Nov. 24, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's junior cornerback Marvin Ward (Landover, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) and senior running back Jason Wright (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar) earned the respective Big Ten Defensive and Offensive Player of the Week honors today for their performances in Saturday's 37-20 win over Illinois. The victory evened the Wildcats' record at 6-6 (4-4 Big Ten), making them "bowl-eligible" for just the fifth time in school history.
It is just the second time in school annals that a Northwestern player has won both the offensive and defensive weekly awards. The first time it happened was Sept. 20, 1993 when Len Williams (quarterback) and William Bennett (free safety) received the honors. This is the first time, however, that a pair of NU players have accomplished the feat versus a Big Ten opponent. (The Big Ten began awarding player of the week honors in 1987.)
Ward picked off a pair of passes on the road in Champaign, halting an Illini drive at the three-yard line and returning his second interception 69 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory with less than four minutes remaining. He totaled eight tackles, including seven solos, and added a pass breakup for a defense that forced six turnovers on the day and limited Illinois' offense to only 13 points.
Despite nursing a sore ankle that limited him to only 22 carries in his last three games, Wright wrapped up his senior season with 42 carries for a career-best 251 yards (6.0 avg.) and four touchdowns. The senior running back's 251-yard outing ranks fifth in school annals while his four rushing scores tied a school record that he has equaled on four occasions, including three times this season.
He also broke the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season, becoming just the third NU back to record a pair of 1,000-yard campaigns. Wright ended the year ranked fourth in the Conference with 1,151 yards on the ground while his 19 rushing touchdowns led the League. He also topped with Big Ten in scoring with 10.0 points per game, as his 20 total touchdowns rates second in Wildcats' single-season history.
The player-of-the-week accolades were the second of the season for both Ward and Wright. For Wright, it was his fifth career Big Ten honor.