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Wisconsin safety Kamo'i Latu named B1G Defensive Player of the Week

Kamo'i Latu is the first player to earn a weekly Big Ten award this season for the Wisconsin Badgers.

Matt Belz

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While there were several players that played well for the Wisconsin Badgers this past weekend against Northwestern, only one player took home Big Ten honors this week.

Based on his two-interception performance on Saturday, safety Kamo'i Latu earned the honor of Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.  

The Hawaii native also added three tackles in the 35-point win over Northwestern, but ultimately the two turnovers he forced were the primary reason for winning the weekly award. 

Latu is the first Wisconsin player to win a weekly award this season, and he is the first Defensive Player of the Week winner from UW since Leo Chenal did on October 25 in 2021. 

From the same high school as Nick Herbig, Latu is known for his playmaking ability as a strong hitter, but he grabbed his first career interception in the first quarter against Northwestern and then later tallied another interception in the third quarter last Saturday. 

The first interception helped set the Wisconsin offense up with good field position and the Badgers cashed in with a three-play touchdown drive. While the second interception did not lead to points for the Wisconsin offense, it was another critical play for the defense and a stellar play by Latu.

After beginning his career at the University of Utah, Latu opted to transfer to Wisconsin this off-season. While he did not begin the season as a starter, a leg injury to Hunter Wohler in the season-opener gave way to Latu earning a starting nod the past five games. 

Latu is currently tied for the team lead with two interceptions this season, sharing that distinction with fellow safety John Torchio. Latu is also seventh on the team in total tackles with 20 but is tied for third with 15 solo tackles. He also has one sack and three pass breakups through six games.

Jim Leonhard had this to say about Latu during his Monday press conference:

"He's a fluid mover, I mean he is very explosive and can run. We thought he was going to be able to do some very good things in coverage on top of the physicality that he loves to play with. He's getting more and more comfortable within this defense every week and he's coming off his best games back-to-back. Excited about where he's at, he still needs to continue to grow and learn to communicate certain things within this defense, but he's gaining more confidence every week." - Jim Leonhard on safety Kamo'i Latu

So far this season, Latu is the only Big Ten player with multiple interceptions in a conference game in 2022 and he became the first Badger to record a pair of interceptions in the same game since Collin Wilder did so versus Nebraska in 2021. 

Latu had previously won Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors while playing at Utah, but this is his first Big Ten award. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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