District, conference and division action is already ramping up with some marquee and pivotal matchups, and Louisiana’s talented players at every level are rising to the occasion for their teams.
The Boot is never lacking for standouts excelling in their representation of the state — even on tough weekends for LSU and the New Orleans Saints when more of the top performances may come from natives whose careers have taken them elsewhere around the country.
Here’s the look at the latest Louisiana vs. All Y’all Players of the Week with selections as always at each level and in all three phases.
HIGH SCHOOL
Offense — Peyton “Pop” Houston (2027), Evangel Christian: The LSU-committed quarterback is among the players who is a viable POTW candidate nearly every week, and this past Friday was as fitting a time as any with his 500-yard, eight-touchdown performance in a 63-28 rout of Natchitoches Central. Houston finished 23-for-30 for 308 yards and four touchdowns, pushing him over 100 passing touchdowns in his career, and rushed nine times for another 192 yards and four scores.
Defense — Juan Jasmin (2028), Edna Karr DB: The Cougars have now claimed three of the six LVAY Defensive POTW honors just past the midway mark of the season, including a second-straight by a junior defensive back with multiple interceptions. Jasmin’s two second-half picks, including a long pick-six, helped Edna Karr blow open a big lead in its eventual 40-28 defeat of John Curtis to extend the state’s longest winning streak to 33 games.
Special Teams — Jaiden Williams (2027), Destrehan WR: Destrehan took its recent run of district dominance on the road to an undefeated Thibodaux team eager to pull off the upset. But their senior wide receiver gathered the opening kickoff, sliced by a few defenders and got loose up the sideline for the long, tone-setting touchdown to put the home team and crowd immediately on their heels with the early spark and score he provided his team.
COLLEGE
Offense — Blake Baker, Louisiana Tech QB: What an entrance to the Sun Belt Conference. The Bulldogs roared back with 13 points in the final four minutes to stun the Ragin’ Cajuns, 32-31, with big plays on both sides of the ball including rushing and passing touchdowns by their veteran quarterback to cap long, explosive drives. Baker finished 32-for-42 for 319 yards, three scores and no interceptions and rushed 10 times for another 54 yards and a score.
Defense — Dickson Agu, Tulane LB: The Green Wave dropped a 20-17 heartbreaker late on the road at Army. But the team battled the always-tough Black Knights, and its veteran linebacker racked up a game-high 12 tackles and graded out well according PFF: an 86.8 overall with 89.6 run defense and 83.9 tackling marks — some of the best in the country across the board among players with notable snap counts.
Special Teams — Jaylon Coleman, Liberty RB: The former Vandebilt Catholic star nearly put his Flames on the board with the opening kickoff. A penalty negated the 100-yard house call, but Liberty was still able to get down the field for the eventual touchdown. And Coleman added another 48-yard return on his other opportunity to officially finished with 83 yards on two returns, to go with his game-high 92 rushing yards on seven carries.
PROFESSIONAL
Offense — Malik Nabers, New York Giants WR: The Comeaux, Southside and LSU product had his biggest game of the season thus far Sunday as he continues surging back from a preseason injury to now have increased his totals across the board three consecutive weeks. The Giants are prioritizing getting Nabers the ball, including 20 targets in this week’s tie with the Washington Commanders. He caught 11 passes for 121 yards — tied for second-most and sixth-most in the league this week, respectively — and hauled in a touchdown for the second straight week.
Defense — Danielle Hunter, Minnesota Vikings EDGE: Hunter is one of the most consistent LVAY POTW winners the past couple of seasons with his knack for bringing pressure of the edge. And this week, he was an absolute nightmare for the Tennessee Titans in his Texans’ 26-3 win. The former LSU standout was credit with a league-best 10 pressures, including one sack, one other hit and eight other hurries. He finished with three tackles, but was a disruptive presence throughout the 26-3 rout on the road.
Special Teams — Zavion Thomas, Chicago Bears WR: Unfortunately for Chicago, Zavion Thomas had six opportunities to return kickoffs in its lopsided loss to the Green Bay Packers. But the former John Ehret and LSU star excelled with his opportunities on his way to not only a league-best 192 total return yards this weekend, but one of the longest individual returns (61 yards) and highest averages (32.0 yards/attempt). The Bears couldn’t do much from there to keep up with their NFC North rivals, but Thomas was a bright spot in his return role.
