Dec. 2, 2013

All-Big Ten Teams

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Eight Ohio State Buckeyes were named first-team all-Big Ten Conference today in voting done by the head coaches and 36 members of the media (three representing each team in the conference).

Leading the way was Braxton Miller and Carlos Hyde. For the second consecutive year, Miller was named the Big Ten’s Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year. He was a first-team all-conference choice by both the coaches and the media. Miller is the Big Ten leader in passer efficiency with a 164.3 rating and leads the Big Ten with 295.0 yards of total offense per game in conference play. The junior has passed for 1,759 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for 891 yards and eight scores despite missing nearly three games early in the season.

Hyde was named the Big Ten’s Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year. The senior from Naples, Fla., leads the Big Ten in rushing with 143.3 yards per game along with 14 touchdowns, including 156.1 yards per game in Big Ten play. Hyde, who has rushed for 589 yards and seven touchdowns in the last three contests, also was named first-team all-conference by both the coaches and the media. With 1,290 yards, he became the first running back for an Urban Meyer-coached team to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He rushed for at least 100 yards in each of the last seven games, including two 200-yard performances.

Six other Buckeyes earned first-team all-Big Ten honors from the media including Corey Linsley, Jack Mewhort, Andrew Norwell, Bradley Roby, Ryan Shazier and Noah Spence.

Linsley, Mewhort and Norwell anchor a Buckeye offensive line that has helped Ohio State average a Big Ten-best 48.2 points per contest and 530.5 yards per game. The trio has guided the Ohio State rushing attack to rank first in the Big Ten and second in the NCAA with 321.3 yards per game. In the last five contests, the Buckeyes have upped those numbers to 379.6 rushing yards per game for an average of 8.6 yards per carry.

Roby is tied for the team lead with three interceptions and sits third on the team with 63 tackles. The 2012 first-team All-American leads the team with 13 pass break-ups and has blocked a pair of punts.

Shazier, a finalist for the Butkus Award and a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy, leads the Big Ten with 122 tackles, 21.0 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles. The junior linebacker has 50 tackles in his last three games, including 16 at Illinois, a career-high 20 against Indiana and 14 at Michigan.

Spence is second in the conference with 8.0 sacks and is tied for sixth with 13.5 tackles for loss. He tallied a career-best 2.0 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss in the Buckeyes’ 63-14 win over Penn State earlier this season.

In addition, Michael Bennett garnered second-team all-conference honors from the media while Corey “Philly” Brown was named a second-team all-conference receiver by the coaches.

Bennett, a junior defensive lineman, is tied for fourth in the conference with seven sacks and is third on the team with 11.5 tackles for loss. His two sacks and three tackles for loss against Indiana were both career highs. Brown leads the team with 50 catches and nine receiving touchdowns while tallying 602 receiving yards, a mark that ranks second on the team.

Earning honorable mention all-conference honors were C.J. Barnett, Drew Basil, Joey Bosa, Doran Grant, Marcus Hall, Jeff Heuerman, Cameron Johnston and Devin Smith.

Kenny Guiton, the valuable back-up quarterback who has thrown for 749 yards and 14 touchdowns this year, was named Ohio State’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.