2008 Schedule/Results
2008 Statistics
Thellen awarded Gold Helmet and named ECAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week
The Gold Helmet is award each week to one New England player from an FCS school and one New England player from a Division II or III school for his outstanding achievement on the field the previous week.
These are the fourth and fifth honors for Thellen this week. He has also been named the CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week, the Sports Network National Defensive Player of the Week and one of this week’s Boston Herald “Herald Heroes.”
Thellen, a sophomore free safety from Brockton, Mass., had three interceptions in the Huskies’ 27-10 over UC Davis last Saturday. Thellen returned one of his interceptions 92 yards for a touchdown. He had a total of 113 interception return yards.
All three of Thellen’s interceptions had an impact on the game. His first came in the second quarter inside UC Davis territory. After he grabbed the ball, Northeastern scored on the first play of its possession to take a 21-10 lead. His second interception came in the waning seconds of the first half, and he made the pick in the Northeastern end zone for a touchback, preventing a UC Davis touchdown. His third interception came as the Aggies were driving for a touchdown. Thellen grabbed it at the NU 8-yard line and ran down the sidelines 92 yards to put the game out of reach in Northeastern’s favor.
Thellen’s three interceptions are tied for second-most by a Northeastern player. It previously occurred seven other times, the last coming by Matt Lanagan vs. Lehigh on Nov. 12, 1988. Thellen’s interception return for a TD is the first by a Husky since Neil Anderson had a 90-yard INT return against Villanova on Nov. 9, 2002.
Thellen had three of Northeastern’s six takeaways. The last time NU had as many as six turnovers caused was on Nov. 23, 2002, when the Huskies forced seven turnovers on the James Madison Dukes.
For the season, Thellen has 25 tackles and two pass breakups to go with his three interceptions. For his career, Thellen now has 77 tackles, four interceptions and six pass breakups in 15 games.
Northeastern, now 1-3 on the season, will open its CAA Football schedule with an Oct. 4 meeting at Towson at 12 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.
Oct. 1, 2008
Boston, MANortheastern football’s Nate Thellen continues to rack up awards after his great performance against UC Davis last Saturday, On Wednesday, the New England Football Writers him this week’s recipient of the Boston Globe Gold Helmet Award, and the ECAC named him this week's Co-Defensive Player of the Week.
