Penn State cornerback [autotag]Daequan Hardy[/autotag] got a chance to return some punts during Penn State’s romp over UMass, and he made them count. For his efforts, Hardy was named one of the Big Ten’s players of the week on Monday.
Hardy shared the Big Ten special teams player of the week honors after his performance in Saturday’s 63-0 victory over UMass. Hardy returned two punts for touchdowns in the blowout victory, including the first score of the game. Hardy’s touchdown punt returns covered 56 yards and 68 yards in the first and third quarters, respectively.
Hardy is the 25th player in the Football Bowl Subdivision to return two punt returns for touchdowns in a single game, and he is one of just two Big Ten players to pull off that feat. Iowa’s Kevonte Martin-Manley also did it in 2013 against Western Michigan according to a note from the Big Ten.
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Hardy is Penn State’s first Big Ten special teams player of the week since kicker Jake Pinegar received the honor in mid-November 2022. Hardy is the first Penn State player to receive a Big Ten weekly honor this season since quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] was named the conference’s offensive player of the Week after Week 1.
Hardy shared this week’s Big Ten special teams player of the week honor with Iowa punter Tory Taylor. Other Big Ten honors this week went to Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy (offense), Illinois linebacker Seth Coleman (defense), and Illinois running back Kaden Feagin (freshman).
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