Michigan football players well represented on latest All-Big Ten teams: Here's how I voted
Postseason awards continue to roll in for Michigan football, which had 14 members named to the Associated Press' All-Big Ten team on Wednesday.
The Wolverines had nine players on offense (four first team, five second team) and five on defense (two first team, three second team). As a voter for the AP awards, I had 11 Wolverines (seven offense, four defense) on my ballot.
On offense, quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Blake Corum and center Drake Nugent were all named to the first-team, while Zak Zinter was one of three players (Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison and Iowa punter Tory Taylor) to be a unanimous selection.
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The aforementioned Wolverines were on my first team ballot, as were wide receiver Roman Wilson and tight end Colston Loveland, both of which were named to the second team. Offensive guard Trevor Keegan was on both second-team ballots, while the final ballot also had Ladarius Henderson.
On defense, graduate defensive back Mike Sainristil and senior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins were the first-team representatives, while defensive lineman Mason Graham, defensive back Will Johnson, linebacker Junior Colson and kicker James Turner were named second-team overall.
I chose Sainristil and Colson for first team, with Graham and Jaylen Harrell on the second team.
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McCarthy beat out Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa for the top-team honor, as U-M's quarterback completed 213 of 287 passes (74.2% completions) for 2,630 yards, 19 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He also ran 57 times for 146 yards and three scores.
His top pass catchers were Wilson (41 catches, 662 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Loveland (40 catches, 572 yards, four touchdowns), which helped U-M's offense score 30 points or more in all but two games this season.
Corum wasn't unanimous in his selection like a season ago, but his historic year earned him more recognition all the same. The senior ran 218 times for, 1,028 yards (4.7 yards per attempt) and a Michigan single-season record 24 touchdowns. That put him into a tie for first place in program history with Anthony Thomas (1997-2000) with 55 scores.
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Nugent and Zinter, perhaps U-M's two most consistent offensive linemen — though Karsen Barnhart excelled while moving from left tackle to right tackle to right guard and was left off entirely — paved the way for McCarthy and Corum.
Nugent was flagged just once in 729 plays and only allowed one sack in 336 pass block attempts as he graded out as the seventh-best blocking center in the country out of 128 players with 490 snaps or more per Pro Football Focus.
Zinter, meanwhile, was unanimous, which may have happened even before he snapped both his tibia and fibula in heartbreaking fashion on senior night during the third quarter of U-M's 30-24 victory against Ohio State. U-M's graduate right guard played 649 snaps, didn't allow a single sack or quarterback hit in his 287 dropbacks, and graded out No. 13 (77.8) among 246 interior linemen in blocking for the season.
For Jesse Minter's unit, Sainristil emerged as one of the best defensive backs in the nation. The former receiver primarily played nickel, but proved versatile and capable enough to play corner as he had 29 tackles, six pass breakups, five interceptions, two forced fumbles, two sacks and scored three defensive touchdowns.
Colson had a team-high 79 tackles, Harrell had 28 tackles, a team-high 6½ sacks, and two forced fumbles and Mason Graham had 28 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble and a recovery.
Also, it's worth mentioning, U-M's defense was so talented, it cannibalized itself in some ways in my ballot.
Will Johnson, Kenneth Grant, Michael Barrett and Rod Moore are All-Big Ten talents who will likely play at the next level, but there are only 22 spots on defense for players on 14 teams. It fills up a lot faster than one might think when looking at numbers around the league, even if U-M's players have more than passed the eye test.
My final ballot
First-team offense
WR: Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
WR: Roman Wilson, Michigan
T: Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota
G: Zak Zinter, Michigan
G: Connor Colby, Iowa
C: Drake Nugent, Michigan
TE: Colston Loveland, Michigan
QB: J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
RB: Blake Corum, Michigan
RB: TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
K: Dragan Kesich, Minnesota
All-purpose: Kaytron Allen, Penn State
First-team defense
DE: Adisa Isaac, Penn State
DE: JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State
DT: Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois
DT: Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
LB: Jay Higgins, Iowa
LB: Nic Scourton, Purdue
LB: Junior Colson, Michigan
CB: Tarheeb Still, Maryland
CB: Mike Sainristil, Michigan
S: Sebastian Castro, Iowa
S: Tyler Nubin, Minnesota
P: Tory Taylor, Iowa
Second-team offense
WR: Isaiah Williams, Illinois
WR: Daniel Jackson, Minnesota
T: Donovan Jackson, Ohio State
T: Jack Nelson, Wisconsin
G: Trevor Keegan, Michigan
G: Josh Fryar, Ohio State
C: Caleb Murphy, Indiana
TE: Cade Stover, Ohio State
QB: Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
RB: Kyle Monangai, Rutgers
RB: Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
K: Alex Felkins, Penn State
All-purpose: Tyrone Tracy, Purdue
Second-team defense
DE: Jaylen Harrell, Michigan
DE: Joe Evans, Iowa
DT: Mason Graham, Michigan
DT: Simeon Barrow, Michigan State
LB: Bryce Gallagher, Northwestern
LB: Aaron Casey, Indiana
LB: Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State
CB: Dillon Thieneman, Purdue
CB: Ricardo Hallman, Wisconsin
S: Hunter Wohler, Wisconsin
S: Isaac Gifford, Nebraska
P: Ryan Eckley, Michigan State
Offensive Player of the Year: Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
Defensive Player of the Year: Jay Higgins, Iowa
Coach of the Year: David Braun, Northwestern
Newcomer of the Year: Kaden Prather, Maryland
Next up: Rose Bowl
Matchup: No. 1 Michigan (13-0) vs. No. 4 Alabama (12-1), CFP semifinal.
Kickoff: 5:10 p.m. Jan. 1; Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California.
TV/radio: ESPN; WXYT-FM (97.1), WTKA-AM (1050).
Line: Wolverines by 1½.
At stake: The winner faces the winner of No. 2 Washington and No. 4 Texas in the CFP title game Jan. 8.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football players well represented on latest All-Big Ten teams
