This past weekend featured only a limited slate of football action, but still saw some notable performances by Louisiana standouts.
High school and NFL regular seasons won’t open until Sept. 4, and the full Week 1 launch of college season is still a few days away.
But Nicholls State and Southern were a part of the Week 0 appetizer, as were a few Louisiana natives playing their college ball elsewhere around the country.
So we didn’t want to delay recognizing some of the biggest Boot-relevant standouts of the weekend, as we ramp up our annual fall run of Players of the Week honors for top high school, college and NFL performers on offense, defense and special teams.
Our first two weeks will be limited to just college athletes, before our first nine-man awards group for the week of Sept. 2-8.
COLLEGE
Offense — Trey Holly, Southern RB: The former Union Parish star, the state’s high school career rushing leader, kicked off his redemption or bounce-back season with the Jaguars with a couple flashes of the explosive potential that made him a highly touted prospect when he signed with LSU in 2023. Holly carried 10 times Saturday for 119 yards and an 80-yard breakaway touchdown in his first game in blue and gold.
Defense — Ty Marsh, Nicholls State DB: The Colonels opened their season with a statement win in a 20-6 stifling of reigning Southland Conference champion Incarnate Word. Nicholls State’s defense suffocated the Cardinals, holding them to 204 total yards and snatching four takeaways — including the senior defensive back’s early, 29-yard pick-six for the team’s first touchdown and first lead of the season. A few Colonels defenders would’ve been great options for this award following the dominant showing, but the veteran earned the nod for his pivotal, tone-setting and go-ahead play to highlight his coverage throughout the day.
Special Teams — Jadan Aubert, Tarleton State DB: The former St. James standout provided an immediate impact for the Texans in his debut after two seasons at Jones College. On kick-coverage reps alone, he finished with two tackles and a fumble recovery that set up an offensive score on the short field. Aubert also wrapped up another pair of tackles on defense to finish tied for fourth on the team with four tackles in Tarleton State’s 42-0 rout of Portland State.