Illinois, Nebraska, Ohio State and UCLA Earn Weekly Football Honors

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Following Week 6 contests, the Big Ten Conference Football Players of the Week Presented by IFS.ai were announced Monday. Below are this week’s honorees: 

Offensive Player of the Week

Nico Iamaleava, UCLA

QB – So. – Long Beach, Calif. – Warren

·       Accounted for five touchdowns and 294 yards of total offense to lead UCLA to a 42-37 upset against No. 7 Penn State

·       Set single-game career highs in rushing yards and touchdowns and tied a program record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback

·       Led UCLA to the program’s first home win over a top 10 AP team since 2007, the most points allowed and rushing yards (269) by Penn State in a regular season game since 2022

·       Had a 52-yard scramble in the third quarter, a career-long rush and UCLA's longest play of the season

·       Last UCLA Offensive Player of the Week: Ethan Garbers (Oct. 21, 2024)

Defensive Player of the Week

DeShon Singleton, Nebraska

S – Sr. – Greensburg, La. – St. Helena

·       Led a Nebraska defense that produced three takeaways, including two interceptions by Singleton, in a win vs. Michigan State

·       Became the first Husker to record a pair of interceptions in a game since 2023

·       Added six tackles as Nebraska limited Michigan State to a total of 240 yards, including just 84 rushing yards

·       Last Nebraska Defensive Player of the Week honoree: JoJo Domann (Oct. 4, 2021)

Special Teams Player of the Week

David Olano, Illinois

K – Jr. – Naperville, Ill. – Naperville North

·       Perfect 5-for-5 on field goals and 4-for-4 on extra points to account for 19 points in #22 Illinois’ 47-23 road win at Purdue

·       Most field goals made in a game by a Big Ten player this season and tied the Illinois record for field goals made in a game

·       Second Illini ever and the first since 1982 to make five field goals in a road game

·       Last Illinois Special Teams Players of the Week: David Olano (Sept. 29, 2025)

Freshman of the Week

Julian Sayin, Ohio State

QB – Carlsbad, Calif. – Carlsbad

·       Completed 23 of 27 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in Ohio State's 42-3 win over Minnesota

·       He found Jeremiah Smith for touchdown scores of six and nine yards and Carnell Tate on a 44-yard play

·       He completed 14 of 17 passes for 237 yards and two scores in the first half as Ohio State built a 21-3 lead, and then he was even sharper in a 21-point second half with nine completions in 10 attempts

·       Leads the nation in completion percentage (80.2), is third in efficiency (196.99) and eighth in touchdown passes (13)

·       Last Ohio State Freshman of the Week: Julian Sayin (Sept. 8, 2025)

2025 Big Ten Football Players of the Week (presented by IFS.ai)

Sept. 1

O: Jayden Maiava, USC

O: Jonah Coleman, WASH

D: Preston Zachman, WIS

ST: Hank Beatty, ILL

F: Malik Washington, MD

Sept. 8

O: Aidan Chiles, MSU

O: Jonah Coleman, WASH

D: Jordan Hall, MSU

ST: Spencer Porath, PUR

F: Julian Sayin, OSU

Sept. 15

O: Omar Cooper Jr., IND

D: Jerry Mixon, ORE

ST: Kaden Wetjen, IOWA

F: Bryce Underwood, MICH

Sept. 22

O: Fernando Mendoza, IND

O: Demond Williams Jr., WASH

D: Daniel Wingate, MD

ST: Kaden Wetjen, IOWA

ST: Dominic Zvada, MICH

F: Malik Washington, MD

Sept. 29

O: Luke Altmyer, ILL

O: Dante Moore, ORE

D: Caden Curry, OSU

ST: David Olano, ILL

F: Drake Lindsey, MINN

Oct. 6

O: Nico Iamaleava, UCLA

D: DeShon Singleton, NEB

ST: David Olano, ILL

F: Julian Sayin, OSU