Nebraska's Malcolm Hartzog was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday morning.
Hartzog, a 5-foot-7, 170-pounder from Silver Creek, Mississippi, made his first career start at corner in last Saturday's win over Indiana. Hartzog didn't record a tackle, but did collect a pass breakup. The defensive back showed up in a big way on special teams, too. After Chris Kolarevic blocked a punt, Hartzog was in the right place, right time, and scoop-and-scored from 30 yards to give the Huskers a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.
"That was a little warrior. Young kid, what is he, 17, 18? Yeah, he played big," interim head coach Mickey Joseph said of Hartzog after the win. "He's a kid from down south in Mississippi. It's not too big for him. He's a confident kid. And we talked to him all week about, you don't block it — you pick it up and score. And he did that. But he played lights-out at corner. And we told him, I said, 'They aren't going to throw at Q (Newsome), they're going to throw at you.' And he held his own."
Hartzog, a 5-foot-7, 170-pounder from Silver Creek, Mississippi, made his first career start at corner in last Saturday's win over Indiana. Hartzog didn't record a tackle, but did collect a pass breakup. The defensive back showed up in a big way on special teams, too. After Chris Kolarevic blocked a punt, Hartzog was in the right place, right time, and scoop-and-scored from 30 yards to give the Huskers a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.
"That was a little warrior. Young kid, what is he, 17, 18? Yeah, he played big," interim head coach Mickey Joseph said of Hartzog after the win. "He's a kid from down south in Mississippi. It's not too big for him. He's a confident kid. And we talked to him all week about, you don't block it — you pick it up and score. And he did that. But he played lights-out at corner. And we told him, I said, 'They aren't going to throw at Q (Newsome), they're going to throw at you.' And he held his own."