After last week's loss to Southern Illinois, head coach Pat Fitzgerald elected not to pick offensive or defensive players of the week. Only one player earned the honor: Raymond Niro III, on special teams.

In an otherwise turbulent season, Niro has been steady as a rock.

Special teams coordinator Jeff Genyk raved about Niro's abilities across every facet of the third phase.

"He starts on all four special teams, which is unique," Genyk said. "He is a complete asset."

An asset worthy of the No. 1 jersey that's awarded every year to the "student-athlete who truly embodies the values and character of the Northwestern football family." The fact that Wildcat players voted to honor him with the coveted number is what makes it meaningful to Niro.

"I've been here for five years and love all my teammates," the senior said. "It just means a ton to me that they see me. I wear [No. 1] every day, and I thank God for it."

Niro has had a winding road to his current role of part-time wide receiver and full-time special teams extraordinaire. In high school at Barrington (Ill.), he was a star quarterback. When he walked on at Northwestern, he was shifted over to wide receiver. He even played emergency running back for a pair of games at the end of the 2019 season, rushing for more than 100 yards.

While his offensive path has taken him all over the place, he hit the ground running on special teams.

"He went into the Ohio State game, the Big Ten Championship in '18, and was completely unblockable," Genyk said. "He is just continuing to stack months and years on top of that, and this year is no different."

While special teams aces don't normally get much publicity, Niro managed to grab the spotlight a couple of times in his career. Last season, he blocked a punt against Iowa and scooped it up to set up a field goal. Then, he scored the first touchdown of his career on a 41-yard touchdown catch in this year's season-opening win over Nebraska in Dublin, Ireland.

Genyk advised me to ask Niro about how he broke the ice with the 2018 team, a roster full of seasoned veterans. Niro groaned and smiled in response before revealing Genyk's tactics.

"In 2018, I'm a freshman," Niro said. "He's in the middle of a meeting, and he goes 'Ray Niro, come down here and dance.' I didn't even know the guy that well. So I went in there, balls blazing, and did a couple dance moves for them."

Niro went for a timely choice to win the respect of his teammates.

"It was 2018, there was this thing called 'The Shoot,'" Niro said. "So I did that for the whole team."

That story is emblematic of the courage and willingness Niro has brought to the table his entire career at Northwestern. He uses his arsenal of offensive experience -- and maybe even those dance moves -- to take on challenges and excel in positions that are often overlooked and undervalued.

"I'm able to use what I have from an offensive perspective, like releases" Niro said. "[Getting] a release against a DB, I do that all the time. Now, I'm doing that against a gunner or as a gunner. I can use what I know as a receiver, and then make a tackle."

Niro noted that it helps that most punt or kick returners aren't exactly the kind of behemoths that Northwestern's defense has to face in Big Ten play.

"I think I have a good ability to tackle, and most of the kick returners or punt returners are my-size dudes," Niro said. "It's not like I'm tackling a 6-5, 230 running back from Wisconsin."

Genyk said that Niro's special team excellence comes from a blend of speed, intelligence, dedication and a nose for the ball.

"He played 18 special teams plays last week, and it's very difficult to make tackles or make plays in just 18 plays," Genyk said. "He had three tackles and an assisted tackle. His speed and velocity down the field is like no one else.

"We have a mechanism that measures miles-per-hour when you're running. He's either first or second on punt and kick return, week after week after week."

Being a special teams star is hardly glamorous, or aspirational. If there are sayings about the best punter is one whose name you don't know, what does that mean for a gunner? Or a return man on a team whose default is a secure fair catch?

"Certainly, no one comes here to play right guard on the punt team, or right gunner on the punt team, or kickoff coverage," Genyk said. "But we all know that special teams is a third of the game; they say it's actually 20-25%.

"So you have to have guys who are willing and able to do that. Ray has taken on that identity, and he not only wants to be a starter, he wants to be the best on the team."

How about best in the conference? Genyk and head coach Pat Fitzgerald pride themselves on the quality of their special teams, and have made sure that Niro knows how valuable and skilled he is this year.

"Myself and Coach Fitzgerald, we think that he's the best special teams player in the Big Ten," Genyk said. "And has been for a number of years." Fitzgerald went a step further last week and called Niro the best in the nation.

Genyk laid out what sets Niro apart from his peers.

"He has exceptional football intelligence when it comes to spacing," Genyk said. "Some players are fast with a track time, and there's people who are fast on the football field.

"He's actually fast all the time on the football field. He's very decisive and tenacious, he's a sure tackler."

Those are the qualities that have made Niro a special teams demon — and a heck of a dancer, too.