Ohio State's Harrison, Illinois' Newton and Northwestern's Braun take AP's top Big Ten honors

Wed, Dec 6, 2023
NCAAF News (AP)

Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is The Associated Press Big Ten offensive player of the year, Illinois end Jer'Zhan Newton is defensive player of the year and Northwestern's David Braun is coach of the year.

Harrison is a unanimous AP All-Big Ten first-team pick for the second straight year. Newton, Michigan offensive lineman Zak Zinter and Iowa punter Tory Taylor are the other unanimous first-team selections by the voting panel of 23 media members who cover the conference.

The first team includes six players each from conference champion Michigan and Ohio State.

Ohio State's repeat first-team picks are Harrison, defensive end JT Tuimoloau and linebacker Tommy Eichenberg. Michigan running back Blake Corum and Zinter also were on the first team in 2022, as was Illinois' Newton.

Other news New Mexico hires Bronco Mendenhall as its new football coach; formerly coached BYU and Virginia Middle Tennessee hires former Vandy coach Derek Mason as football coach Penn State DE Chop Robinson announces his intent to declare for NFL draft as underclassman

Harrison, a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, is the Buckeyes' first receiver with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. He has seven 100-yard receiving games this season, and his 13 touchdown catches are tied for second nationally.

Newton was second in the Big Ten with 7.5 sacks, and he also recorded nine quarterback hurries and blocked four kicks. He was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award.

Purdue safety Dillon Thieneman is newcomer of the year after he set school freshman records with six interceptions and 74 solo tackles. His 106 tackles are most among freshmen in the nation.

Braun, hired as Northwestern defensive coordinator last January, unexpectedly became the face of the program following the firing of Pat Fitzgerald in the wake of a hazing scandal. Braun was interim coach until last month, when he was hired to the permanent role. The Wildcats went from 1-11 last season to 7-5, the biggest turnaround in the Bowl Subdivision.

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FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

u-WR - Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State, junior, 6-4, 205, Philadelphia.

WR - Isaiah Williams, Illinois, junior, 5-10, 185, St. Louis.

Tackle - Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Penn State, junior, 6-6, 317, Waldorf, Maryland.

Tackle - Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota, junior, 6-6, 325, Kansas City, Missouri.

u-Guard - Zak Zinter, Michigan, senior, 6-6, 322, North Andover, Massachusetts.

Guard - Donovan Jackson, Ohio State, junior, 6-4, 320, Bellaire, Texas.

C - Drake Nugent, Michigan, senior, 6-2, 301, Lone Tree, Colorado.

TE - Cade Stover, Ohio State, senior, 6-4, 251, Mansfield, Ohio.

QB - J.J. McCarthy, Michigan, junior, 6-3, 202, La Grange Park, Illinois.

RB - Blake Corum, Michigan, senior, 5-8, 213, Marshall, Virginia.

RB - TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State, junior, 5-10, 212, Hopewell, Virginia.

PK - Dragan Kesich, Minnesota, senior, 6-4, 240, Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

All-purpose - Cooper DeJean, Iowa, junior, 6-1, 207, Odebolt, Iowa.

DEFENSE

Defensive end - Chop Robinson, Penn State, junior, 6-3, 254, Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Defensive end - JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State, junior, 6-4, 270, Edgewood, Washington.

u-Defensive tackle - Jer'Zhan Newton, Illinois, junior, 6-2, 295, St. Petersburg, Florida.

Defensive tackle - Kris Jenkins, Michigan, senior, 6-3, 305, Olney, Maryland.

Linebacker - Jay Higgins, Iowa, senior, 6-2, 233, Indianapolis.

Linebacker - Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State, senior, 6-2, 239, Cleveland.

Linebacker - Aaron Casey, Indiana, senior, 6-2, 235, Douglasville, Georgia.

Cornerback - Cooper DeJean, Iowa, junior, 6-1, 207, Odebolt, Iowa.

Cornerback - Mike Sainristil, Michigan, senior, 5-10, 182, Everett, Massachusetts.

Safety - Tyler Nubin, Minnesota, senior, 6-2, 210, St. Charles, Illinois.

Safety - Hunter Wohler, Wisconsin, junior, 6-2, 211, Muskego, Wisconsin.

u-Punter - Tory Taylor, Iowa, senior, 6-4, 232, Melbourne, Australia.

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

WR - Daniel Jackson, Minnesota, senior, 6-0, 200, Kansas City, Kansas.

WR - Roman Wilson, Michigan, senior, 6-0, 192, Maui, Hawaii.

Tackle - Josh Fryar, Ohio State, senior, 6-6, 313, Beech Grove, Indiana.

Tackle - LaDarius Henderson, Michigan, senior, 6-4, 315, Waxahachie, Texas.

Guard - Matthew Jones, Ohio State, senior, 6-4, 315, Brooklyn, New York.

Guard - Trevor Keegan, Michigan, senior, 6-6, 320, Crystal Lake, Illinois.

Center - Hunter Nourzad, Penn State, senior, 6-3, 320, Marietta, Georgia.

TE - Colston Loveland, Michigan, sophomore, 6-5, 245, Gooding, Idaho.

QB - Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland, senior, 5-11, 208, Ewa Beach, Hawaii.

RB - Braelon Allen, Wisconsin, junior, 6-2, 245, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

RB - Kyle Monangai, Rutgers, junior, 5-9, 210, Roseland, New Jersey.

PK - James Turner, Michigan, senior, 6-0, 196, Saline, Michigan.

All-purpose - Tyrone Tracy Jr., Purdue, senior, 6-1, 210, Indianapolis.

DEFENSE

Defensive end - Adisa Isaac, Penn State, senior, 6-4, 249, Brooklyn, New York.

Defensive end - Nic Scourton, Purdue, sophomore, 6-4, 280, Bryan, Texas.

Defensive tackle - Mason Graham, Michigan, sophomore, 6-3, 318, Anaheim, California.

Defensive tackle - Tyleik Williams, Ohio State, junior, 6-2, 290, Manassas, Virginia.

Linebacker - Abdul Carter, Penn State, sophomore, 6-3, 249, Philadelphia.

Linebacker - Bryce Gallagher, Northwestern, senior, 6-2, 235, Raynham, Massachusetts.

Linebacker - Junior Colson, Michigan, junior, 6-3, 247, Brentwood, Tennessee.

Cornerback - Denzel Burke, Ohio State, junior, 6-1, 190, Phoenix.

Cornerback - Will Johnson, Michigan, sophomore, 6-2, 202, Detroit.

Safety - Dillon Thieneman, Purdue, freshman, 6-0, 205, Westfield, Indiana.

Safety - Sebastian Castro, Iowa, senior, 5-11, 205, Oak Lawn, Illinois.

Punter - Ryan Eckley, Michigan State, freshman, 6-2, 205, Lithia, Florida.

INDIVIDUAL HONORS

Offensive player of the year - Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State.

Defensive player of the year - Jer'Zhan Newton, Illinois.

Coach of the year - David Braun, Northwestern.

Newcomer of the year - Dillon Thieneman, Purdue.

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ALL BIG-TEN VOTING PANEL

Bob Asmussen, Champaign (Illinois) News-Gazette; Colten Bartholomew, Madison.com (Wisconsin); Bret Beherns, WCIA-TV, Champaign, Illinois; Frank Bodani, York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record; Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News; Graham Couch, Lansing (Michigan) State Journal; Dave Eanet, WGN Radio, Chicago; Bob Flounders, PennLive (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania); Brian Fonseca, New Jersey Advance Media (Newark); Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press; George Gerbo, Washington Times; Zach Hanley, WISC-TV, Madison, Wisconsin; Marcus Hartman, Dayton (Ohio) Daily News; Joseph Kaufman, Columbus Dispatch; Patrick Lanni, New Jersey Advance Media (Newark); Chad Leistikow, Des Moines (Iowa) Register; Sam McKewon, Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald; Luke Mullin, Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star; Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star; Dylan Sinn, Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal Gazette; Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press; John Steppe, Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette; Darren Wolfson, KSTP-TV, St. Paul, Minnesota.

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