ROSEMONT, Ill. – Senior linebacker Sammy Omosigho of the UCLA football team was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon after his dominant performance in the Bruins’ conference-opening 52-38 victory over Purdue at the Rose Bowl on Sept. 19.
Omosigho totaled a team-high 12 tackles for the Bruins, helping limit the visiting Boilermakers to just 63 net rushing yards. Of his dozen stops, 11 were solo tackles. In addition, Omosigho forced two fumbles and recorded a pair of sacks.
It marked the third straight game that Omosigho had forced a fumble, giving him four overall on the season. He is the first Bruin since at least 2000 to force a fumble in three straight games, and he’s believed to be the first player in program history to accomplish the feat. In addition, his four forced fumbles this year are already the most by a Bruin in a single season since Mitchell Agude in 2021.
The 12-tackle outing marked the second time in his career that Omosigho finished in double digits. It was the second-highest total of his career, trailing only his 14 tackles in UCLA’s season opener at California on Sept. 5. It also marked the first-career multi-sack game for the Crandall, Texas native.
This is the second time this season that Omosigho has received a weekly award for his play, as he was named the Bednarik Award National Player of the Week (top defensive player in the country) after the Bruins’ win at Cal.
Omosigho is the second Bruin to earn Big Ten defensive honors in just a three-week span, as safety Ta’Shawn James was tabbed the league’s Co-Defensive Player of the Week following his two-interception performance against the Golden Bears in the season opener.
Overall, Omosigho is having one of the strongest statistical starts to the season of any player across the nation. He leads the FBS in forced fumbles, is second in solo tackles (21), third in tackles for loss (6.5), fourth in total tackles (33), and is ninth nationally and tied for first in the Big Ten with 3.0 sacks.
UCLA returns to action this Saturday, Sept. 26, traveling to Maryland for the squad’s first Big Ten road game of the year. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. PT on Big Ten Network.
UCLA's All-Time Big Ten Conference Player of the Week Awards
- K Mateen Bhaghani, Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 2, 2024)
- QB Ethan Garbers, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 21, 2024)
- WR Kwazi Gilmer, Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Nov. 4, 2024)
- LB Carson Schwesinger, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 11, 2024)
- QB Nico Iamaleava, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 6, 2025)
- K Mateen Bhaghani, Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 20, 2025)
- DB Ta’Shawn James, Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 7, 2026)
- LB Sammy Omosigho, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 21, 2026)