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University of Minnesota Athletics
Wilson, Myrick Honored by Big Ten
10/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Minnesota senior linebacker Damien Wilson and sophomore defensive back Jalen Myrick were honored by the Big Ten today for their play in the Gophers' 24-17 win against Northwestern on Saturday. Wilson was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, while Myrick was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. Wilson shares the honor with Michigan linebacker Jake Ryan, while Myrick shares the honor with Michigan kicker Matt Wile.
Wilson made a career-high 15 tackles and tied his career high with 1.5 tackles-for-loss in Minnesota's win. The Gophers were credited with 80 tackles against Northwestern, which means Wilson was responsible for 18.75 percent of Minnesota's tackles. Wilson now has 66 tackles this year and is averaging a Big Ten-best 11.0 tackles per game. He finished second on the team last year with 78 tackles.
Myrick returned one kickoff for 100 yards for the game-winning touchdown against Northwestern. Myrick's kick return came right after the Wildcats completed a 13-play, 97-yard drive to tie the game 17-17. Myrick is filling in for the injured Marcus Jones (was hurt against San Jose State on Sept. 20) and has now returned two career kicks, as he also had a 28-yard return at Michigan earlier this season. Myrick became only the fourth Gopher ever to return a kickoff for a 100-yard touchdown. The last to do so was Jermaine Mays at Indiana in 2000. Bobby Weber (1977 vs. Ohio State) and Rick Upchurch (1974 vs. Wisconsin) also recorded 100-yard career kickoff returns for touchdowns in their career. The kickoff return for Myrick was his first for a touchdown at any level.
Wilson and Myrick are the third and fourth Gophers to be honored by the league this year. The duo joins David Cobb (Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8) and Chris Streveler (Freshman of the Week on Sept. 22) in being recognized. Prior to this season, Minnesota had never had players receive Offensive, Defensive, Special and Freshman of the Week honors all in one season.
Sixteen Gophers have now been named a Player of the Week by the Big Ten since coach Jerry Kill took over the program in December 2010. Seven of those 16 Gophers were named Special Teams Player of the Week, with Myrick being the most recent.
