Special Teams Awards
Sophomore return man Ihmir Smith-Marsette cleaned up on special teams awards despite not taking a kick back to the house once this year.
In just 19 attempts, Smith-Marsette finished third in the Big Ten in kick return yards with 557. He also led the conference in average yards per return with 29.3.
Today, he was named 2018 Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year.
His 29.3 yards was the second best in the nation and almost a full-yard greater than legendary return man Tim Dwight (28.7 yards per return in 1997) who this award is partly named after.
Ihmir Smith-Marsette of @HawkeyeFootball named 2018 #B1GFootball Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year. pic.twitter.com/2YxOCuMSdW
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 27, 2018
The honors didn’t stop there as the sophomore from New Jersey proceeded to be named First Team All-Big Ten by the media.
The 2018 All-Big Ten Special Teams as selected by #B1GFootball media. pic.twitter.com/16e0z9gO2A
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 27, 2018
The coaches continued their disappointing trend by voting a tier down for Iowa football players as Smith-Marsette was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten by them.
The 2018 All-Big Ten Special Teams as selected by #B1GFootball coaches. pic.twitter.com/7hdialJwYa
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 27, 2018
The special teams awards weren’t over though. Senior Miguel Recinos, who kicked the game-winning field goal against Nebraska proceeded to be named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten after a season in which he hit 75% of his field goal attempts and 100% of his 44 extra point attempts good for 89 total points.