IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior punter Tory Taylor has been named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week following his dominant performance in the Hawkeyes’ 15-13 comeback win over Illinois, it was announced Monday by the Big Ten Conference office. The honor is Taylor’s third this season and sixth of his career.
Playing in his final game inside Kinnick Stadium, the Hawkeye senior punted eight times for 413 combined yards, averaging 51.6 yards per punt. He had six punts of 50+ yards and two downed inside the 20-yard line.
The native of Melbourne, Australia, moved into first place in school history in career punts in his home finale, passing Jason Baker for the most punts in the Iowa history (274). Taylor also holds the school record with 12,647 career punting yards.
The Ray Guy semifinalist has punted 72 times for a 48.2-yard average in 2023 season with 31 punts traveling 50+ yards (five punts of 60+), 25 being fair caught and 27 being downed inside the 20, 12 inside the 10 and six inside the 5. Taylor only has five touchbacks and opponents average just 6.2 yards per return. His 72 punts are most by any punter nationally, while his punting average of 48.2 ranks fourth best in 2023.
This marks the sixth time this season that Hawkeye football players have earned Big Ten weekly recognition. Taylor was an honoree (special teams) three times after wins over Purdue, Wisconsin and Illinois. Drew Stevens (special teams) was honored after the win over Northwestern in Wrigley Field. Cooper DeJean (special teams) and Nick Jackson (defense) were recognized after Iowa’s win over Michigan State. Sebastian Castro (defense) was honored following the Hawkeyes’ triumph at Iowa State.
Iowa (9-2, 6-2), champions of the 2023 Big Ten West Division, returns to action Friday at Nebraska (5-6, 3-5). Kickoff is set for 11:09 a.m. (CT) in Lincoln, Nebraska. The contest will be televised on CBS and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.