Pac-12 Singles Out ZTF, Penix, Brailsford for Weekly Honors

For Zion Tupuola-Fetui, it was just like old times, shades of his infamous 2020 season. Multiple sacks. A forced fumble, though it wasn't enabled by a replay call. Pac-12 honors, for sure.

On Monday, the conference handed out player of the week awards to the man known as ZTF and a pair of University of Washington teammates for their work in a 41-7 victory at Michigan State in quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and redshirt freshman center Parker Brailsford. 

A sixth-year senior, ZTF was named Pac-12 defensive lineman of the week after picking up a couple of sacks against the overmatched Spartans.

This was not a new award for the 6-foot-4, 254-pounder from Pearl City, Hawaii, who won it for three consecutive weeks during the COVID-shortened season of 2020, when he rang up 7 sacks, including 3 strip sacks, during that time.

Since then, of course, Tupuola-Fetui has had to deal with an Achilles tear that kept him out until midseason in 2021 and then a season-ending concussion, followed by playing as a reserve in 2022.

As this conference will reaffirms, ZTF is back, starting and causing havoc on the outside.

Penix joined him as the Pac-12 offensive player of the week for his 27-for-35, 473-yard and 4-TD outing in his return to Big Ten country, where he spent four seasons at Indiana. This was the fourth the lefty from Tampa, Florida, had received this award, doing it three times in 2022.

Brailsford , the 6-foot-2, 275-pound utility lineman from Mesa, Arizona, made his first start at center in place of the injured Matteo Mele after opening at right guard in the UW's first two games. He and his line mates helped Penix and the others churn out a season-high, near record-breaking 713 yards of total offense, including 177 yards rushing, another top season mark.

This was just Brailsford's third college game, hence his first conference reward.

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