AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn sophomore Noah Igbinoghene was chosen as the SEC special teams player of the week Monday after he returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in Saturday's 34-3 win over Arkansas.
"Noah's a dynamic guy," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said after the game. "I think you all saw that last year. The more opportunities he gets, he has a chance to bring it back. And there were some really good blocks on that play, too."
Had a 96-yard kickoff return for touchdown, the first of his career and first by an @AuburnFootball player since 2013.@Noah_Igbo9 is the #SECFB Special Teams POTW. pic.twitter.com/TNpeEyTiti
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) September 24, 2018
The 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was the first of Igbinoghene's career and the first for Auburn since Corey Grant took one to the house in 2013 (Tennessee). It was the longest Auburn kickoff return since Tre Mason ran one back 100 yards that same season (Washington State).
It was also one of a handful of big plays on special teams for Auburn on Saturday. Punt returner Ryan Davis returned two punts for 84 yards (48, 36) that led to 10 points. The Tigers also partially blocked another punt that resulted in a Jarrett Stidham touchdown run.
"Special teams is a big factor of the game," Igbinoghene said. "I think it can win you the game. If your offense and defense are not doing as well, special teams can help you out. And just like we showed today, we had a bunch of big returns – and it kind of helped us out with offense and defense. It showed out today."
Auburn will return home this Saturday to face Southern Miss at 3 p.m. CT.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf