Utah wide receiver BRANDON HAMPTON, Alabama wide receiver LARRY SHIPP and Milwaukee defensive back VIRGIL GRAY have been named the JLS Ironman, Russell Athletic Offensive Player and Riddell Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, for Week 3 of 2010, the AFL's first season back after taking a year hiatus. In addition to these three awards, the AFL is also highlighting the player who makes the best catch of the week, the playmaker of the week, and the highlight of the week. The Cutters Catch of the Week Award for Week 3 goes to Orlando wide receiver T.T. TOLIVER, while Arizona's wide receiver TRANDON HARVEY has been named the Playmaker of the Week. The highlight of the week award has gone to Chicago's defensive back DEJUAN ALFONSO. JLS IRONMAN OF THE WEEK Hampton (5-9, 190, California) continues to be a major playmaker for the struggling Utah Blaze. Last week versus the Alabama Vipers, Hampton tallied three kick returns for 82 yards and a touchdown. He also nabbed a 46-yard interception for a score. So far this season, Hampton has returned seven kick offs for 251 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 35.9 yards per return. Also versus the Vipers, Hampton made 5.5 tackles and forced one fumble, proving he is a threat both on defense and special teams. RUSSELL ATHLETIC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Shipp (5-9, 188, Tennessee Tech) was a major contributer in the Vipers' 63-54 victory over the Utah Blaze last weekend. Shipp made eight catches for an outstanding 199 yards-nearly half of Alabama's total offense for the night (409 yards). Shipp also caught four touchdown passes from QB Kevin Eakin. Eakin threw five on the night. Shipp's 199 receiving yards were nearly four times the amount he tallied in Alabama's first game of the season versus Jacksonville, where he had 54 receiving yards. RIDDELL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Gray (5-10, 180, Rhode Island) helped the Milwaukee Iron overcome the Iowa Barnstormers this past weekend, acting in part with an overall Iron staunch defense. Gray tallied 6.5 tackles, the most on the team, but the highlight of the night came when he intercepted Iowa QB Ryan Vena in the endzone. Not only did Gray prevent an Iowa score, he also proceeded to return the ball 50 yards for a Milwaukee score. It was his first interception of the season. CUTTERS CATCH OF THE WEEK Toliver (6-0, 185, Bethune-Cookman) earns an award for the second week in a row, last week taking home the award for Playmaker of the Week. This week, Toliver is being awarded for his athletic catch in the back of the endzone. Facing the Jacksonville Sharks on the NFL Network, QB Nick Hill tossed the ball deep into the back corner of the endzone. Toliver jumped and managed to wrangle it in, but was hit by a defender and sent crashing over the boards. He managed to hold on to the ball for the score, a play that was later featured on ESPN's SportsCenter top plays. NIFTY PLAYMAKER OF THE GAME Harvey (5-10, 197, Washington State) earned this week's Playmaker of the Week award after his contributions Friday night, when the Arizona Rattlers fell to the Chicago Rush in Phoenix. Harvey made 10 receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns, the third most receptions for Arizona that night. Harvey also returned six kick offs for an unstoppable 101 yards, an average of over 20 yards per carry. SPALDING HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME Alfonso (6-0, 205, Indiana State) brought the heat to the desert this weekend, when the Rush took on the Arizona Rattlers in Phoenix. Alfonso, who has tallied two interceptions for 57 yards so far this season, put the final nail in the coffin for Chicago with a late interception. He returned a wild Rattlers' QB Nick Davila pass 48-yards for a touchdown, putting the Rush up 14 with a little more than two minutes remaining in the game. JLS Ironman of the Week candidates included: Arizona's Alex Guerrero, Tampa Bay's Lawrence Samuels, Jacksonville's Jomo Wilson, Milwaukee's Alvance Robinson and Bossier-Shreveport's Randy Hymes. Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Week candidates included: Arizona's JJ McKelvey, Tampa Bay's Brett Dietz, Jacksonville's Jomo Wilson, Milwaukee's Tiger Jones, Oklahoma City's Al Hunt and Spokane's Markee White. Riddell Defensive Player of the Week candidates included: Chicago'a DeJuan Alfonso, Tampa Bay's James McCoy, Jacksonville's Neefy Moffett, Oklahoma City's Mike Brown, Alabama's Eric Crosby, and Spokane's Ben McCombs.
