A former top recruit, Su'a Cravens was a destructive force against Oregon State Saturday. Â© Kirby Lee USA TODAY Sports Images It seems like just yesterday that USC’s Su’a Cravens was an elite recruit. Saturday — and not for the first time —Â he made that promise fully visible in an outstanding performance that earned him the 247Sports National Defensive Player of the Week.

Cravens was the No. 5 overall player and the No. 1 safety in the 247Sports Composite in the Class of 2013 out of Vista Murrieta (Calif.) High School, and a versatile talent who could have fit any number of college positions. He showed some of the versatility on Saturday, making six tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and returning an interception 31 yards for a touchdown.

Cravens’ interception return in the first quarter put the Trojans up 7-0 on Oregon State, setting the stage for a dominant defensive performance against an explosive Beaver offense.

Cravens also did a nice job of knifing through the line to shut down this potential misdirection in the second quarter. And with Oregon State trying to drive later in the second quarter, Cravens came unblocked for a sack.

Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion, who will likely finish this season as the Pac-12’s career passing leader, was held to 15-of-32 passing (46.9 percent) for 123 yards and no touchdowns to two interceptions. And as a team, the Beavers were held without an offensive touchdown, getting their lone TD on a Ryan Murphy kickoff return.

With outstanding size at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds and fantastic closing speed, Cravens stands out even on a USC defense that has several other NFL prospects. The scary thing? He’s just a true sophomore.

For his performance against a high-octane passing attack, USC safety Su’a Cravens is the 247Sports Defensive Player of the Week.