-American at Louisiana is off to a hot start in Gainesville. He now has earned a spot on the Team of the Week in each of his first three games starting for Florida. He currently is the highest-graded guard in college football for the 2022 season.

• Alabama, Notre Dame Headline on Defense: The defensive Team of the Week is led by a well-known set of defensive linemen from Alabama and Notre Dame, but one of the most underrated transfers in the country at Washington State took home Defensive Player of the Week honors.

PFF TEAM OF THE WEEK

Offense

QB: C.J. Stroud, Ohio State Buckeyes
RB: Bijan Robinson, Texas Longhorns
RB: Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota Golden Gophers
WR: Johnny Wilson, Florida State Seminoles
WR: Will Sheppard, Vanderbilt Commodores
WR: Ja’Lynn Polk, Washington Huskies
TE: Brock Bowers, Georgia Bulldogs
LT: Peter Skoronski, Northwestern Wildcats
LG: Andrew Vorhees, USC Trojans
C: Alex Forsyth, Oregon Ducks
RG: O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida Gators
RT: Austin Barber, Florida Gators

Defense

DI: Byron Young, Alabama Crimson Tide
DI: Jayson Ademilola, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Edge: Yasir Abdullah, Louisville Cardinals
Edge: Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
LB: Daiyan Henley, Washington State Cougars
LB: Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia Bulldogs
CB: Nic Jones, Ball State Cardinals
CB: Aamaris Brown, USF Bulls
S: Jaydon Grant, Oregon State Beavers
S: Jay Ward, LSU Tigers
Flex: Erick Hallett II, Pittsburgh Panthers

Offensive Player of the Week: TE Brock Bowers, Georgia Bulldogs

Bowers was in the conversation for the best tight end in college football during his 2021 true freshman campaign, and this year is no different. He was the nation's most impressive offensive performer in Week 3.

• • Bowers was targeted five times on 20 routes and hauled in every one of them for either a first down or touchdown.
  • Bowers’ two touchdowns showed why he was ranked PFF’s No. 1 tight end entering the season. One showed off his dynamism as he broke multiple tackles en route to a 78-yard score, while the other showed his poise at the catch point as he mossed a cornerback when split out wide on a fade.
  • After Week 3, Bowers joins Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer as the only tight ends with over 20 explosive receptions since 2021 (Mayer 28, Bowers 20). That’s pretty, pretty good for an underclassman.

Defensive Player of the Week: LB Daiyan Henley, Washington State Cougars

This past offseason, Henley transferred to Wazzu from Nevada, where he was one of the best linebackers at the Group of Five level. He finished top 10 among FBS off-ball linebackers in coverage grade for the 2021 season. So far with the Cougars, Henley has looked better than one could imagine. He is currently the highest-graded off-ball linebacker in college football after an elite outing in Week 3 against Colorado State.

• • Henley wreaked havoc in Week 3 with five total pressures generated, three of which were a sack.
  • He made impact plays and few mistakes, as evidenced by his zero missed tackles, seven defensive stops and two forced fumbles for the game.
  • Henley’s 92.6 PFF grade for the game is the highest PFF has on record from a Washington State defender in five years.

True Freshman of the Week: QB A.J. Swann, Vanderbilt Commodores

Vandy head coach Clark Lea opted for a change at quarterback this past week due to the offense not playing up to its standards. Lea and company went with four-star true freshman A.J. Swann against Northern Illinois, and he impressed given the situation.

• • Swann made some impressive touch throws and had good ball placement in his starting debut, paving the way for a PFF game grade north of 85.0.
  • The 6-foot-3, 225-pound quarterback stood tall under pressure throughout the game. He didn’t eat a sack on any of his eight pressured dropbacks and completed five of eight such attempts for 84 yards and one touchdown. On pressured plays, Swann posted a 93.1 passing grade.
  • Swann led the Commodores to 0.5 expected points added (EPA) per pass play on Saturday, the program’s highest single-game mark in the past five years.