Dec. 29, 2014
Illinois wide receiver Mike Dudek wrapped up a record-breaking true-freshman season with seven receptions for 73 yards, plus another 50 yards rushing (on one carry), in the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl on Dec. 26. The bowl performance put Dudek over the 1,000-receiving yard milestone, marking just the eighth time its been done in 125 years of Illinois football.
The Naperville, Illinois, native shattered school freshman records with 76 catches for 1,038 yards in his inaugural campaign, shattering the previous rookie records both held by Arrelious Benn (54 rec., 676 yards in 2007). Those totals rank fifth and seventh, respectively, on the UI single-season lists . He finished tied with College Football Hall of Famer David Williams for the UI freshman receiving touchdowns record with six. He also added 73 rushing yards on six carries (12.2 ypc), and completed his lone pass attempt for 22 yards.
Dudek was the Big Ten's top receiver during conference play, leading the league in catches (50), yards (716) and yards per game (89.5) in eight league games, while also adding three touchdowns. He also leads all FBS freshmen in receiving yards per game on the season 79.8 ypg) through games of Dec. 27.
A 5-11, 185-pound speedster, Dudek was named a first-team Freshman All-American by USA Today, Scout.com and Phil Steele, and was a true-freshman All-American according to ESPN.com and 247sports.com. Dudek also was named to ESPN.com's Big Ten All-Freshman team, a group that included both true-freshmen and redshirt-freshmen. He earned All-Big Ten second team honors by league media and honorable mention All-Big Ten laurels by conference coaches.
