Indiana University Athletics
Thigpen Named All-American by SI.com
12/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 8, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Sophomore running back/kick returner Marcus Thigpen has garnered his fourth postseason honor, being named to SI.com's All-America first team on Thursday, Dec. 7. The publication selected Thigpen as the team's kick returner after the sophomore averaged 30.1 yards per kickoff return and ran three kicks back for touchdowns.
Thigpen, who was named a midseason All-American by SI.com and CBSSportsline.com in October, finished second in the nation in yards per kickoff return to Oklahoma State's Grant Jones. His three touchdowns were tops in the country. The sophomore has already been selected to the All-Film Team by ESPN.com's Todd McShay, to the rivals.com All-America first team and the scout.com All-American Team this offseason.
He netted his third TD sprint of the season at Illinois on Oct. 7, 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.
In his top performance of the season, Thigpen racked up a school-record 197 return yards on four kickoffs (49.3 average) in the Hoosiers' thrilling 34-32 victory over the Fighting Illini. Additionally, Thigpen gained a career-high 91 yards on the ground, including a career-long, 44-yard rush, and had 23 receiving yards. His 311 all-purpose yards is the fourth-best single-game effort in Indiana history.
The Detroit native also ran kicks back against Connecticut (88 yards) and Ball State (100 yards). He became the third player in IU history to return a kick 100 yards for a score, joining Derin Graham (vs. Wisconsin, 10/3/98) and Freal McIntosh (vs. Washington & Lee, 1915).
Thigpen finished the season with 723 return yards, the third most in IU history. He holds the longest (100-yarder at Ball State) and second-longest (98-yarder at Illinois) kick returns in school history.
