Northwestern added another accolade to an already impressive season on Monday when Kevin Mims was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Saturday’s game against Illinois. Mims, a defensive end, kept Illinois’s league-leading offense in check with two and a half sacks, seven tackles and credit for a forced fumble. The McCormick senior from Texas led what was a dominant performance by the Wildcats’ defense. NU sacked Illini quarterback Juice Williams five times and held Illinois to a season low of 10 points.
For Mims, this was his first Big Ten Player of the Week award. Other Big Ten winners this past week included quarterback Daryll Clark of Penn State and quarterback Curtis Painter of Purdue.