2023 All-Big Ten Football Teams

Posted on by thefloorslap

by Sean Szymczak

The 2023 Big Ten football season was highlighted by some heralded stars like Marvin Harrison Jr, Blake Corum, Kalen King, & Tyler Nubin.

Underrated stars also blossomed and earned more respect than the national media has given them like Indiana LB Aaron Casey, Purdue LB Kydran Jenkins, and Illinois WR Isaiah Williams.

The Floor Slap wanted to cast a spotlight on those underrated stars and so many others. The national media’s All-Big Ten teams are littered with familiar names like Emeka Egbuka and Abdul Carter whose preseason expectations and raw talent may have not quite lived up to the on-field production we saw in 2023.

In The Floor Slap’s inaugural All-Big Ten selections, we assessed performance from this season and this season alone. We ignored national narratives, which naturally led to some stark differences in the All-Big Ten teams released earlier this week. We also added a 4th team because there would simply be too many great players left off with only 3 teams.

Without further adieu, let’s dive into the 2023 All-Big Ten teams:

Offense

1st-Team Offense

QB: JJ McCarthy (Michigan)

RB: Kyle Monangai (Rutgers)

RB: Blake Corum (Michigan)

WR: Marvin Harrison Jr (Ohio State)

WR: Isaiah Williams (Illinois)

WR: Daniel Jackson (Minnesota)

TE: Cade Stover (Ohio State)

T: Olumuyiwa Fashanu (Penn State)

T: DJ Glaze (Maryland)

G: Matthew Jones (Ohio State)

G: Zak Zinter (Michigan)

C: Drake Nugent (Michigan)

Notes:

  • Kyle Monangai had his 1st-team spot secured for a while. He led the conference in rushing by over 100 yards and was 6th in yards per carry despite running against more 7-8 man boxes than most.
  • The second RB spot came down to The Game. Blake Corum outplayed Treveyon Henderson and finished the season with 22 TDs, so we gets the nod.
  • Isaiah Williams led the Big Ten with 82 receptions and was the conference’s only other 1,000 yard receiver next to Marvin. The former QB has been underrated all season long.
  • Daniel Jackson was top 3 in catches, yards, and TDs. He gets the 1st-team nod over Roman Wilson because of his performance in an otherwise incompetent passing attack.

2nd-Team Offense

QB: Taulia Tagovailoa (Maryland)

RB: Treveyon Henderson (Ohio State)

RB: Braelon Allen (Wisconsin)

WR: Roman Wilson (Michigan)

WR: Deion Burks (Purdue)

WR: Will Pauling (Wisconsin)

TE: Colston Loveland (Michigan)

T: Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota)

T: LaDarius Henderson (Michigan)

G: Donovan Jackson (Ohio State)

G: Josh Priebe (Northwestern)

C: Hunter Nourzad (Penn State)

Notes:

  • Treveyon Henderson averaged 150 total yards per game and ran for 6 TDs in his in 5 games after returning from injury. Had he played the whole season, Henderson would be an easy 1st-team selection.
  • With an exciting combination of speed & ball skills, Deion Burks’ talent is undeniable. Purdue lacked a reliable second option in the passing game which made his job even harder. Even so, he finished with 629 yards and 7 TDs.
  • Josh Griebe was the anchor of Northwestern’s offensive line – one that outperformed expectations more than any line in the Big Ten. He deserves more recognition.

3rd-Team Offense

QB: Kyle McCord (Ohio State)

RB: Kaytron Allen (Penn State)

RB: Tyrone Tracy (Purdue)

WR: Casey Washington (Illinois)

WR: Cam Johnson (Northwestern)

WR: Jeshaun Jones (Maryland)

TE: Cory Dychess (Maryland)

T: Karsen Barnhart (Michigan)

T: Josh Simmons (Ohio State)

G: Trevor Keegan (Michigan)

G: Connor Colby (Iowa)

C: Tanor Bortolini (Wisconsin)

Notes:

  • Tyrone Tracy has received minimal recognition, but he emerged as one of the Big Ten’s most explosive weapons. He led the conference in yards per rush and was fifth with 8 rushing TDs despite not getting the touches he deserved until midway through the season.
  • Cam Johnson didn’t score many TDs, but he was the security blanket for Northwestern’s passing attack all season long. he finished the regular season strong, averaging 90 yards and scoring a TD in each of their final 3 games.
  • Josh Fryar was the Ohio State T that was honored, but I thought he was the weak link of the offensive line. Josh Simmons committed a lot of pre-snap penalties in the first half of the season, but was an anchor in both run & pass blocking.

4th-Team Offense

QB: Drew Allar (Penn State)

RB: Roman Hemby (Maryland)

RB: Nick Singleton (Penn State)

WR: Donaven McCulley (Indiana)

WR: Pat Bryant (Illinois)

WR: Tai Felton (Maryland)

TE: Tyler Warren (Penn State)

T: Bryce Benhart (Nebraska)

T: Julian Pearl (Illinois)

G: Nick DeJong (Iowa)

G: JD Duplain (Michigan State)

C: Carson Hinzman (Ohio State)

Notes:

  • Drew Allar was dragged through the mud for much of the season, but he took care of the ball as well as almost anyone and was top-three in the conference in yards per attempt & passing TDs. His spot on an All-Big Ten team is also a testament to the rocky QB play throughout the conference.
  • Donaven McCulley developed into a polished receiver after switching from QB a couple seasons ago. It took a good portion of the season for Indiana’s passing game to open up, but the 6’5″ McCulley showed the kind of game-changing weapon he can be. He averaged 84 yards and scored a TD in each of the season’s final 5 games.
  • The veteran JD Duplain was one of the lone bright spots of Michigan State’s offensive line. He should be playing on Sunday next season.

Defense

1st-Team Defense

DL: Chop Robinson (Penn State)

DL: Jer’Zhan Newton (Illinois)

DL: Tyliek Williams (Ohio State)

DL: Adisa Isaac (Penn State)

LB: Aaron Casey (Indiana)

LB: Jay Higgins (Iowa)

LB: Kydran Jenkins (Purdue)

CB: Cooper DeJean (Iowa)

CB: Denzel Burke (Ohio State)

S: Tyler Nubin (Minnesota)

S: Hunter Wohler (Wisconsin)

  • Indiana LB Aaron Casey was one of the nation’s most underrated defenders. He was top-5 in the Big Ten in tackles (109), TFLs (20), and sacks (6.5). He played like a potential All-American in my eyes
  • Kydran Jenkins not making an All-Big Ten team is maddening to me. He was top-three in the Big Ten in TFLs (16) and sacks (7.5).
  • Hunter Wohler received 3rd-team honors by the coaches, but I thought he was the glue of the Badger defense. Wohler was 2nd in the Big Ten with 113 tackles and was a force in run support and in pass defense.

2nd-Team Defense

DL: Mason Graham (Michigan)

DL: Andre Carter (Indiana)

DL: Jaylen Harrell (Michigan)

DL: Joe Evans (Iowa)

LB: Abdul Carter (Penn State)

LB: Junior Colson (Michigan)

LB: Xander Mueller (Northwestern)

CB: Mike Sainristil (Michigan)

CB: Will Johnson (Michigan)

S: Dillon Thieneman (Purdue)

S: Rod Moore (Michigan)

Notes:

  • It’s almost impossible to discern what to do with Michigan’s defensive line. They consistently went eight men deep throughout the season and saw big games from different players on any given Saturday. Mason Graham, Jaylen Harrell, & Kris Jenkins (3rd-team) were the most physically impressive to me.
  • Former walk-on Joe Evans is not only one of the best stories in the Big Ten, but also one of the most versatile DEs with his ability setting the edge & rushing the passer. He had 9.5 TFLs, 5.5 sacks, and batted down 4 passes.
  • LB Xander Mueller did not receive an All-Big Ten spot despite recording 102 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, 5 sacks, and 3 INTs.
  • Dillon Thieneman might be the best true freshman in all of college football. He was tied with Ricardo Hallman (3rd-team) for the Big-Ten lead with 6 INTs and was 5th in tackles with 106.

3rd-Team Defense

DL: Jack Sawyer (Ohio State)

DL: Michael Hall Jr (Ohio State)

DL: Kris Jenkins (Michigan)

DL: Nic Scourton (Purdue)

LB: Curtis Jacobs (Penn State)

LB: Michael Barrett (Michigan)

LB: Bryce Gallager (Northwestern)

CB: Ricardo Hallman (Wisconsin)

CB: Kalen King (Penn State)

S: Beau Brade (Maryland)

S: Isaac Gifford (Nebraska)

Notes:

  • Nic Scourton is a monster at 6’4″ 280lbs and plays like it. He posted 50 tackles, 15 TFLs, 10 sacks, and 3 PDs as a consistent force behind the line of scrimmage.
  • Maryland S Beau Brade & Nebraska S Isaac Gifford were both leaders of improved secondaries. Gifford finished with 86 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, a sack, INT, and Big-Ten leading 8 PDs. Brade had 72 tackles, 4 TFLs, an INT, and 6 PDs.

4th-Team Defense

DL: JT Tuimoloau (Ohio State)

DL: Keith Randolph Jr (Illinois)

DL: Yahya Black (Iowa)

DL: Dani Dennis-Sutton (Penn State)

LB: Tommy Eichenberg (Ohio State)

LB: Seth Coleman (Illinois)

LB: Luke Reimer (Nebraska)

CB: Sebastian Castro (Iowa)

CB: Tarheeb Still (Maryland)

S: Sanoussi Kane (Purdue)

S: Josh Proctor (Ohio State)

  • Tommy Eichenberg is a very reliable linebacker. But he didn’t make much of a jump in production from 2022 and did not play like the LB of the year in my opinion. He finished the year with just 2.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks.
  • Iowa DT Yahya Black doesn’t jump off off the box score with 46 tackles, 4 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, and 3 PDs. But he did a tremendous job of eating up blocks all year and was a big reason why Iowa has allowed only 2 rushing TDs all season long.

Special Teams:

1st-Team Special Teams

P: Tory Taylor (Iowa)

K: Dragan Kesich (Minnesota)

Returner: Cooper DeJean (Iowa)

2nd-Team Special Teams

P: Tommy Doman (Michigan)

K: James Turner (Michigan)

Returner: Daequan Hardy (Penn State)

3rd-Team Special Teams

P: Ryan Eckley (Michigan State)

K: Jayden Fielding (Ohio State)

Returner: Tyrone Tracy (Purdue)

4th-Team Special Teams

P: James Evans (Indiana)

K: Jai Patel (Rutgers)

Returner: Jaylin Lucas (Indiana)

All-Conference Players by Team

Michigan State: 2

Rutgers: 2

Nebraska: 3

Minnesota: 4

Northwestern: 4

Indiana: 5

Wisconsin: 5

Purdue: 6

Illinois: 7

Iowa: 8

Maryland: 8

Penn State: 13

Ohio State: 16

Michigan: 19