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Dele Harding named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week

It’s the second time in three weeks an Illini has taken home the award.

By Tristen Kissack
Brad Repplinger - The Champaign Room

No surprises here.

After racking up 12 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a forced fumble returned for a touchdown, and an interception returned for a touchdown against Rutgers last Saturday, Dele Harding has been named the Big Ten Defensive player of the week.

He’s just the second player in the last 20 years to post those numbers in a single game.

Let’s run those highlights back one more time, shall we?

This is Harding’s first career Defensive Player of the Week honor, and the first Illini to be recognized since Jake Hansen took home the honors two weeks ago.

Oh yeah, and No. 9 also leads the Big Ten in tackles per game with 11.7.