Week 4 Big Ten All-Conference Team

Welcome to the second edition of our look at the race for the Big Ten All-Conference team. I’ll be doing this every 2 weeks to provide an evolving snapshot in part to see how dramatically things change

over the course of the season. We’re still only between 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through the regular season depending on whether teams have had a bye week already so there’s a lot that change. If you missed the week 2 picks you can check them out here.

Below are my picks and a quick recap of the decisions at each position. In order to provide the stat breakdowns I used some shorthand abbreviations. Any use of “yards” includes combined non-sack passing/rushing/receiving yards. Similarly TDs are combined passing/rushing/receiving/return touchdowns. Acronyms that might not be completely clear are: Yards per Attempt (YPA), Big-Time Throw Rate (BTT Rate), Turnover-Worthy Play Rate (TWP Rate), MTF (Missed Tackles Forced), YPC (Yards per Carry), Y/RR (Yards per Route Run), Stops (tackles on unsuccessful plays by the offense).

*Player was also on the week 2 all-conference team

Quarterback

1st Team: Jaiden Maiava* (USC)- 1,286 yds, 12.7 YPA, 13 TD, 0 INT, 5.0% BTT Rate, 2.9% TWP Rate

2nd Team: Fernando Mendoza (Indiana)- 1,071 yds, 9.7 YPA, 16 TD, 0 INT, 2.8% BTT Rate, 0.8% TWP Rate

3rd Team: Athan Kaliakmanis (Rutgers)- 1,196 yds, 9.1 YPA, 9 TD, 1 INT, 8.1% BTT Rate, 0.0% TWP Rate

Maiava stays at number one between week 2 to now. His yards per attempt number is dropping back from completely absurd to merely very elite and he has still yet to throw an interception. Fernando Mendoza merits the 2nd team spot as he’s #1 among B1G QBs in total touchdowns by 3 and is 4th in yards per attempt. The low big-time throw rate number suggests his wide receivers are doing a lot of the work but that’s okay given he’s clearly making the right reads and not turning it over.

There was a healthy debate among the committee (me) for who to put in the 3rd spot. There’s a good case for each of Kaliakmanis, Dante Moore of Oregon, and Demond Williams Jr. for Washington. Moore is only 21 total yards ahead of Demond despite playing an extra game but has 3 more total TDs and a higher big-time throw rate (6.9% to 4.4%). I’m not assessing things on a per-game basis so for now I have Moore ahead but Williams should leapfrog him once Oregon has their first bye week if his stats stay at a similar level. But I opted for Kaliakmanis despite the lower yards per attempt number because he’s nearly 150 yards more than the PNW duo and has a conference-high 8.1% big-time throw rate. Michael Penix Jr. was at 7.3% back in 2023 for Washington to show you how crazy that is.

Running Back

1st Team: Jonah Coleman* (Washington)- 497 yds, 10 TD, 18 MTF, 6.8 YPC; Justice Haynes* (Michigan)- 566 yds, 6 TD, 20 MTF, 8.1 YPC

2nd Team: Emmett Johnson* (Nebraska)- 464 yds, 5 TD, 19 MTF, 5.5 YPC; Waymond Jordan* (USC)- 480 yards, 3 TD, 22 MTF, 7.8 YPC

3rd Team: Kaytron Allen* (Penn State)- 278 yds, 3 TD, 16 MTF, 8.0 YPC; Antwan Raymond* (Rutgers)- 340 yds, 7 TD, 21 MTF, 5.1 YPC

I ended up making zero changes to the arrangement here after an extra 2 weeks. Justice Haynes leads the way in total yards and yards per attempt. Jonah Coleman has 3 more total touchdowns than any other running back. They’re the clear 1-2 right now. If there is a challenger then it’s USC’s Waymond Jordan who looks like maybe the best new JUCO player in the country at 7.8 yards per attempt and leading the B1G in missed tackles forced.

The only spot that I think was really up for debate is the last 3rd team one which I gave to Kaytron Allen at Penn State. USC’s #2 back Eli Sanders has more total yards but Allen is averaging 1.6 more yards per carry and has almost double the number of missed tackles forced. Indiana has a few backs that are around the same yardage number as well but Allen’s efficiency gets him the last spot.

Wide Receiver

1st Team: Makai Lemon* (USC)- 456 yds, 4 TD, 5.1 Y/RR; Jeremiah Smith* (Ohio St)- 332 yds, 4 TD, 4.4 Y/RR; Omar Cooper Jr. (Indiana)- 452 yds, 6 TD, 3.9 Y/RR

2nd Team: Hank Beatty* (Illinois)- 327 yds, 3 TD, 3.6 Y/RR; Ian Strong* (Rutgers)- 367 yds, 2 TD, 3.2 Y/RR; KJ Duff (Rutgers)- 336 yds, 2 TD, 3.2 Y/RR

3rd Team: Shaleak Knotts (Maryland)- 276 yds, 5 TD, 2.8 Y/RR; Denzel Boston* (Washington)- 249 yds, 4 TD, 2.9 Y/RR; Dakorien Moore* (Oregon)- 249 yds, 3 TD, 3.2 Y/RR

Six of the nine featured here are repeats from the last edition although most of them moved around within the teams. The lone unanimous holdover among the 1st team is Makai Lemon who leads the conference in receiving yards, yards per route run, and missed tackles forced. He’s a complete stud. Omar Cooper Jr. of Indiana is right behind him in total yards by virtue of a 75-yard TD run and has more total TDs but a much lower Y/RR number. Jeremiah Smith is 2nd behind Lemon in Y/RR and gets my last spot despite their bye this past weekend.

There are only five players between 300-350 receiving yards (3rd through 7th place) and all but two make my list. The lone misses are Omari Kelly of Michigan State and Jacory Barney of Nebraska who each have a strong case. There’s probably a little bit of latent homerism going on to keep Boston ahead of both despite fewer total yards but his punt return TD gives him the tiebreaker in my mind to make up for the receiving yardage gap.

Tight End

1st Team: Lake McRee* (USC)- 189 yds, 1 TD, 2.55 Y/RR

2nd Team: Kenyon Sadiq (Oregon)- 161 yds, 3 TD, 1.99 Y/RR

3rd Team: Lance Mason* (Wisconsin)- 177 yds, 2 TD, 1.97 Y/RR

Wisconsin’s Lance Mason drops from 1st team to 3rd team while USC’s Lake McRee has ascended to 1st team status. The new addition is Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq who now leads all B1G TEs with his 3rd TD. There is definitely also a case on 3rd team for Penn State’s Luke Reynolds with a 2.41 Y/RR mark and yardage totals that are close but I went with Mason instead.

Offensive Line

1st Team: LT Trevor Lauck* (Iowa); LG Beau Stephens* (Iowa); C Logan Jones (Iowa); RG- Kade Pieper* (Iowa); RT Gennings Dunker* (Iowa)

2nd Team: LT Carver Willis* (Washington); LG Josh Gesky (Illinois); C Matt Gulbin* (Michigan State); RG- Kwabena Asomoah* (Rutgers); RT Kahlil Benson (Indiana)

3rd Team: LT Caleb Tiernan* (Northwestern); LG Vega Ioane* (Penn State); Jackson Carsello (Northwestern); RG Evan Beerntsen (Northwestern); RT Drew Azzopardi* (Washington)

Once again, I’m pretty up front with the offensive line that I just go off of PFF grades because there’s no way for me to scout the OL and the stats from other sources for individual linemen are even sketchier. My criteria were that I pick the highest graded player at each line spot who has played the majority of their snaps at that position. Which sometimes leads to absolute hilarity such as right now when the highest ranked B1G OL at every single position plays for Iowa.

There’s a 0% chance the entire Iowa OL ends up being the 1st team all-conference team. There’s also a 0% chance they all end up on top of PFF’s grades when the season ends. But that’s how it is now. Washington’s tackle duo were both on the first team in the last rankings and have slipped to 2nd team for Carver Willis and 3rd team for Drew Azzopardi.

Defensive Tackle

1st Team: Mario Landino (Indiana)- 4 tackles, 12 pressures, 5 sacks, 4 stops; Devan Thompkins (USC)- 12 tackles, 12 pressures, 1 sack, 7 stops

2nd Team: Gary Smith III* (UCLA)- 16 tackles, 2 pressure, 0 sack, 10 stops; Cam Rice (Maryland)- 14 tackles, 9 pressures, 1 sack, 10 stops

3rd Team: James Thompson Jr.* (Illinois)- 9 tackles, 4 pressures, 0 sack, 9 stops; Alex VanSumeren (Michigan State)- 16 tackles, 2 pressure, 0 sack, 10 stops

Both 1st teamers from the last edition fell completely out of the rankings now which shows you how much volatility there is at this position where the stat accumulation isn’t that high. Indiana’s Mario Landino vaults to the top of the all-conference standings this week after putting up 3 sacks against Illinois a few days ago to give him the most of any B1G interior lineman. Devan Thompkins has had a breakout season so far for USC with an identical 12 tackles after having just 16 all of last season.

Last edition’s 2nd team duo of Gary Smith III of UCLA and James Thompson Jr. for Illinois both make it although Thompson dropped down to 3rd team. The other new additions are Cam Rice of Maryland and Alex VanSumeren of Michigan State who each are tied for the lead in stops.

Edge Rusher

1st Team: Sidney Stewart* (Maryland)- 6 tackles, 8 pressures, 2 sacks, 7 stops; Mason Reiger* (Wisconsin)- 11 tackles, 17 pressures, 2 sack, 9 stops

2nd Team: Max Llewellyn (Iowa)- 3 tackles, 14 pressures, 4 sacks, 6 stops; Caden Curry (Ohio State)- 12 tackles, 12 pressures, 3 sacks, 8 stops

3rd Team: Zahir Mathis (Maryland)- 13 tackles, 12 pressures, 3 sacks, 8 stops; Kameryn Fountain (USC)- 8 tackles, 10 pressures, 3 sacks, 11 stops

There’s a lot of turnover at this spot as well from last time. Maryland gets both their edge rushers led by absolute stud true freshman Sidney Stewart who leads the conference in total QB pressures so far. Joining Stewart on the 1st team is our other holdover with Wisconsin’s Mason Reiger who has been one of the lone bright spots in a dismal start for the Badgers.

The other 4 newcomers to the list all have at least 3 sacks and at least 10 pressures. The only player I excluded who met those totals was USC’s Braylan Shelby who has too low of a PFF grade due to dismal run defense for me to consider his inclusion.

Linebacker

1st Team: Daniel Wingate* (Maryland)- 39 tackles, 6 pressures, 2 TFL, 21 stops, 1 INT; Eric Gentry (USC)- 22 tackles, 6 pressures, 4 TFL, 16 stops, 1 PBU

2nd Team: Bryce Boettcher (Oregon)- 16 tackles, 4 pressures, 3 TFL, 13 stops; Karson Sharar (Iowa)- 29 tackles, 5 pressures, 2 TFL, 16 stops

3rd Team: Tony Rojas* (Penn State)- 12 tackles, 2 pressures, 3 TFL, 9 stops; Jerry Mixon (Oregon)- 13 tackles, 3 pressures, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 1 PBU

Daniel Wingate stays at the top of the 1st team as he continues to be the top tackler in the conference but everywhere else there’s movement. Oregon gets both their linebackers added to the list in part because both have played really well and in part because some other candidates have had a bye week. Eric Gentry has been the best pass rushing linebacker in the conference so far with 3 sacks to tie for the B1G lead among LBs to get on the 1st team. Iowa’s Karson Sharar doesn’t have great PFF totals but is tied for second in stops behind Wingate and alongside Gentry.

Cornerback

1st Team: John Nestor* (Minnesota)- 8 tackles, 2 INT, 2 PBU; D’Angelo Ponds* (Indiana)- 11 tackles, 6 stops, 4 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PBU; La’khi Roland* (Maryland)- 10 tackles, 4 stops, 2 INT

2nd Team: Jyaire Hill* (Michigan)- 13 tackles, 6 stops, 5 PBU; Jamare Glasker* (Maryland)- 4 tackles, 1 sack, 3 stops, 1 PBU; TJ Hall (Iowa)- 18 tackles, 5 PBU

3rd Team: Jadon Canady (Oregon)- 6 tackles, 5 stops, 1 PBU; Bo Mascoe (Rutgers)- 10 tackles, 3 stops, 1 INT, 1 PBU; Ceyair Wright (Nebraska)- 2 tackles, 2 PBU

All 3 of my picks from the last set of rankings who were on the 1st team stayed on the 1st team this time around as Nestor/Roland are the only duo with 2 picks and Ponds has been the best tackling corner so far. Jyaire Hill and Jamare Glasker also return from the last addition but are joined by Iowa’s TJ Hall on the 2nd team. There were a ton of reasonable options on the 3rd team because the counting stats are pretty similar but I generally went with the ones I did because of good numbers either in completion percentage against or yards per reception against (or both).

Safety

1st Team: Jalen Huskey* (Maryland)- 27 tackles, 12 stops, 1 INT; Bishop Fitzgerald* (USC)- 22 tackles, 3 INT, 1 PBU

2nd Team: Caleb Downs* (Ohio State)- 15 tackles, 2 TFL, 8 stops, 1 INT; Louis Moore* (Indiana)- 12 tackles, 2 TFL, 4 stops, 2 INT

3rd Team: TJ Metcalf (Michigan)- 15 tackles, 2 TFL, 7 stops, 1 INT, 1 PBU; Alex McLaughlin (Washington)- 16 tackles, 6 stops, 2 INT, 2 PBU

Four of the six members on this team stick around so there’s not a ton of movement. The two newcomers both make the list at 3rd place. That includes Washington’s Alex McLaughlin after he had a pair of interceptions in the Apple Cup including running one back for a touchdown. This promises to be a very competitive spot given the number of high level safeties in the conference this season so it’s impressive for the Northern Arizona transfer to be under consideration at any point of the year.