Athlon All-Big Ten

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Seven Fighting Illini were named to Athlon Sports' four Preseason All-Big Ten teams, the news outlet announced. Owen Carney Jr. and Jake Hansen led the group as second team defense selections, while Doug Kramer (3rd), Alex Palczewski (3rd), Blake Hayes (3rd), Chase Brown (4th), and James McCourt (4th) were also a part of Athlon's picks.

OLB Owen Carney Jr. (Second Team Defense)
Carney was an All-Big Ten second team selection last season by both the coaches and media before coming back for his super senior season in 2021. He was fourth in the Big Ten in sacks (5.0) and 13th in TFLs (7.0) during the abbreviated 2020 season. His 3.0 sacks against Purdue 10/31/20 tied for seventh all-time in a game for an Illini.

LB Jake Hansen (Second Team Defense)
Hansen has been one of the most productive defenders in the nation over the last two years, while leading college football in takeaways from 2020-21. He was an All-Big Ten second team selection by the media last year and had the No. 3 tackling grade in the nation according to PFF. In 2019, Hansen was a Butkus Award semifinalist after leading the nation in forced fumbles (7) and forced fumbles per game (0.78) and ranking sixth in the nation in fumble recoveries (3).

C Doug Kramer (Third Team Offense)
The four-year starter Kramer has been a consistent force in the middle of Illinois' offensive line since 2017. He was an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection each of the last two seasons and was the No. 8 graded center in the nation and No. 3 in Power-5 by PFF (79.2) during his last full season in 2019. Kramer is the No. 7 ranked center prospect for next year's NFL Draft according to Mel Kiper.

OL Alex Palczewski (Third Team Offense)
Palczewski has started 40 games for the Orange and Blue, tied for the most on the team and eight away from tying the all-time Illinois record. He was an All-Big Ten third team selection as a junior in 2019, before suffering a knee injury in 2020 and missing half the season.

P Blake Hayes (Third Team Specialists)
The 2019 Big Ten Punter of the Year Hayes has been one of the best punters in Illinois history. He is the Illini's all-time leader in punts inside the 20 and total punt yards and ranks second in career punting average. Hayes is the No. 5 ranked punter prospect for next year's NFL Draft according to Mel Kiper.

RB Chase Brown (Fourth Team Offense)
Brown had a breakout season in 2020 while splitting running back duties with Mike Epstein. Brown was an All-Big Ten third team selection by the media and the Canadian was the Football Canada 2020 Fans Choice Canadian NCAA Player of the Year. He ran for 540 yards and three touchdowns on 104 carries (5.2 yards/carry) on the season, including back-to-back 100+ yard performances at Rutgers and Nebraska.

K James McCourt (Fourth Team Specialists)
McCourt is a two-year starter for the Illini and has gone 19-of-29 on field goals in 20 career games. His four career 50+ yard field goals are tied for the second-most in Illinois history and one back of the all-time record set by Chase McLaughlin from 2014-18. McCourt is one of only four kickers in Illini history with two game-winning field goals in the final minute, having game-winners against No. 6 Wisconsin in 2019 and at Rutgers in 2020.

Big Ten Football 2021 All-Conference Team

First-Team Offense  
QB       Michael Penix, Indiana
RB       Tyler Goodson, Iowa
RB       Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota
AP/WR  Jahan Dotson, Penn State
WR      Chris Olave, Ohio State
WR      Garrett Wilson, Ohio State
TE       Jake Ferguson, Wisconsin
C          Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa
OL       Thayer Munford, Ohio State
OL       Peter Skoronski, Northwestern
OL       Nicholas Petit-Frere, Ohio State
OL       Rasheed Walker, Penn State           

First-Team Defense 
DL       Zach Harrison, Ohio State
DL       Haskell Garrett, Ohio State
DL       Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
DL       George Karlaftis, Purdue
LB        Micah McFadden, Indiana
LB        Olakunle Fatukasi, Rutgers
LB        Jack Sanborn, Wisconsin
CB       Tiawan Mullen, Indiana
CB       Cam Taylor-Britt, Nebraska
S          Jaquan Brisker, Penn State
S          Brandon Joseph, Northwestern           

First-Team Specialists         
K         Charles Campbell, Indiana
P          Tory Taylor, Iowa
KR       Aron Cruickshank, Rutgers
PR       Charlie Jones, Iowa           

Second-Team Offense   
QB       C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
RB       Jalen Berger, Wisconsin
RB       Master Teague, Ohio State
AP/RB  Cam Porter, Northwestern
WR      Ty Fryfogle, Indiana
WR      David Bell, Purdue
TE       Peyton Hendershot, Indiana
C          John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota
OL       Cody Ince, Iowa
OL       Blaise Andres, Minnesota
OL       Logan Bruss, Wisconsin
OL       Mike Miranda, Penn State           

Second-Team Defense
DL/LB  Owen Carney, Illinois
DL       Zach VanValkenburg, Iowa
DL       Jacub Panasiuk, Michigan State
DL       Tyreke Smith, Ohio State
LB        Chris Bergin, Northwestern
LB        Jake Hansen, Illinois
LB        JoJo Domann, Nebraska
CB       Matt Hankins, Iowa
CB       Sevyn Banks, Ohio State
S          Jack Koerner, Iowa
S          Nick Cross, Maryland           

Second-Team Specialists     
K         Connor Culp, Nebraska
P          Adam Korsak, Rutgers
KR       TJ Sheffield, Purdue
PR       Jahan Dotson, Penn State

Third-Team Offense
QB       Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
RB       Noah Cain, Penn State
RB       Hassan Haskins, Michigan
AP/WR Bo Melton, Rutgers
WR      Dontay Demus, Maryland
WR      Ronnie Bell, Michigan
WR      Jalen Nailor, Michigan State
TE       Sam LaPorta, Iowa
C          Doug Kramer, Illinois
OL       Alex Palczewski, Illinois
OL       Andrew Stueber, Michigan
OL       Harry Miller, Ohio State
OL       Conner Olson, Minnesota           

Third-Team Defense   
DL       Ben Stille, Nebraska
DL       P.J. Mustipher, Penn State
DL       Boye Mafe, Minnesota
DL       Mike Tverdov, Rutgers
LB        Leo Chenal, Wisconsin
LB        Jack Campbell, Iowa
LB        Brandon Smith, Penn State
CB       Jaylin Williams, Indiana
CB       Tariq Castro-Fields, Penn State
CB       Riley Moss, Iowa
S          Devon Matthews, Indiana
S          Dax Hill, Michigan           

Third-Team Specialists       
K         Matt Coghlin, Michigan State
P          Blake Hayes, Illinois
KR       Devin Chandler, Wisconsin
PR       D.J. Matthews, Indiana           

Fourth-Team Offense      
QB       Graham Mertz, Wisconsin
RB       Chase Brown, Illinois
RB       Isaih Pacheco, Rutgers
AP/RB  Zander Horvath, Purdue
WR      Rakim Jarrett, Maryland
WR      Chris Autman-Bell, Minnesota
WR      Parker Washington, Penn State
TE       Jeremy Ruckert, Ohio State
C          Sam Gerak, Northwestern
OL       Jaelyn Duncan, Maryland
OL       Caleb Jones, Indiana
OL       Sam Schlueter, Minnesota
OL       Tyler Beach, Wisconsin           

Fourth-Team Defense         
DL       Mosiah Nasili-Kite, Maryland
DL       Keeanu Benton, Wisconsin
DL       Julius Turner, Rutgers
DL       Adetomiwa Adebawore, Northwestern
DL       Drew Beesley, Michigan State
LB        Josh Ross, Michigan
LB        Nick Herbig, Wisconsin
LB        Teradja Mitchell, Ohio State
CB       Tre Avery, Rutgers
CB       Caesar Williams, Wisconsin
CB       Cory Trice, Purdue
CB       Tarheeb Still, Maryland
S          Deontai Williams, Nebraska
S          Christian Izien, Rutgers           

Fourth-Team Specialists  
K         James McCourt, Illinois
P          Brad Robbins, Michigan
KR       Jayden Reed, Michigan State
PR       Cam Taylor-Britt, Nebraska

Preseason All-Big Ten by School

13 Ohio State
11 Iowa
11 Wisconsin
10 Indiana
10 Penn State
9 Rutgers
8 Minnesota
7 Illinois
7 Michigan
6 Maryland
6 Nebraska
6 Northwestern
5 Michigan State
5 Purdue