Javon Tracy sets the Minnesota program record with two punt return touchdowns against E. Illinois

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Javon Tracy set Minnesota’s single-game record with two punt return touchdowns in the season opener against Eastern Illinois, an 87-yard runback for a score in the first quarter and a 69-yarder in the third quarter on Thursday night.

Tracy had the first punt return touchdown for the Gophers in eight years when he fielded a 55-yard kick near the right sideline late in the first quarter and sprinted along a wall of blockers untouched into the end zone .

The fifth-year wide receiver, an Indianapolis native who's in his second season at Minnesota after transferring from Miami (Ohio), then caught a 48-yard kick early in the third quarter near the right sideline. He made two stutter-step moves to evade would-be tacklers before veering left and racing untouched down the field to give the Gophers a 42-7 lead. Starting strong safety Kerry Brown delivered a key block at the 36-yard line to clear the path.

Tracy also caught five passes for 98 yards, all in the first half. He had a 55-yard reception in the second quarter to the 1-yard line, running a corner route for a leaping catch at the 37 before breaking four tackles. The play was called a touchdown on the field, before a replay review ruled that Tracy's knee touched the turf before the goal line as he tried to duck-walk across the plane while the last defender dragged him down.

The last Minnesota player with a punt return touchdown was Demetrius Douglas on Nov. 24, 2018, at Wisconsin. The last Big Ten player with two punt returns for scores in the same game was Penn State's Daequan Hardy on Oct. 14, 2023, against Massachusetts.

The Big Ten record book has three others who've logged two punt return touchdowns in a game: Kevonte Martin-Manley for Iowa against Western Michigan on Sept. 21, 2013; Garcia Lane for Ohio State against Purdue on Oct. 8, 1983; and Earl Girard for Wisconsin against Iowa on Nov. 8, 1947.

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