There might not be a linebacker in the country playing better football than Daiyan Henley right now.

And that’s not commentary. He’s quite literally the highest-graded linebacker in college football, according to Pro Football Focus.

The former Nevada linebacker has 18 stops this season, tackles classified by PFF as constituting a “failure” for the offense. Only three FBS defenders have more. He has 7.5 tackles for loss in three games. Only one FBS defender has more. He has four sacks. Only five FBS defenders have more. And he has two forced fumbles. Only two FBS defenders have more.

This week, Henley earned the Bednarik Award Player of the Week honor, the Reese’s Senior Bowl Defensive Player of the Week distinction, and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honor.

“I would say that the world is taking notice to the hard work that I’ve been putting in over these past few months and the lessons I’ve been learning from coaches,” Henley told reporters this week. “They’re putting me in positions to make plays that I didn’t make last year. They’re really helping me and pushing me to strive to be better than I was.

Washington State head coach Jake Dickert is letting Henley rush the passer. The results speak for themselves. He already has nine pressures in three games, one less than what he had all of last season.

“The coaches challenge me,” Henley said. “That’s the biggest thing. In order to put me into this position, they challenged me. They were like, ‘You have to do better. You have to be better than you were. You have to show that you have different dimensions to your game, and we challenge you to go out there and be more physical and dominate.’ They give me one-on-ones and, for me, a one-on-one is a challenge. Anyone in front of me, I’m trying to show that I’m dominant. I’m trying to be better than (them).”

Washington State (3-0) is hoping Henley can keep it going against the 15th-ranked Ducks this weekend. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT on FOX.