B1G represented well on 2021 AP All-America teams
The AP All-America team, selected by a panel of Top 25 college football poll voters, was released Monday.
Alabama had more first-team players than any other school, but Ohio State led all schools with 7 total players on the three teams. Joining the Buckeyes’ 3 star wide receivers and quarterback CJ Stroud were offensive linemen Thayer Munford and Nicholas Petit-Frere, defensive lineman Haskell Garrett, and kicker Noah Ruggles.
To better reflect a more positionless game on defense and an offensive style of play that features more passing than ever before, the AP added 2 spots to each team, one on each side of the ball: an extra wideout and an extra defensive back.
Because of the change, Ohio State became the first school ever to have 3 wideouts earn All-America honors in the same season. Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson made the Second Team and Jaxon Smith-Njigba was a third-team pick. Add in Alabama’s Jameson Williams, an Ohio State transfer, and 4 receivers who played for the Buckeyes in 2020 made the AP All-America teams this season.
Michigan, the Big Ten’s College Football Playoff representative this season, had a pair of first-teamers in Heisman runner-up Aidan Hutchinson and kicker Jake Moody, as well as a second-team selection for linebacker David Ojabo and a third-team selection for running back Hassan Haskins.
In total, the Big Ten had 24 players selected for the 3 teams. The 5 players on the First Team were the second-most among FBS conferences, only behind the SEC’s 9
Here are the Big Ten players on the First Team:
- Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State RB
- Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa C
- David Bell, Purdue WR
- Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan EDGE
- Jake Moody, Michigan K
And those on the Second Team:
- Nicholas Petit-Frere, Ohio State OT
- Thayer Munford, Ohio State OG
- Chris Olave, Ohio State WR
- Garrett Wilson, Ohio State WR
- Haskell Garrett, Ohio State DL
- Leo Chenal, Wisconsin LB
- David Ojabo, Michigan LB
- Jaquan Brisker, Penn State S
- JoJo Domann, Nebraska DB
- Noah Ruggles, Ohio State K
And the Third Team:
- C.J. Stroud, Ohio State QB
- Hassan Haskins, Michigan RB
- Josh Seltzner, Wisconsin OG
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State WR
- Jahan Dotson, Penn State WR
- George Karlaftis, Purdue DL
- Riley Moss, Iowa CB
- Caleb Shudak, Iowa K
- Jordan Stout, Penn State P