Big Ten awards go to MSU's Watts-Jackson, Calhoun

He didn’t see the field for many plays on Saturday, but safety Jalen Watts-Jackson made the biggest for Michigan State in its 27-23 victory over Michigan.

The redshirt freshman scored the winning touchdown on the final play of the game when he grabbed a fumbled punt and raced 38 yards to the end zone. On Monday, Watts-Jackson was named the Big Ten’s Special Teams Player of the Week.

Defensive end Shilique Calhoun was named the Defensive Player of the Week, the second time this season he earned that honor.

Watts-Jackson injured his hip on the play and had surgery Sunday to fix a dislocation and repair a fracture. He’ll be lost for the season.

“Jalen Watts-Jackson delivered a heads-up play in a pressure situation,” MSU special teams/linebackers coach Mark Snyder said.

Calhoun had five tackles in the victory, including a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. The fifth-year senior now has seven sacks this season.

“Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games,” MSU defensive line coach Ron Burton said. “During the Michigan game, Shilique Calhoun really set the tone for our front four."

Watts-Jackson was No. 10 on The Detroit News' Blue Chip list in 2014 as a senior at St. Mary's.

Other Big Ten honors:

Offense: Iowa RB Akrum Wadley, who had 204 rushing yards and four TD in Iowa's win over Northwestern.

Freshman: Wisconsin LB T.J. Edwards, who had a career-high 16 tackles and forced a fumble in Wisconsin's win over Purdue.