Another week, another Big Ten Player of the Week nod for a Minnesota Golden Gopher.
On Monday, the Big Ten named Minnesota named redshirt sophomore running back Jordan Nubin, the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
The walk-on tailback was outstanding in his first extensive opportunity in the Gophers' backfield. The former safety recorded 40 carries in the Gophers' 27-12 win over Michigan State, filling a huge void left in the Gophers' offense due to Darius Taylor and Zach Evans both being out for Saturday's matchup with injuries.
In his performance, Nubin had four carries of 13+ yards including a trio of carries of 18, 18, and 19 yards.
"Everyone wants their opportunity till you get your opportunity," Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck said in his postgame press conference on Saturday regarding Nubin's performance. "He took advantage of his opportunity."
"He's always been ready for his opportunity, always," Fleck added. "He's not a guy who comes into my office and says 'Why am I not playing?', he's not a guy complaining about his playing time, he's not sitting there saying 'I'm gonna leave', he not doing any of that. He just works harder."
With the Big Ten Player of the Week honor under his belt, Nubin and the Golden Gophers will now turn their attention to the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Illini and Gophers are set to kickoff on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Huntington Bank Stadium.
If Taylor and Evans are both out once again, the Gophers should have supreme confidence that Nubin will be able to answer the bell once again. If Taylor and Evans are ready to go, or even just one of them is ready to go, the Gophers will have a dangerous stable of running backs in the backfield - quite the statement for the program despite losing talented tailbacks this offseason in Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts.
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