AFL Awards Week 3 Players of the Week

Thursday May 3, 2018

Hills and Gray have strong performances to earn weekly honors

LAS VEGAS – The Arena Football League has announced that Albany Empire’s wide receiver Joe Hills and Baltimore Brigade’s defensive back Virgil Gray have been named as the offensive and defensive players of the week for Week 3, respectively.

OFFEENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Hills (6’4, 225, Tennessee State) hauled in 11 receptions for 108 yards and four touchdowns in his first game in an Empire uniform. The 2016 Offensive Player of the Year recorded 129 receptions for 1,353 yards and 36 touchdowns last season. Hills currently has an AFL record streak of consecutive games with a receiving touchdown to 82 games.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Gray (5’10, 185, Rhode Island) recorded 12.0 total tackles and one interception for 38 yards in Baltimore’s 52-49 win over the Empire. This is Gray’s first season of AFL action since 2015, he spent last season as the Brigade’s defensive backs and special teams coordinator. The former Ram currently leads the League in total tackles with 22.5 and longest interception return at 38 yards.

PREVIOUS WINNERS

WEEK 1 – Baltimore’s Randy Hippeard (Offensive) and Philadelphia’s Torez Jones (Defensive)

WEEK 2 – Philadelphia’s Darius Reynolds (Offensive) and Philadelphia’s James Romain (Defensive)

ABOUT THE AFL

The Arena Football League will enter its 31st Season in 2018. Since its inception in 1987, the Arena Football League has showcased a fast-paced and exciting game to millions of fans in a myriad of markets across the country. Teams slated for 2018 include: Albany, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Washington D.C. CBS Sports Network nationally broadcasts AFL games each week, culminating with the ArenaBowl. The AFL launched AFLNow, the League’s streaming “Over-the-Top” network to give fans even more access to the League on arenafootball.com. For all the latest news and discussion on the Arena Football League follow the AFL on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@aflarenaball).