Gophers speedster Myrick plays hero with tie-breaking 100-yard touchdown
MINNEAPOLIS -- Thirteen seconds.
That's all it took from a group of nervous Gophers fans to go from sitting on their hands to erupting with excitement. Jalen Myrick was the reason.
Minnesota's players have heralded Myrick, a sophomore cornerback, as the team's fastest player. He showed every bit of that track star speed when he sprinted 100 yards on a kickoff return for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the Gophers' 24-17 victory over Northwestern.
Thanks in part to the breakaway speed of Myrick, Minnesota is now 5-1 for the first time since 2008.
"This team right now is just finding ways to win," said Gophers coach Jerry Kill.
Myrick's big touchdown -- the fourth 100-yard kickoff return in school history -- came at the perfect time in Saturday's game. Northwestern had just tied things up at 17-17 on a 97-yard, 13-play drive with 7:32 to play in the fourth quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Myrick lined up deep in his own territory; he was filling in on kick return duties for the injured Marcus Jones. Myrick caught the ball just inside the goal line with both feet in the end zone, between the hash mark and the Northwestern sideline.
From there, Myrick saw the opening on the left side of the field was big enough to drive a truck through, so he took off running -- or sprinting, rather. He followed the lead of safety Antonio Johnson, who made a key block at the Gophers' 45-yard line to spring Myrick into Northwestern's side of the field.
Wildcats kicker Jack Mitchell had an angle on Myrick, but his diving attempt inside Northwestern's 35-yard line fell short. Myrick was gone, giving the Gophers the lead just 13 seconds after Northwestern's touchdown.
"I knew he was running hard. I was just waiting at the point where I needed to cut between (Antonio) and him," Myrick said. "Once I saw that, I did a little something so he wouldn't trip me up, because I knew he was going to have to dive. I knew that for a fact. I just sprinted, hit my other gear, and sprinted in."
Myrick's big touchdown run brought the Minnesota faithful of 49,051 to a frenzy. Moments earlier, their team had just given up a lengthy touchdown drive that tied the game. Then, Myrick's first career kickoff return for a touchdown -- at any level -- completely turned the tide.
It could have been a tough loss to swallow if Minnesota let Northwestern hang around. Myrick made sure that didn't have to happen.
"It just means we're a complete team. We're going to play all three phases: defense, offense and special teams. You can't disregard our special teams play," Myrick said. "We've been working on that return for a long time. I felt like that was the one to break. I give a lot of credit to my blockers."
Entering Saturday's game, Myrick had just one career kick return. That was a 28-yarder against Michigan in the Gophers' road win in Ann Arbor two weeks ago. Perhaps Minnesota will want to use the speedster more often in the return game.
Now that the secret's out, though, opposing teams might not want to kick it to Myrick.
"I'm pretty sure some teams are always going to try you," Myrick said. "If they come at me again, I'm going to have to make them pay."
It was a bit of redemption for Myrick, who on Northwestern's last scoring drive was flagged for pass interference. He was whistled on a play that started at midfield, and his penalty gave the Wildcats the ball on Minnesota's 36-yard line.
Myrick later made a nice play on that drive in the end zone when he swatted a Trevor Siemian pass down on second-and-goal from the Gophers' 10-yard line. A Minnesota penalty one play later, though, gave the Wildcats new life, and they later scored on a two-yard run by Siemian.
That set the stage for Myrick's fourth-quarter heroics.
"A lot of things don't bother him. At that position, that's a good thing," Kill said. "He got the interference call, and he came back and made a great play in the end zone. He's got great short-term memory. He don't worry about too much."
As a high school sprinter in Georgia, Myrick ran the 100-meter dash in 10.61 seconds as a junior. That, of course, was without pads and with nobody chasing him and trying to tackle him.
So is he the fastest player on the Gophers?
"That's what Berkley (Edwards) says," said Myrick, referring to another one of Minnesota's speedsters.
"He's a piece of work," Kill said of Myrick. "He enjoys life. He's loosey-goose. Sometimes you're like, 'Hey, pay attention.' But he's a good football player. . . . I'm glad he can run."
On Saturday, the rest of Minnesota was also glad Myrick can run -- and run fast.
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