EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon’s Tez Johnson was announced as the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday for his 85-yard punt return touchdown in last Saturday’s 37-34 win over Boise State.
Johnson becomes the first Duck to win a Big Ten weekly award. He is also the first Duck since 2019 to be named a conference special teams player of the week.
Johnson gave Oregon a 27-20 lead late in the third quarter with his return, becoming the first Duck since Ugo Amadi on Nov. 3, 2018, to return a punt for a touchdown. His 85-yard return was the fifth-longest in program history, and longest by a Duck since Jairus Byrd had an 87-yard return on Sept. 13, 2008.
The punt return was one of two special teams touchdowns for the Ducks against the Broncos, as a 99-yard kickoff return by Noah Whittington resulted in a touchdown by Jayden Limar on a fumble recovery to tie the game at 34-34 in the fourth quarter. Kicker Atticus Sappington secured the win with another special teams highlight, making a 25-yard field goal as time expired.
Johnson finished the game with 109 punt return yards, becoming the first Duck to surpass 100 yards in a game since Jevon Holland on Aug. 31, 2019.
Johnson also caught three passes in the game to go over 100 receptions in his Oregon career (16 games), and he leads the Ducks through two games with 15 total catches.
