By: Washington State Athletic Communications
HONOLULU – Washington State defensive lineman Hercules Mata'afa was named one of five finalists for the 2017 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award, it was announced Tuesday by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
During the regular season, Mata'afa led the Pac-12 Conference and is fifth in the country with 21.5 tackles-for-loss while his 9.5 sacks also pace the conference and are tied for ninth-most in the nation. The redshirt-junior from Lahaina, Hawaii has record multiple tackles-for-loss in eight of the 12 games this season and recently earned Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after making five tackles-for-loss with three sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in the win at Utah.