Indiana University Athletics
Thigpen Named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week
10/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 9, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Following a record-setting day at Illinois, sophomore Marcus Thigpen has been named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, the league announced on Oct. 9. Thigpen is the first Hoosier to claim the honor since punter Drew Hagan captured the award on Oct. 31, 1999.
Thigpen, who leads the nation with 41.8 yards per kickoff return, racked up a school-record 197 return yards on four kickoffs (49.3 average) in the Hoosiers' thrilling 34-32 victory at Illinois on Oct. 7. Indiana gained its first Big Ten road win since a 37-28 triumph over Michigan State on Nov. 10, 2001, snapping a steak of 17 straight defeats.
The Detroit native provided a 98-yard touchdown sprint in the third quarter to give the Hoosiers their first lead after falling behind by 18 points in the second quarter. The TD marked his third of the season (first nationally), matching a Big Ten single-season record held by Purdue's Stan Brown (1970) and Michigan State's DeAndra Cobb (2003) and putting him atop the Indiana career touchdown return list. Thigpen's 197-yard effort also ranks sixth on the conference single-game charts.
Thigpen now ranks eighth on the Hoosiers' single-season kick return yardage list with 543 and holds the longest (100-yarder at Ball State) and second-longest (98-yarder at Illinois) kick returns in school history.
Additionally, Thigpen gained a career-high 91 yards on the ground, including the team's longest run from scrimmage this season (44 yards), and 23 receiving yards. His 311 all-purpose yards is the fourth-best single-game effort in Indiana history. Thigpen averages 137.2 all-purpose yards per game, which ranks fourth in the league and 16th nationally.
