WSU safety Shalom Luani Pac-12 Player of the Week
Washington State safety Shalom Luani was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the week after recording two interceptions and 11 tackles against Oregon State.
Luani, a junior college transfer, has made a sizable impact in his short time with the Cougars. His 33 unassisted tackles are second on the team only to middle linebacker Peyton Pelluer's 34 and he leads the team with three interceptions, all of which have come in the last two games.
He is WSU's first Defensive Player of the Week since Damante Horton won it in Week 2 of the 2013 season following WSU's win at USC.
The junior safety's first interception came late in the fourth quarter and was returned 84 yards for a touchdown, the accounting for the team's only points in the second half of the 52-31 win. He then ended the subsequent OSU possession with another pick.
Luani became the fourth Pac-12 player with a two-interception game this season and his 84-yard return is the longest in the conference this year.
Before he started regularly taking the ball away from opposing offenses, Luani made a name for himself as the team's hardest-hitter, regularly punishing ball carriers and would-be receivers. Coach Mike Leach has called him possibly the hardest hitter he's had at WSU, and certainly the most violent tackler relative to his size (Luani is listed at 6-foot, 201-pounds).
