Rutgers, Illinois, Oregon and Michigan State Earn Weekly Football Honors

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Following Week 2 contests, the Big Ten Conference Football Players of the Week Presented by IFS.ai were announced Monday. Below are this week’s honorees: 

Offensive Player of the Week
Kyle Monangai, Rutgers
RB – Sr. – Roseland, N.J. – Don Bosco Prep

• Rushed for a career-high 208 yards in the win over Akron, tying for the 10th-best mark in a game in school history
• Became the first Scarlet Knight to reach 200 rushing yards in a game since 2014
• Marked his fourth straight 100-yard game dating back to 2023, the best Rutgers streak since Jawan Jamison had six consecutive games from 2011-12
• Rushed for three touchdowns for the second time in his career
• Ranks ninth among Rutgers’ career rushing leaders with 2,315 yards
• Last Rutgers Offensive Player of the Week: Kyle Monangai (Sept. 18, 2023)

Defensive Player of the Week
Xavier Scott, Illinois
DB – Jr. – Riviera Beach, Fla. – Dwyer

• Forced three turnovers in Illinois' 23-17 win over #19 Kansas
• Only player in the nation to force three turnovers in a single game this season
• Collected two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown, one forced fumble, 1.0 sack and eight solo tackles to lead Illinois to its highest ranked nonconference win since 1995
• Had a game-changing pick-six with :36 seconds left in the first half to give Illinois a 13-10 lead entering halftime
• Recorded the game-ending strip-sack forced fumble on the final play to secure the win
• Last Illinois Defensive Player of the Week: Seth Coleman (Oct. 16, 2023)

Special Teams Player of the Week
Tez Johnson, Oregon
WR – Sr. – Pinson, Ala. – Pinson Valley HS

• Returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter of Oregon's 37-34 win over Boise State
• First Duck to return a punt for a touchdown since Ugo Amadi in 2018
• Recorded the fifth-longest punt return in program history and longest since the 2008 season
• Finished with 109 punt-return yards, becoming the first Oregon player to go over 100 punt-return yards in a game since 2019
• It was his first career punt return for a touchdown

Freshman of the Week
Nick Marsh, Michigan State
WR – Detroit, Mich. – River Rouge

• Snared eight catches for 194 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, to help Michigan State beat Maryland on the road in its Big Ten opener
• His 194 receiving yards was the best MSU single-game receiving total against Maryland and only the second 100-yard receiving outing against the Terps, topping the previous mark set in 2021
• It was the 10th-most receiving yards in a single game by a Spartan and the second-most by a true freshman
• Last Michigan State Freshman of the Week: Katin Houser (Nov. 20, 2023)

2024 Big Ten Football Players of the Week
Sept. 2
O: Miller Moss, R-Jr., QB, USC
D: Kevin Winston Jr., Jr., S, PSU
ST: Mateen Bhaghani, So., K, UCLA
ST: Dominic Zvada, Jr., K, MICH
F: Dylan Raiola, Fr., QB, NEB

Sept. 9
O: Kyle Monangai, Sr., RB, RU
D: Xavier Scott, Jr., DB, ILL
ST: Tez Johnson, Sr., WR, ORE
F: Nick Marsh, Fr., WR, MSU