Despite one of the more dominant defensive performances during one of the better seasons in Washington State Cougars history, Hercules Mata’afa was not selected as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea was the winner, the conference announced on Tuesday.
It would have been the first DPOY honor for a Coug since Mark Fields won the award in 1994, and just the second time overall. Jason Gesser was the last player of the year honoree, sharing the offensive award with Carson Palmer in 2002.
After being left off the all-Pac-12 teams altogether in an all-American campaign in 2016, offensive guard Cody O’Connell joins Mata’afa on the first team.