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Big Ten lands 8 players on ESPN’s list of top non-QBs for 2025
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Big Ten football is gearing up for the 2025 season, looking to continue its current run of dominance atop college football.
Last season, Ohio State made it back-to-back national titles for the league, joining Michigan in 2023 as the most recent national champs. The Big Ten further stripped the SEC from the top spot by sending 4 teams to the College Football Playoff, placing 2 teams in the semifinals and watching as Oregon grabbed the first-ever No. 1 overall seed in the 12-team era.
Heading into 2025, the league features a deep crop of electric playmakers on either side of the ball. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg took it upon himself to compile a list of the top 25 playmakers in the country outside the quarterback position, and the B1G placed 8 stars on that list.
To little surprise, Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith cracked the list. The rising sophomore is already regarded as the top receiver in the country, and multiple analysts view Smith as the top overall player returning to college football this fall.
That belief is reflected in the latest Heisman Trophy odds produced by DraftKings. Smith has the 4th-lowest odds in the preseason, coming in at +1400 to win the honor. Only Penn State QB Drew Allar (+1000) has better odds than Smith among Big Ten players. (Be sure to grab the DraftKings promo code Ohio for the best offers on those odds.)
Ohio State and Penn State led Rittenberg’s list among B1G schools with 3 players each. Both teams also had a defensive player on the list.
The other schools represented on Rittenberg’s list are Oregon and Illinois. Those two programs both placed a single defender on the list in a pair of pass-rushers who should contend for All-B1G honors in the fall after key performances in 2024.
Here is Rittenberg’s full list of B1G stars to watch in the fall:
- Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State WR
- Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State DE
- Caleb Downs, Ohio State S
- Nick Singleton, Penn State RB
- Kaytron Allen, Penn State RB
- Gabe Jacas, Illinois OLB
- Max Klare, Ohio State TE
- Matayo Uiagalelei, Oregon OLB
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.