Penn State's Daequan Hardy named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week
Penn State senior defensive back Daequan Hardy has earned the Big Ten's special teams player of the week honors for his performance against the UMass Minutemen this past Saturday.
Hardy on Saturday against the Minutemen returned not one but two punts for a touchdown, becoming the first Nittany Lion to ever do so in a game. The most amazing part of Hardy's feat? It was the first time that the Pittsburgh area native returned a punt in his collegiate career.
"We wanted to get some opportunities," Penn State head coach James Franklin said about the decision of trying Hardy at punt return following the Nittany Lions win over UMass. "Obviously, he did a phenomenal job. We got two guys we feel like we can win with, but he obviously showed tonight that he could be special."
"This is going to change things for us," Franklin would later add during his press conference. "This is going to create issues for people that are evaluating those on film and something that's going to cause them to kind of think about how they're going to defend him. Guys that can make big plays and be explosive and protect the football are valuable, and he’s done a phenomenal job for us, and I'm not surprised."
On top of his now two punt returns for a touchdown, Hardy has five tackles in four games for the Nittany Lions this season, including one tackle for a loss. He also has two interceptions and three pass deflections since returning to the Nittany Lions' third game of the season against Illinois.
Hardy and the Nittany Lions will return to the field on Saturday afternoon, this time in Columbus as the Nittany Lions take on the top five ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
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