Indiana and Ohio State dominated The Associated Press All-Big Ten honors announced Tuesday, with the Hoosiers’ Curt Cignetti repeating as coach of the year, quarterback Fernando Mendoza taking two individual awards and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and quarterback Julian Sayin each receiving one.
The Big Ten champion Hoosiers and Ohio State, the top two seeds in the College Football Playoff, combined to put 13 players on the 27-man first team.
Mendoza was named the conference’s offensive player of the year and top first-year transfer, Downs was defensive player of the year and Sayin the freshman of the year.
Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson and Downs were unanimous first-team selections by the voting panel of 24 media members who cover the Big Ten.
Repeat first-team picks were Downs, Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith, Iowa all-purpose player Kaden Wetjen, and Indiana teammates Aiden Fisher at linebacker and D’Angelo Ponds at cornerback.
Ohio State had seven players on the first team, all but one on defense, and Indiana had six.
The 64-year-old Cignetti continues to amaze two years after he took over an Indiana program that had the most losses in major-college football history. He led Indiana to a 13-0 record, the program’s first Big Ten title since 1967 and to its first No. 1 ranking in the AP poll. This was after his improbable first season that saw the Hoosiers go 11-2 and make the CFP for the first time.
Mendoza, who joined the Hoosiers after two years at California, has completed 71.5% of his passes for 2,980 yards and leads the nation with 33 touchdown passes. He has thrown just six interceptions.
Downs, a finalist for four national awards, helps anchor a dominant defense that has allowed fewer than 100 points this season. Downs’ 60 tackles are tied for third on the team, and he has five for loss and a sack to go with a team-leading two interceptions.
Sayin, who played in four games last season to preserve his redshirt status, leads the nation with a 78.4% completion rate in his first year as a starter. He’s thrown for 3,329 yards and 31 touchdowns against just six interceptions.
First-team offense
Wide receivers — Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State, sophomore 6-3, 223, Miami Gardens, Florida; Makai Lemon, Southern California, junior, 5-11, 195, Los Angeles; Carnell Tate, Ohio State, junior, 6-3, 195, Chicago.
Tackles — Carter Smith, Indiana, junior, 6-5, 313, Powell, Ohio; J.C. Davis, Illinois, senior, 6-5, 335, Oakland, California.
Guards — Beau Stephens, Iowa, senior, 6-5, 315, Blue Springs, Missouri; Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon, senior, 6-5, 318, Denver.
Center — Logan Jones, Iowa, senior, 6-3, 302, Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Tight end — Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon, junior, 6-3, 245, Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Quarterback — Fernando Mendoza, Indiana, junior, 6-5, 225, Miami.
Running backs — Emmett Johnson, Nebraska, junior, 5-11, 200, Minneapolis. Kaytron Allen, Penn State, senior, 5-11, 219, Norfolk, Virginia.
Kicker — Nico Radicic, Indiana, sophomore, 5-11, 187, Coppell, Texas.
All-purpose — Kaden Wetjen, Iowa, senior, 5-9, 196, Williamsburg, Iowa.
First team defense
Edge rushers — Caden Curry, Ohio State, senior, 6-3, 260, Greenwood, Indiana; Derrick Moore, Michigan, senior, 6-3, 260, Baltimore.
Interior linemen — Kayden McDonald, Ohio State, junior, 6-3, 326, Suwanee, Georgia; Tyrique Tucker, Indiana, junior, 6-0, 302, Norfolk, Virginia.
Linebackers — Sonny Syles, Ohio State, senior, 6-5, 243, Pickerington, Ohio; Arvell Reese, Ohio State, junior, 6-4, 243, Cleveland; Aiden Fisher, Indiana, senior, 6-1, 231, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Cornerbacks — D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana, junior, 5-9, 173, Miami; Davison Igbinosun, Ohio State, senior, 6-2, 195, Union, New Jersey.
Safeties — Caleb Downs, Ohio State, junior, 6-0, 205, Hoschton, Georgia; Dillon Thieneman, Oregon, junior, 6-0, 205, Westfield, Indiana.
Defensive back — Bishop Fitzgerald, Southern California, senior, 5-11, 205, Woodbridge, Virginia.
Punter — Ryan Eckley, Michigan State, junior, 6-2, 207, Lithia, Florida.
Second team offense
Wide receivers — Elijah Sarratt, Indiana, 6-2, 213, Stafford, Virginia; Omari Cooper Jr., Indiana, junior, 6-0, 204, Indianapolis; KJ Duff, Rutgers, sophomore, 6-6, 225, Riverhead, New York.
Tackles — Caleb Tiernan, Northwestern, senior, 6-7, 325, Livonia, Michigan; Gennings Dunker, Iowa, senior, 6-5, 315, Lena, Illinois.
Guards — Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State, junior, 6-4, 323, Graham, Washington; Luke Montgomery, Ohio State, 6-5, 312, Findlay, Ohio.
Center — Pat Coogan, Indiana, senior, 6-5, 311, Palos Heights, Illinois.
Tight end — Max Klare, Ohio State, junior, 6-5, 243, Guilford, Indiana.
Quarterback — Julian Sayin, Ohio State, redshirt freshman, 6-1, 208, Carlsbad, California.
Running backs — Bo Jackson, Ohio State, freshman, 6-0, 217, Cleveland; Jordan Marshall, Michigan, sophomore, 5-11, 216, Cincinnati.
Kicker — Sean O’Haire, Maryland, freshman, 6-2, 188, Kildare, Ireland.
All-purpose — Hank Beatty, Illinois, senior, 5-11, 185, Rochester, Illinois.
Second team defense
Edge rushers — Gabe Jacas, Illinois, senior, 6-3, 270, Port St. Lucie, Florida; Anthony Smith, Minnesota, sophomore, 6-6, 285, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
Interior linemen — Bear Alexander, Oregon, junior, 6-3, 302, Terrell, Texas; Aaron Graves, Iowa, senior, 6-5, 295, Dayton, Iowa.
Linebackers — Bryce Boettcher, Oregon, senior, 6-2, 232, Eugene, Oregon; Rolijah Hardy, Indiana, sophomore, 5-11, 229, Lakeland, Florida; Jimmy Rolder, Michigan, senior, 6-2, 240, Orland Park, Illinois.
Cornerbacks — Brandon Finney Jr., Oregon, freshman, 6-2, 203, Owings Mills, Maryland; Zeke Berry, Michigan, senior, 5-11, 196, Pittsburg, California.
Safeties —Louis Moore, Indiana, senior, 5-11, 200, Mesquite, Texas; Jalen Huskey, Maryland, senior, 6-2, 201, Frederick, Maryland.
Defensive back — Koi Perich, Minnesota, junior, 6-1, 200, Esko, Minnesota.
Punter — Bryce McFerson, Maryland, junior, 6-2, 191, Indian Trail, North Carolina.
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Coach of the year — Curt Cignetti, Indiana.
Offensive player of the year — Fernando Mendoza, Indiana.
Defensive player of the year — Caleb Downs, Ohio State.
Freshman of the year (redshirt freshmen eligible) — Julian Sayin, Ohio State.
First-year transfer of the year — Fernando Mendoza, Indiana.
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AP All-Big Ten voting panel
Bob Asmussen, Champaign (Illinois) News-Gazette; Nicole Auerbach, NBC Sports; Colten Bartholomew, Madison.com (Wisconsin); Bill Bender, The Sporting News; Frank Bodani, York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record; Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News; James Crepea, The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon; Scott Dochterman, The Athletic; Brian Fonseca, NJ Advance Media/The Star-Ledger; George Gerbo, Washington Times; Andy Greder, St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press; Brenna Greene, KOIN-TV, Portland, Oregon; Amie Just, Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star; Ian Kress, WLNS, Lansing, Michigan; Johnny McGonigal, PennLive; Sam McKewon, Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald; Stephen Means, Cleveland.com; Luke Mullin, Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star; Dave Preston, WTOP (Washington, D.C.); Haley Sawyer, Orange County (California) Register; Dylan Sinn, Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal Gazette; Louie Vaccher, On3.com; Darren Wolfson, KSTP-TV, St. Paul, Minnesota; Andy Yamashita, Seattle Times.
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AP All-Big Ten: Indiana’s Cignetti repeats as coach of year; Hoosiers and Buckeyes dominate 1st team
