Following Big Ten football games on Nov. 24-25, the Co-Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week and Freshman of the Week in the Big Ten were announced this morning. Below are this week’s honorees:
Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Markell Jones, Purdue
Jr., RB, Columbus, Ind./Columbus East
Rushed 31 times for 217 yards, both career highs, in Purdue’s win vs. Indiana, including 159 yards on 22 carries (7.2 YPC) in the second half
First career 200-yard rushing game and the first by a Boilermaker since Ralph Bolden rushed for 234 yards against Toledo on Sept. 5, 2009
Fourth career 100-yard rushing game and now has 1,968 rushing yards for his career (13th in school history)
Receives his first career Offensive Player of the Week award
Last Purdue Offensive Player of the Week: David Blough (Nov. 2, 2015)
Akrum Wadley, Iowa
Sr., RB, Newark, N.J./Weequahic
Rushed for 159 yards and three touchdowns and added one catch for eight yards in Iowa’s win vs. Nebraska
Became only the third opposing player in the last 20 years with 150+ rushing yards and 3+ rushing touchdowns in Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium
Became the fourth Hawkeye to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and the first since Fred Russell in 2002-03
Earns his third career Offensive Player of the Week award
Last Iowa Offensive Player of the Week: Nate Stanley (Sept. 10, 2017)
Defensive Player of the Week
Sam Hubbard, Ohio State
Jr., DE, Cincinnati, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller
Recorded five total tackles (four solo) and a forced fumble in Ohio State’s win at Michigan
Set a career high with 2.5 sacks for minus-27 yards
Led a defense that limited Michigan to 100 rushing yards
Earns his first career Defensive Player of the Week honor
Last Ohio State Defensive Player of the Week: Raekwon McMillan (Nov. 28, 2016)
Special Teams Player of the Week
Hunter Niswander, Northwestern
Sr., P, Peninsula, Ohio/Woodridge
Averaged 48.3 yards on six punts and placed 3 punts inside the 20-yard line in Northwestern’s win at Illinois
Hit his longest punt of the day (61 yards) with Northwestern on its own 13-yard line and holding a 14-7 lead in the second quarter
Receives his second career Special Teams Player of the Week award
Last Northwestern Special Teams Player of the Week: Hunter Niswander (Oct. 22, 2017)
Freshman of the Week
Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin
Fr., RB, Salem, N.J./Salem
Rushed for 149 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown in Wisconsin’s win at Minnesota
Recorded his ninth 100-yard rushing game in 12 career games
Has 1,806 yards on the season, third-most by a freshman in FBS history behind only Ron Dayne (2,109 – 1996) and Adrian Peterson (1,925 – 2004)
Claims his eighth Freshman of the Week award and his seventh consecutive honor this season
Last Wisconsin Freshman of the Week: Jonathan Taylor (Nov. 20, 2017)
