Oct. 1, 2007

University of Illinois wide receiver Arrelious Benn was named the Big Ten¹s Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday after his performance against Penn State, which led to an Illinois upset of the No. 19 Nittany Lions. He picks up the first weekly award of his career and the first for an Illini freshman since punter Steve Fitts was honored Oct. 17, 1998 and first true-freshman in the conference since Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton won the award on Sept. 12, 2005.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Arrelious Benn, Illinois, FR, KR, Washington, D.C./Dunbar
After Illinois fell behind, 3-0, against nationally ranked Penn State, Benn returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for his first career touchdown to give the Illini a lead they would never relinquish. Illinois collected its first win over a ranked opponent since 2001 and posted its first 2-0 Big Ten start since 1991.The freshman wideout totaled 183 all-purpose yards on the day, adding a 29-yard receiving score in the second quarter.

LAST ILLINOIS SPECIAL TEAMS POW: PK Jason Reda on Oct. 2, 2006.