Derrick Wells Earns National Award For Gophers

On the heels of his performance in the Minnesota Golden Gophers' overtime win over the UNLV Rebels, sophomore safety Derrick Wells has been named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America.

Wells intercepted two passes in Thursday night's victory, the second ending UNLV's possession in the third overtime period and setting up Minnesota's game-winning field goal. The safety added two pass breakups and eight tackles, all in his first collegiate start.

By winning the award, Wells earns admission to the Bronco Nagurski Award watch list, which is given to the nation's top defensive player and named for Minnesota legend Bronco Nagurski. No Gopher has won the award since its inception in 1993, and no Minnesota defender was included on the preseason watch list.

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Derrick Wells Earns Big Ten's Defensive Player Of Week

Minnesota's Derrick Wells was named the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Week after a two-interception performance vs. UNLV, one of which was key in setting up the game-winning field goal.