University of Hawai'i defensive back Khoury Bethley was named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America. Bethley is the first UH player to receive the weekly award and comes one day after the senior earned Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honors.
 
With the honor, Bethley is now added to this season's Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List.

Two picks and a forced fumble by @KhouryBethley helped @HawaiiFootball end a 13-game skid against ranked foes. That earns the senior safety our National Defensive Player of the Week honor, as selected by @TheFWAA. https://t.co/06za1spxNJ pic.twitter.com/FG41bZnOL0

— Nagurski Trophy (@NagurskiTrophy) October 5, 2021

 
The Chino, Calif., native anchored the Rainbow Warriors defense which forced six turnovers in Hawai'i's 27-24 victory over No. 18 Fresno State last Saturday in Honolulu. Bethley finished the game with two interceptions, a forced fumble, nine tackles, and a sack.
 
His first interception occurred just before the end of the first half with Fresno State driving deep into UH territory. His second pick in the fourth quarter led to the Rainbow Warriors' game-tying touchdown drive.
 
With the score tied at 24-24, the safety strip-sacked Bulldog quarterback Jake Haener near midfield which set up UH's eventual game-winning field goal. The two interceptions marked his second career multi-interception game after also recording two picks in UH's 2019 Hawai'i Bowl win over BYU.
 
The 5-10, 200-pound senior is tied for the team-lead with 38 tackles, including 29 solo stops. He also has a team-leading 5.0 tackles-for-loss and 3.0 sacks and had another strip-sack in a Sept. 25 win at New Mexico State that led to a UH touchdown drive.