Despite an underwhelming regular season overall for the University of Wisconsin football team, the Badger offense was well represented during the Big Ten Awards with five offensive players receiving All Big Ten Team honors as selected by both conference coaches and media this week. On the defensive side, four Wisconsin players were selected by the coaches with two making the media’s list.
Star running back Jonathan Taylor was on both first team All-Big Ten lineups. Taylor was a workhorse all year for the Badgers, rushing for 1,977 yards in the regular season coming up just shy of 2,000 — though he will almost certainly surpass that mark in Wisconsin’s bowl game.
In typical Wisconsin fashion, four Badger offensive lineman earned All Big Ten honors. Center Tyler Biadasz and guards Michael Deiter and Beau Benzschawel made both first team All Big Ten lineups while tackle David Edwards was selected first team by the media and second team by the coaches.
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On the defensive end, linebacker TJ Edwards performed best earning first team All Big Ten from the media and second team from the coaches. Safety D’Cota Dixon was the only other Wisconsin defender selected for the media’s All Big Ten list on the third team though Dixon and linebackers Andrew Van Ginkel and Ryan Connelly made third team All Big Ten through the coaches selections.
Three Badgers came away with individual accolades in the Big Ten awards as well. Former Badger offensive lineman Jake Wood earned the Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award for Wood’s work in founding Team Rubicon, a non-profit organization centered on connecting former veterans to volunteer work in global disasters.
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On the current Badger team Taylor and Deiter earned individual honors as the Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year and the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year respectively.
Hopefully these awards will translate to on-field production for the Badgers during their bowl game this year and going forward in future seasons.
