Gophers' Javon Tracy named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week

The Brief University of Minnesota wide receiver Javon Tracy was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week after scoring two punt return touchdowns in a 59-7 win against Eastern Illinois. Tracy became the first Gopher ever to score two punt return touchdowns in a single game, setting a school record with 167 yards on four returns. He is the first player in Big Ten history to accomplish the feat in his first career game returning punts. University of Minnesota wide receiver Javon Tracy earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors after a record-breaking performance in the Gophers' 59-7 win against Eastern Illinois. Javon Tracy's big day What we know: Tracy entered the Eastern Illinois game with zero career punt returns. He left it as the first Gopher ever to score two punt return touchdowns in a single game. Tracy's first return went 87 yards for a touchdown, making it the second longest punt return in program history, behind only a 91-yarder by Fred Houde against Iowa in 1928. He added a 69-yard return score in the third quarter, finishing with 167 yards on four returns — a new school record. His average of 41.8 yards per return ranks second best in school history, dating back to 1977. The 87 punt return yards Tracy recorded in the first quarter were the most by a Gopher in any single quarter since at least 2016, and his 98 yards in the first half were the most by a Gopher in any half during that same span. Tracy's first score was also Minnesota's first punt return touchdown since Demetrius Douglas returned one at Wisconsin in 2018. It was just the second punt return touchdown ever scored at Huntington Bank Stadium — the other belonging to Antoine Winfield Jr., who took one 76 yards against New Mexico State in 2018. Rare company in Big Ten history The backstory: Tracy became only the fourth player in Big Ten history to score two punt return touchdowns in a single game. The others were Earl Girard of Wisconsin against Iowa in 1947, Garcia Lane of Ohio State against Purdue in 1983 and Kevonte Martin-Manley of Iowa against Western Michigan in 2013. What makes Tracy's achievement stand out even more is that he is the first of those four players to accomplish the feat in his very first career game returning punts — something no one in Big Ten history had ever done before. Dig deeper: Tracy is Minnesota's first Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week since kicker Dragan Kesich was honored Nov. 4, 2024. The last time a non-kicker or punter received the weekly honor for Minnesota was in 2018, when both Winfield and Douglas were recognized. The Source: The Big Ten announced its weekly award winners on Monday.