All-Big Ten teams: McSorley, Sanders lead the way for Penn State
As expected, Penn State was shut out of the offensive All-Big Ten first team.
Trace McSorley and Miles Sanders were second-team picks by both the coaches and the media. Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins — the conference’s offensive player and quarterback of the year — was a clear-cut selection for the first team, as were Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor and Michigan’s Karan Higdon at running back.
Penn State guard Connor McGovern and tackle Ryan Bates were third-team picks, but that was it. Electrifying wideout KJ Hamler, red-zone threat Pat Freiermuth and guard Steven Gonzalez were honorable mention selections.
It’s somewhat of a surprise that Freiermuth didn’t make either third team. The true freshman leads Penn State with seven touchdowns, more than Iowa’s T.J. Hockenson — the Big Ten’s tight end of the year. Freiermuth’s biggest knock is likely his catches; the Masschusetts native had only 24 grabs through 12 games. But Michigan’s Zach Gentry and Purdue’s Brycen Hopkins made the third team? They’ve combined to find the end zone just four times.
That should be Penn State’s only real gripe. The case could be made the Sanders should be a first-team pick over Higdon, but both players’ numbers are similar, and the Wolverines back missed a game. Plus, Sanders has lost four fumbles.
Meanwhile, Hamler has more receiving yards (713) than third-team wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones (541), but the Michigan pass-catches boasts two more touchdowns. Splitting hairs there, really.
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The All-Big Ten offensive teams are listed below, with Penn State players bolded. The defensive teams were released Tuesday.
Coaches
| First | Second | Third | |
| QB | Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State | Trace McSorley, Penn State | Shea Patterson, Michigan |
| RB | Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin | J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State | Reggie Corbin, Illinois |
| RB | Karan Higdon, Michigan | Miles Sanders, Penn State | Anthony McFarland, Maryland |
| WR | Rondale Moore, Purdue | Stanley Morgan Jr., Nebraska | JD Spielman, Nebraska |
| WR | Parris Campbell, Ohio State | Tyler Johnson, Minnesota | Donovan Peoples-Jones, Michigan |
| TE | Noah Fant, Iowa | T.J. Hockenson, Iowa | Zach Gentry, Michigan |
| C | Tyler Biadasz, Wisconsin | Michael Jordan, Ohio State | Cesar Ruiz, Michigan |
| OG | Michael Dieter, Wisconsin | Ross Reynolds, Iowa | Michael Onwenu, Michigan |
| OG | Beau Benzschawel, Wisconsin | Ben Bredeson, Michigan | Connor McGovern, Penn State |
| OT | Isaiah Prince, Ohio State | Alaric Jackson, Iowa | Rashawn Slater, Northwestern |
| OT | Jon Runyan, Michigan | David Edwards, Wisconsin | Ryan Bates, Penn State |
Honorable mentions: ILLINOIS: Nick Allegretti; INDIANA: Brandon Knight, Donavan Hale, Stevie Scott, Wes Martin; IOWA: Keegan Render, Tristan Wirfs; MARYLAND: Brendan Moore, Derwin Gray; MICHIGAN: Juwann Bushll-Beatty, Nico Collins; MICHIGAN STATE: Felton Davis III; MINNESOTA: Donnell Greene; NEBRASKA: Adrian Martinez, Brenden Jaimes, Devine Ozigbo; NORTHWESTERN: Cameron Green, Clayton Thorson, Flynn Nagel; OHIO STATE: Demetrius Knox, K.J. Hill, Malcon Pridgeon, Mike Weber, Thayer Munford; PENN STATE: KJ Hamler, Pat Freiermuth, Steven Gonzalez; PURDUE: Brycen Hopkins, D.J. Knox, David Blough, Kirk Barron, Matt McCann; RUTGERS: Jonah Jackson, Raheem Blackshear; WISCONSIN: Jake Ferguson
Media
| First | Second | Third | |
| QB | Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State | Trace McSorley, Penn State | David Blough, Purdue |
| RB | Karan Higdon, Michigan | Anthony McFarland, Maryland | Reggie Corbin, Illinois |
| RB | Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin | Miles Sanders, Penn State | Devine Ozigbo, Nebraska |
| WR | Rondale Moore, Purdue | Stanley Morgan Jr., Nebraska | JD Spielman, Nebraska |
| WR | Tyler Johnson, Minnesota | Parris Campbell, Ohio State | K.J. Hill, Ohio State |
| TE | T.J. Hockenson, Iowa | Noah Fant, Iowa | Brycen Hopkins, Purdue |
| C | Tyler Biadasz, Wisconsin | Michael Jordan, Ohio State | Keegan Render, Iowa |
| OG | Beau Benzschawel, Wisconsin | Nick Allegretti, Illinois | Ross Reynolds, Iowa |
| OG | Michael Dieter, Wisconsin | Ben Bredeson, Michigan | Connor McGovern, Penn State / Demetrius Knox Ohio State |
| OT | David Edwards, Wisconsin | Jon Runyan, Michigan | Damian Prince, Maryland |
| OT | Isaiah Prince, Ohio State | Alaric Jackson, Iowa | Ryan Bates, Penn State |
Honorable mentions: LLINOIS: Alex Palczewski; INDIANA: Brandon Knight, Stevie Scott, Wes Martin; IOWA: Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Tristan Wirfs; MARYLAND: Brendan Moore, Derwin Gray; MICHIGAN: Juwann Bushll-Beatty, Shea Patterson, Cesar Ruiz, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Zach Gentry, Sean McKeon, Michael Onwenu; MICHIGAN STATE: Felton Davis III; MINNESOTA: Balise Andries, Daniel Faalele, Mohamed Ibrahim, Conner Olson, Jared Weyler, Donnell Greene; NEBRASKA: Adrian Martinez, Brenden Jaimes, Boe Wilson; NORTHWESTERN: Cameron Green, Clayton Thorson, Flynn Nagel, Rashawn Slater; OHIO STATE: J.K. Dobbins, Terry McLaurin, Malcon Pridgeon, Thayer Munford; PENN STATE: KJ Hamler, Pat Freiermuth, Steven Gonzalez; PURDUE: Isaac Zico, Kirk Barron, Matt McCann; RUTGERS: Jonah Jackson; WISCONSIN: Jake Ferguson
This story was originally published November 28, 2018 at 6:34 PM.