The Coloradoan is proud to present another aspect of our weekly Athlete of the Week series, partnering with Blue Federal Credit Union to honor the best Fort Collins-area tackle football players throughout the fall 2026 season.
The weekly Fort Collins-area Football Player of the Week poll has five nominees, and fans can vote every Tuesday through Thursday at coloradoan.com/sports.
You can find the nominees and the ballot below. Voting is open this week until 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 22, now closed this week, with the winner officially announced on Oct. 23.
Return to this page to see the official winner and a video of this week's Fort Collins-area Football Player of the Week. You can see last week's winner in the video currently atop this page.
Fans can nominate their favorite players (deadline: 11:59 p.m. every Sunday) and the Coloradoan sports staff will ultimately select the nominees each week.
If you have nominations for a future football Player of the Week, please send them via email to ChrisAbshire@coloradoan.com for consideration.
Meet Blue FCU Football Player of the Week nominees for Week 8 (Oct. 15-16)
- Memphis Clause, Fossil Ridge DB: The SaberCat sophomore had a breakout game on the city rivalry stage, recording five tackles (three solo) and picking off Fort Collins QB Jace Garcia twice as part of a fantastic Fossil defensive performance that limited the Lambkins' high-octane offense to just 21 points.
- Brayton Meglen, Wellington RB: It was another huge game for the Eagles junior star. Meglen carried the ball 20 times for 241 yards and five more touchdowns in a 55-22 win over University for his fourth game with at least four TDs in the last month.
- Diego Romero, Fort Collins DB/RB: What a Senior Night performance for the Lambkins two-way standout. Romero had a team-high 110 all-purpose yards, made two tackles with two pass deflections and scored two of Fort Collins' three TDs, one a rushing touchdown and the other a pick-six interception return.
- Vicente Romero, Fort Collins DB/RB: It was a similar story for the other Romero twin, who also excelled alongside his brother on Senior Night. Romero had seven tackles and a team-high 86 rushing yards, including a game-clinching fourth-quarter rushing touchdown.
- Everett Wood, Windsor LB: Wood put in a yeoman's effort on defense despite the Wizards' loss to 3A No. 3 Holy Family. Wood record a game-high 11 tackles (six solo, one for loss) and recorded an interception against one of the state's top QB in Kaden Hopkin.