What a season it’s been for Minnesota Golden Gophers safety Koi Perich.
The true freshman was named the Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of the Week by the Maxwell Award Committee last week in the Gophers’ 24-17 upset victory over then No. 11-ranked USC.
Perich made a career-high six tackles, forced a fumble, and ended the game with an acrobatic interception in the end zone.
Related: Gophers safety Koi Perich named national freshman of the week
The Minnesota native made another massive play Saturday night against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl Stadium.
The Gophers trailed the Bruins 10-0 at the half before they went down the field and finally scored a touchdown to make it 10-7. On the second play of UCLA’s next offensive drive, quarterback Ethan Garbers had a pass picked off by none other than Perich, who leapt out of nowhere to snag it.
It’s Perich’s third interception already this season.
The Gophers offense proceeded to score a go-ahead touchdown on the following drive, thanks to Perich’s interception.