The Big Ten offensive, defensive and special teams players of the week and freshman of the week for games on Oct. 22 were announced this morning. Below are this week's honorees:

 

Co-Offensive Players of the Week

Marvin McNutt, Iowa

Sr., WR, St. Louis, Mo./Hazelwood Central

·         Set the Iowa career record for touchdown receptions as part of a three-touchdown performance against Indiana on Saturday

·         Scored on touchdown receptions of 80, 28 and 24 yards, bringing his career total to 24, passing the school record of 21 set by former Hawkeyes Tim Dwight (1994-97)and Danan Hughes (1989-92)

·         Finished the game with six receptions for a career-high 184 yards

·         Claims his first career Big Ten weekly honor

·         Last Iowa Offensive Player of the Week: Ricky Stanzi (Oct. 18, 2010)

 

Kirk Cousins, Michigan State

Sr., QB, Holland, Mich./Holland Christian

·         Threw three touchdown passes, highlighted by the game-winning touchdown toss to Keith Nichol as time expired, in Michigan State’s win over Wisconsin

·         Completed 22 of 31 passes for 290 yards, his 20th career 200-yard passing game, as the Spartans rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit

·         Won his 22nd game as Michigan State’s quarterback, becoming the program’s all-time wins leader

·         Claims his second career Big Ten weekly honor

·         Last Michigan State Offensive Player of the Week: Kirk Cousins (Oct. 25, 2010)

 

Co-Defensive Players of the Week

Gerald Hodges, Penn State

Jr., LB, Paulsboro, N.J./Paulsboro

·         Recorded a career-high 14 tackles in Penn State’s win over Northwestern on Saturday

·         Posted 1.5 sacks as a part of the seven-sack effort by the Nittany Lion defense

·         Had a 63-yard interception return, which set up a Penn State touchdown to complete the scoring at 34-24

·         Claims the first conference honor of his career

·         Last Penn State Defensive Player of the Week: Michael Mauti (Nov. 8, 2010)

 

Kawaan Short, Purdue

Jr., DT, East Chicago, Ind./East Chicago Central

·         Recorded career-bests with 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in Purdue’s 21-14 victory over Illinois on Saturday

·         Finished with six total tackles as the Purdue defense held Illinois to nearly 17 points and 90 rushing yards below its season average

·         Earns his first Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor, having previously earned Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 11, 2010

·         Last Purdue Defensive Player of the Week: Ryan Kerrigan (Nov. 15, 2010)

 

Special Teams Player of the Week

Kyler Elsworth, Michigan State

So., LB, Goodrich, Mich./Goodrich

·         Blocked a punt in the final minute of the first half, which Michigan State recovered in the end zone to give the Spartans a 23-14 halftime edge

·         Marked Michigan State’s first blocked punt that resulted in a touchdown since 2006

·         Claims his first career Big Ten weekly honor

·         Last Michigan State Special Teams Player of the Week: Denicos Allen (Nov. 22, 2010)

 

Freshman of the Week

Tre Roberson, Indiana

QB, Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central

·         Became the first true freshman in Hoosier history to start at quarterback

·         Accounted for nearly 300 yards of total offense, completing 16 of 24 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 84 yards on 16 carries

·         Claims his first career weekly honor

·         Last Indiana Freshman of the Week: Shane Wynn (Oct. 10, 2011)