Eight Badgers earn offensive honors
MADISON - One day after 12 members of Wisconsin’s top-ranked defense received all-conference football honors, eight members of the offense were honored by the Big Ten.
Freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor, along with two of his linemen — guard Beau Benzschawel and tackle Michael Deiter, both redshirt juniors — led the way for UW as consensus first-team picks.
Senior tight end Troy Fumagalli was a first-team pick by the coaches and second team by the media.
Other Badgers recognized were sophomore tackle David Edwards (second team, coaches and media), freshman center Tyler Biadasz (third team, coaches and media) and sophomore wide receiver Quintez Cephus and sophomore quarterback Alex Hornibrook (honorable mention, coaches and media).
Ohio State led the Big Ten with 11 offensive players honored, including seven on the first, second and third teams.
The Badgers (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) and Buckeyes (10-2, 8-1) play for the Big Ten title at 7:17 p.m. Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Taylor has started 11 of 12 games and leads the Big Ten in rushing with an average of 150.5 yards per game. That is 51.3 yards more than the No. 2 runner, Ohio State freshman J.K. Dobbins
(99.2 ypg).
Dobbins was a consensus secondteam pick.
Taylor has 13 rushing touchdowns, the No. 2 mark in the league behind Penn State’s Saquon Barkley (16), the other consensus first-team running back.
Fumagalli is arguably the most complete tight end in the league. His blocking has helped UW average 243.3 rushing yards per game and he leads UW in receptions (38) and is second on the team in receiving yards (471).
Benzschawel was a second-team pick by the coaches and a third-team pick by the media in 2016. Deiter was a consensus honorable-mention pick last season.
Deiter this season made the transition to left tackle after starting a combined 27 games at center and left guard in his first two seasons.
Hornibrook completed 15 of 19 attempts for 151 yards and three touchdowns in the regular-season finale against Minnesota. On the season, he has completed 63.9% of his passes for 2,157 yards with 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Cephus leads UW in receiving yards (501) and touchdown catches (six) and is second in receptions (30) despite missing the final three regular-season games. He suffered a season-ending right leg injury at Indiana.
The Big Ten’s individual awards will be announced Thursday.