Christmas week blessed Louisiana football fans with another bevy of memorable performances on the college and professional football fields around the country.
A mixture of the state’s natives and current and former college standouts headlined the best, including a pair of LSU standouts in the Tigers’ final outing of the 2025 season.
Congratulations to our six latest players of the week winners.
COLLEGE
Offense — Trey’Dez Green, LSU TE: The sophomore tight end was among the brightest spots in his Tigers’ loss to Houston in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl with his four receptions for 80 yards and two touchdowns — a game-high for receiving yardage and a multi-touchdown game of the second time in his career and first time this season. The former East Feliciana and Zachary star also helped teammate Zavion Thomas (John Ehret) power through tacklers and across the goal line for LSU’s final score.
Defense — Laterrance Welch, UNLV DB: The former Acadiana star, who began his college career at LSU, has been among the nation’s highest-graded defenders both overall and specifically in coverage thus far this bowl season, according to PFF (Pro Football Focus). Welch snatched his first interception since early November, his fifth of the season, and allowed just one 8-yard catch on two targets his direction. “LT” also wrapped up two tackles for UNLV in a 17-10 Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl loss before he heads to the 2026 NFL Draft.
Special Teams — Barion Brown, LSU WR: LSU couldn’t have asked for a much better start to this year’s Kinder’s Texas Bowl with a 99-yard touchdown return of the opening kickoff. Brown became the program’s first player to return an opening kickoff to the touchdown since 1978 and just the third time ever the Tigers had started a game in that fashion. The next time Houston kicked off later in the first quarter, Brown took his only other opportunity 43 yards to finished with 142 yards and a touchdown on two returns — already more than double the team’s kick-return yardage in any other game this season.
PROFESSIONAL
Offense — Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals QB: The former Heisman-winning LSU quarterback continued his strong late-season surge since returning from injury. Burrow completed 24 of his 31 passes (77.4%) for 305 yards — his second straight 300-yard game — and two touchdowns, no interceptions and an average of 9.8 yards per attempt to help the Bengals build an early lead and cruise past Arizona, 37-14.
Defense — Alontae Taylor, New Orleans Saints DB: The fourth-year defensive back was the Saints’ leading tackler Sunday and among their highest-graded players overall by PFF (Pro Football Focus) in a 34-26 road win at Tennessee. Taylor wrapped up nine stops, including seven solo, and broke up three passes his direction while allowed just four completions on nine targets.
Special Teams — Ryan Wright, Minnesota Vikings P: The former Tulane specialist had one of the better games of his stellar fourth season overall, the best yet of his solid young professional career overall. Wright boomed seven punts for a combined 358 yards, a 51.1-yard average and 46.7-yard NET average with a 63-yard long and two downed inside the 20. His performance was critical in the battle for field position in the Vikings’ 23-10 win against Detroit to pull back even with the Lions in the loaded NFC North standings.