Foley earns football’s third consecutive MAC Player of the Week honor

By Zachary Bertram, Senior Sports Reporter

October 23, 2023

Redshirt junior punter Tom Foley prepares to punt the ball during football’s game against the University of Nebraska on Sept. 16. Foley was named the MAC West Specialist Player of the Week. (Courtesy of NIU Athletics)

DeKALB – NIU redshirt junior punter Tom Foley was named the MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in NIU football’s (4-4, 3-1 MAC) 20-13 win over Eastern Michigan University Saturday.

Foley punted the ball four times Saturday for an average of 53.2 yards per kick. Eastern Michigan recorded no punt return yards Saturday and Foley pinned the Eagles inside the 10-yard line once.

Foley had punts of 42, 49, 43 and 79 yards Saturday. The 79-yard punt was the longest in an FBS game in the 2023 season and the third longest in NIU history.

Foley is now averaging 42 yards on 36 punts during the 2023 season. 13 of Foley’s 36 punts have pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line.

Foley is the third straight Huskie to earn a MAC West Player of the Week honor. Junior running back Antario Brown earned MAC West Offensive Player of the Week in NIU’s 55-14 win over the University of Akron and redshirt sophomore kicker Kanon Woodill earned MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week in NIU’s 23-13 win over Ohio University.

The Huskies are now riding a three-game win streak and are back to .500 for the first time since Week 2. NIU’s next game will be against the Central Michigan University Chippewas at 6 p.m CST. on Oct. 31 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.