Nebraska senior defensive back Quinton Newsome earned Big Ten Special Teams Player-of-the-Week honors for his performance in the Huskers’ 31-14 win over Purdue.
Newsome returned a blocked field goal 68 yards for a third-quarter touchdown to give Nebraska a 21-0 lead. It was the first blocked field goal for a touchdown by a Husker since 2014. Newcome was also involved in another major special teams play in the first quarter, as he recovered Alex Bullock’s muffed punt to keep possession at the 13-yard line. The Huskers eventually drove 87 yards on 15 plays to score their first touchdown on the possession.
In addition to his work on special teams, Newsome had five tackles and a fumble recovery, as Nebraska held the Boilermakers to under 200 yards of total offense. It marked the first time since 2012 that the Huskers had held a conference opponent to under 100 yards both passing and rushing.
He is the first Husker since Malcolm Hartzog (Freshman of the Week) on Oct. 3, 2022, to receive any of the Big Ten’s weekly honors, and the first special teams honoree since Barret Pickering on Nov. 19, 2018.