The Big Ten Conference announced the 2017 All-Big Ten football honorees on defense and special teams on Tuesday. A total of 63 students were selected to either of the All-Big Ten teams selected by the coaches and media, while another 63 students were awarded honorable mention status
The Big Ten also recognized 14 Sportsmanship Award honorees. The students chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These students must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
The Big Ten postseason awards are voted on by conference coaches and a select media panel and honors teams, coaches and students with individual awards that each bear the names of one or two former standouts. The Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian and Ford-Kinnick Leadership awards were announced last week.
The All-Big Ten teams and individual awards will be announced based on the following schedule:
- Tuesday, November 28: All-Big Ten teams (Defense and Special Teams) and Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honorees
- Wednesday, November 29: All-Big Ten teams (Offense)
- Thursday, November 30: Big Ten individual awards
A complete list of the 2017 All-Big Ten teams for defense and special teams, along with this year’s Sportsmanship Award honorees, can be found on the attached PDF.
| 2017 All-Big Ten Football Defense – Coaches | |||
| POSITION | FIRST TEAM | SECOND TEAM | THIRD TEAM |
| Line | Rashan Gary, Michigan | Chase Winovich, Michigan | Kenny Willekes, Michigan State |
| Line | Maurice Hurst, Michigan | Sam Hubbard, Ohio State | Joe Gaziano, Northwestern |
| Line | Nick Bosa, Ohio State | Alec James, Wisconsin | Dre’mont Jones, Ohio State |
| Line | Tyquan Lewis, Ohio State | Conor Sheehy, Wisconsin | Gelen Robinson, Purdue |
| Linebacker | Josey Jewell, Iowa | Tegray Scales, Indiana | Khaleke Hudson, Michigan |
| Linebacker | Devin Bush, Michigan | Jason Cabinda, Penn State | Joe Bachie, Michigan State |
| Linebacker | T.J. Edwards, Wisconsin | Garret Dooley, Wisconsin | Paddy Fisher, Northwestern |
| Defensive Back | Josh Jackson, Iowa | Lavert Hill, Michigan | Rashard Fant, Indiana |
| Defensive Back | Marcus Allen, Penn State | Godwin Igwebuike, Northwestern | Kyle Queiro, Northwestern |
| Defensive Back | D’Cota Dixon, Wisconsin | Denzel Ward, Ohio State | Jordan Fuller, Ohio State |
| Defensive Back | Nick Nelson, Wisconsin | Amani Oruwariye, Penn State | Derrick Tindal, Wisconsin |
DEFENSE HONORABLE MENTION – Coaches
ILLINOIS: James Crawford, Jaylen Dunlap, Stanley Green; INDIANA: Chris Covington, Jonathan Crawford; IOWA: Nathan Bazata, Anthony Nelson, Ben Niemann; MARYLAND: JC Jackson, Darnell Savage Jr.; MICHIGAN: Tyree Kinnel, Mike McCray, Josh Metellus; MICHIGAN STATE: David Dowell, Justin Layne, Josiah Scott, Khari Willis; MINNESOTA: Thomas Barber, Carter Coughlin, Steven Richardson; NORTHWESTERN: Nate Hall, Tyler Lancaster, Samdup Miller; OHIO STATE: Jerome Baker, Jalyn Holmes, Damon Webb, Chris Worley; PENN STATE: Christian Campbell, Curtis Cothran, Grant Haley, Shareef Miller; PURDUE: Ja’Whaun Bentley, Danny Ezechukwu, Lorenzo Neal, Jacob Thieneman; RUTGERS: Kiy Hester, Sebastian Joseph; WISCONSIN: Ryan Connelly, Joe Ferguson, Leon Jacobs, Natrell Jamerson, Olive Sagapolu.
| 2017 All-Big Ten Football Special Teams – Coaches | |||
| POSITION | FIRST TEAM | SECOND TEAM | THIRD TEAM |
| Kicker | Griffin Oakes, Indiana | Rafael Gaglianone, Wisconsin | Sean Nuernberger, Ohio State |
| Punter | Ryan Anderson, Rutgers | Blake Gillikin, Penn State | Drue Chrisman, Ohio State |
| Return Specialist | Saquon Barkley, Penn State | DeAndre Thompkins, Penn State | Parris Campbell, Ohio State |
SPECIAL TEAMS HONORABLE MENTION – Coaches
INDIANA: J’Shun Harris, Haydon Whitehead; MICHIGAN: Quinn Nordin, Brad Robbins; MINNESOTA: Emmit Carpenter, Ryan Santoso; NEBRASKA: Drew Brown, JD Spielman; NORTHWESTERN: Charlie Kuhbander.
| 2017 All-Big Ten Football Defense – Media | |||
| POSITION | FIRST TEAM | SECOND TEAM | THIRD TEAM |
| Line | Maurice Hurst, Michigan | Rashan Gary, Michigan | Anthony Nelson, Iowa |
| Line | Chase Winovich, Michigan | Joe Gaziano, Northwestern | Kenny Willekes, Michigan State |
| Line | Nick Bosa, Ohio State | Sam Hubbard, Ohio State | Shareef Miller, Penn State |
| Line | Tyquan Lewis, Ohio State | Alec James, Wisconsin | Conor Sheehy, Wisconsin |
| Linebacker | Tegray Scales, Indiana | Devin Bush, Michigan | Joe Bachie, Michigan State |
| Linebacker | Josey Jewell, Iowa | Khaleke Hudson, Michigan | Thomas Barber, Minnesota |
| Linebacker | T.J. Edwards, Wisconsin | Paddy Fisher, Northwestern | Garret Dooley, Wisconsin |
| Defensive Back | Josh Jackson, Iowa | Rashard Fant, Indiana | Josiah Scott, Michigan State |
| Defensive Back | David Dowell, Michigan State | Godwin Igwebuike, Northwestern | Kyle Queiro, Northwestern |
| Defensive Back | Denzel Ward, Ohio State | Marcus Allen, Penn State | Damon Webb, Ohio State |
| Defensive Back | Nick Nelson, Wisconsin | Amani Oruwariye, Penn State | D’Cota Dixon, Wisconsin |
DEFENSE HONORABLE MENTION – Media
ILLINOIS: Stanley Green; INDIANA: Chris Covington, Jonathan Crawford, Chase Dutra, Robert McCray III; IOWA: Nathan Bazata, Ben Niemann; MARYLAND: Antoine Brooks Jr., Jermaine Carter Jr., JC Jackson, Darnell Savage Jr.; MICHIGAN: Lavert Hill, Tyree Kinnel, David Long, Mike McCray, Josh Metellus; MICHIGAN STATE: Chris Frey, Justin Layne, Mike Panasiuk, Raequan Williams, Khari Willis; MINNESOTA: Carter Coughlin, Steven Richardson; NORTHWESTERN: Nate Hall, Tyler Lancaster, Samdup Miller; OHIO STATE: Damon Arnette, Jerome Baker, Jordan Fuller, Jalyn Holmes, Dre’mont Jones, Chris Worley; PENN STATE: Troy Apke, Jason Cabinda, Christian Campbell, Parker Cothren, Grant Haley; PURDUE: Markus Bailey, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Danny Ezechukwu, Da’Wan Hunte, Lorenzo Neal, Josh Okonye, Gelen Robinson; RUTGERS: Damon Hayes, Kiy Hester, Trevor Morris; WISCONSIN: Ryan Connelly, Joe Ferguson, Leon Jacobs, Natrell Jamerson, Olive Sagapolu, Derrick Tindal.
| 2017 All-Big Ten Football Special Teams – Media | |||
| POSITION | FIRST TEAM | SECOND TEAM | THIRD TEAM |
| Kicker | Griffin Oakes, Indiana | Rafael Gaglianone, Wisconsin | Sean Nuernberger, Ohio State |
| Punter | Ryan Anderson, Rutgers | Blake Gillikin, Penn State | Drue Chrisman, Ohio State |
| Return Specialist | Saquon Barkley, Penn State | Parris Campbell, Ohio State | DeAndre Thompkins, Penn State |
SPECIAL TEAMS HONORABLE MENTION – Media
ILLINOIS: Blake Hayes; INDIANA: J’Shun Harris, Haydon Whitehead; MICHIGAN: Quinn Nordin, Donovan Peoples-Jones; MICHIGAN STATE: Matt Coghlin, Jake Hartbarger; MINNESOTA: Emmit Carpenter, Ryan Santoso; NEBRASKA: Drew Brown, De’Mornay Pierson-El, JD Spielman; NORTHWESTERN: Charlie Kuhbander; PURDUE: Joe Schopper.
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honorees: Nick Allegretti, ILL; Danny Friend, IND; Miles Taylor, IOWA; Chandler Burkett, MD; Henry Poggi, MICH; Brian Lewerke, MSU; Jonathan Celestin, MINN; Chris Weber, NEB; Justin Jackson, NU; Tracy Sprinkle, OSU; Brandon Smith, PSU; David Blough, PUR; Sebastian Joseph, RU; Joe Ferguson, WIS.
