Nov. 3, 1997
Kealy, Williams Earn Player of the Week Honors
TEMPE, Ariz. - Redshirt freshman QB Ryan Kealy and senior punter Marcus Williams were named Pac-10 Players of the Week by the conference today. Kealy also was named the U.S. Postal Service National Player of the Week, an award voted on by fans at the College Hall of Fame web site.
Kealy, the conference's offensive player of the week, completed a career-high 23 passes in 36 attempts for 245 yards and four touchdowns (also a career high) in the Sun Devils 44-31 win over No. 10 Washington State. It is the second time in ASU's last three games that Kealy earned Pac-10 honors. Kealy is completing 53.8 percent of his passes this season for 1,594 yards. He has 11 touchdown passes and need only 114 more yards passing to break the school's freshman record.
Williams, named the special teams player of the week by the Pac-10, averaged a school record 53.6 yards on seven punts against the Cougars. He also chalked up six touchbacks on Sun Devil kickoffs against the Cougars. Williams is 24th in the nation and second in the Pac-10 with a 43.6-yard average in 1997, the best at ASU since 1984 when John Meyer averaged 43.8 yards per kick. The Sun Devils are tops in the conference and ninth in the nation with a 40.8 net punting average. Williams has booted 21 touchbacks on 46 kickoffs this season as opponents are starting at an average of the 21.9 yard line after ASU kickoffs.