18 Big Ten Players Land on Lombardi Trophy Watchlist

A Quartet of Buckeyes

Four Buckeyes tied with Oklahoma State and Alabama for the most in the nation on the Lombardi Trophy watchlist. Donovan Jackson has made 26 consecutive starts for the Buckeyes and he appeared in another 13 games before that. Jackson is going for his third straight First-Team All-Big Ten selection and improving his 2025 NFL Draft stock.

The Buckeyes’ defensive line is loaded. In the middle, Tyleik Williams is a fourth-year defensive tackle for the Buckeyes and broke out last year. For his career, Williams has amassed 90 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, three sacks, five pass breakups, a forced fumble, and recovered a fumble for a touchdown.

On the edges, Jack Sawyer and Jaylahn Tuimoloau could be the top one-two punch at defensive end. Last year, Sawyer accounted for 48 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, six-and-a-half sacks, two pass breakups, and two forced fumbles. Tuimoloau is coming off of a career-best season where he amassed 38 tackles, seven tackles for loss, five sacks, two pass breakups, and recovered a fumble. He’s looking to make his third First-Team All-Big Ten in 2024.

Three Hawkeyes

Iowa has a pair of linebackers on the Lombardi Trophy watchlist. Jay Higgins led the country with 171 tackles a year ago to go with five tackles for loss, two sacks, an interception, four pass breakups, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. He was a First-Team All-American. Beside him is Nick Jackson. He transferred in last year and posted his fourth 100-tackle season. His 464 career tackles are 12th-most in college football history and he’s within 114 tackles for the most tackles in college football history.

Logan Jones started his Iowa career on the defensive line. After two years, Jones flipped to the offensive side before the 2022 season. He won the starting center job and started all 13 games for the Hawkeyes.

Three From Michigan

Two of the top defensive linemen in the nation, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant are set to lead Michigan in 2024. Graham is coming off his first First-Team All-Big Ten selection. He has amassed 63 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, over five sacks, two pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a recovered fumble. Despite only logging five starts in his time with the Wolverines, Grant has the attention of scouts everywhere. He’s an athletic freak with 29 games of experience over the last two seasons. In the CFP National Championship, he accounted for a sack, a pass breakup, and two solo tackles.

Colston Loveland has NFL written all over him. He was also honored on the Biletnikoff Award and Walter Camp Award watchlist. Last year, he appeared in all 15 games and recorded at least one catch in each. In total, Loveland amassed 649 yards and four touchdowns with 45 catches for the Wolverines.

Quack Quack Quack

Over the last three years, Jeffrey Bassa has been a productive defender. Bassa moved to linebacker from safety before the 2022 season and didn’t miss a step. For his career, Bassa has logged 182 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, three interceptions (one pick-six), and broke up two other passes.

Ajani Cornelius transferred to Oregon from Rhode Island before the 2023 season. With the Rams, Cornelius started 11 games between 2021 and 2022 and earned First-Team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors. He came right in and became the Ducks’ starting right tackle for all 14 games last year. He did not allow a single sack in 512 pass-blocking snaps.

Opposite Cornelius, Josh Conerly, Jr. has been a stalwart on the Ducks’ offensive line. In his two seasons, he started every game last year and appeared in every game as a freshman. He was one of the best tackles in the nation with only one sack off 511 pass-blocking snaps on one of the best offenses in the county.

Two Trojans

The best defensive tackles from the West Coast four joining the Big Ten, USC’s Bear Alexander transferred in from Georgia after the 2022 season and broke out for the Trojans last year. He recorded 48 tackles, six-and-a-half tackles for loss, one-and-a-half sacks, and broke up four passes.

A tackle-turned-center, Jonah Monheim is a fifth-year senior and returning captain for the Trojans. He was the first USC freshman to log starts at both tackles in 2021. In his career, Monheim has started 34 games in total; 18 at right tackle, 12 at left tackle, and four at right guard.

Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota

The Golden Gophers have a star at left tackle with Aireontae Ersery. After taking a couple of years to get going when he broke through, he made it worthwhile. He enters 2024 after starting each of the last 26 games for the Golden Gophers. Ersery was an AP First-Team All-Big Ten selection a year ago and earned Second-Team honors from the conference.

Xander Mueller, Northwestern

Xander Mueller has been Northwestern’s leading linebacker for the last two years. He’s coming off his first 100-tackle season and has amassed a total of 197 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, seven-and-a-half sacks, five interceptions, four pass breakups, forced a fumble, and recovered a fumble over the last two seasons.

Abdul Carter, Penn State

Abdul Carter is making a position change for Penn State in the fall. After earning First-Team All-Big Ten honors as a linebacker, Carter will be lining up as a defensive end. Last year, he made 48 tackles, five-and-a-half tackles for loss, four-and-a-half sacks, five pass breakups, an interception, and a forced fumble. Carter is on several preseason watchlists in addition to the Lombardi Trophy watchlist.

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