Athlon Sports releases preseason All-Big Ten team for 2025

Athlon Sports released its preseason All-Big Ten team for the 2025 college football season. There are plenty of stars to go around, so get ready to learn Big Ten football buddy!

Some of these guys are already established at their current schools and ready to make one last mark. Others transferred into new schools within the Big Ten and will look to elevate their games.

So with that, let’s dive into Athlon’s preseason All-Big team ahead of the 2025 season. We start with the quarterback.

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Quarterback

Drew Allar, Penn State

Allar is the guy within the Big Ten this season. The strong armed and big built quarterback could end up leading Penn State to a national title this season.

Last year, he had a career best 3,327 yards passing across 16 games, one shy of the national championship. He also tossed 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions to go along with a 66.5% completion percentage.

Running Back

Nick Singleton, Penn State; Makhi Hughes, Oregon; AP Kaytron Allen, Penn State

Singleton and Allen return to the Penn State backfield to help the Nittany Lions’ national title chase. Both can run and catch out of the backfield.

Hughes comes to Oregon from Tulane where he ran for 2,779 yards, 22 touchdowns and 5.2 yards per carry over two years. He’ll be an instant impact player for the Ducks as he looks to help them repeat in the Big Ten.

Wide Receiver

Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State; Elijah Sarratt, Indiana; Carnell Tate, Ohio State

Smith is arguably the best wide receiver in the country, not just the Big Ten. He’ll be joined by Tate, his teammate, on this Athlon list. Once again, the Buckeyes have a stud group of wide receivers.

Sarratt was a stud at James Madison and then transitioned quite well to Indiana last year. In two seasons, he has 135 catches for 2,148 yards, 16 touchdowns and 15.9 yards per catch.

Tight End

Max Klare, Ohio State

Klare comes to Ohio State from Purdue after three seasons. He broke out in 2024 by playing in all 12 games for the Boilermakers.

Klare finished with 51 catches for 685 yards, four touchdowns and 13.4 yards per catch. He has 73 career receptions coming to the Buckeyes.

Offensive Line

Logan Jones, Iowa; Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State; JC Davis, Illinois; Riley Mahlman, Wisconsin; Gennings Dunker, Iowa

Iowa gets two offensive linemen on this Big Ten preseason list, showing that it won’t be a problem this season. Ioane stars for Penn State and he’ll be key for the passing and running game operating at 100%

Davis and Mahlman are stars in their own right. Mahlman will be an interesting player to follow this season as Fickell looks to build some of that old school Wisconsin style.

Defensive Line

Mikail Kamara, Indiana; Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State; Matayo Uiagalelei, Oregon; Derrick Moore, Michigan

These defensive linemen should be standouts in the Big Ten. Dennis-Sutton is the big one of the bunch and a potential first-round pick. Uiagalelei could make some big waves for the Ducks this season once again.

Kamara will be key to Indiana’s defense, especially if the team wants to stay at the level of 2024. Moore will step up after the graduation of guys like Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant.

Linebacker

Bryce Boettcher, Oregon; Gabe Jacas, Illinois; Aiden Fisher, Indiana; Sonny Styles, Ohio State

Jacas had a great 2024 campaign for the Fighting Illini, so he certainly stands out. He logged 13 tackles for loss and eight sacks last fall, to go along with 74 total tackles.

Styles was unreal, getting 100 tackles, 11 for loss and six sacks. Fisher and Boettcher round out the group that will star this Big Ten season.

Defensive Back

D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana; Dillon Thieneman, Oregon; Caleb Downs, Ohio State; Koi Perich, Minnesota

Everyone knows how good down Downs is. He was the freshman of the year while at Alabama and was even better in 2024 while helping Ohio State to a national title.

Thieneman is an intriguing transfer, starring at Purdue and now trying to help Oregon win it all. Ponds and Perich may be under the radar nationwide, but within the Big Ten, they could achieve all-star status.

Specialists

K Dominic Zvada, Michigan; P Rhys Dakin, Iowa; KR and PR Kaden Wetjen, Iowa

Zvada is very accurate and Michigan should certainly rely on him again this season. Especially if the team is scoring a lot, maybe just extra points!

Iowa is dominating special teams again with a punter as well as a return man. Wetjen is on here twice, fielding both kicks.