Wisconsin’s David Gilreath was named the Big Ten’s Special Teams Player of the Week today. Gilreath returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to spark Wisconsin to a 31-18 win over top-ranked Ohio State, the Badgers first victory over a No. 1 team since 1981.
The senior wideout’s 97-yard sprint also shattered the Big Ten career record for kickoff return yardage. He finished the game with four kickoff returns for 163 yards, boosting his career total to 2,677 yards and passing Michigan State’s Derrick Mason (2,575 yards from 1993-96) for the Big Ten record.
It was the first kickoff return for a touchdown for Gilreath and the first for a Badger since Lee Evans did it at Indiana on Nov. 11, 2000.