Illinois punter Blake Hayes was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. Hayes helped Illinois win at #20 Minnesota on Saturday, the Illini's second road win over a ranked opponent.

Hayes landed four punts inside the 20 yard line against Minnesota, as the Illini put Minnesota's average field position at the 24-yard line and the 12-yard line in the second half. Hayes' most important punt of the day came with Illinois leading by eight with 1:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, when he pinned the Gophers back to their own 2-yard line.

For the season, Hayes has landed 48.3% (28/58) of his punts inside the 20 yard line, which would break his own Illinois record of 41.6% (32/77) set in 2019. He is tied for the Big Ten lead with 28 punts inside the 20.

Hayes is Illinois' all-time leader in punting average, total punts, punt yards, punts inside the 20, and punts inside the 20 percentage.

This is Hayes' second Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week award. He previously won the honor after landing four punts inside the 20 against Nebraska during the season opener.