Michigan leads the way with 17 Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten selections

Michigan Wolverines football had just seven players land on Athlon Sports’ preseason All-Big Ten lists heading into last season, tied for the eighth-most in the league. After winning the Big Ten and appearing in the College Football Playoff, Michigan has 10 more selections, 17 total, ahead of the 2022 campaign, more than any other team.

Ohio State is second with 16, and Iowa and Michigan State were the only other programs in double digits, both with 11.

Four Michigan players landed on the first team, three on the second team, six on the third team and four on the fourth team.

Athlon Sports’ Steven Lassan noted that the lists “are based on how players will perform in 2022. Career statistics and awards matter in the evaluation, but choosing players for the 2022 all-conference team is largely based on predicting and projecting the best for the upcoming year.”

First team

Michigan’s first-team honorees are junior running back Blake Corum, graduate left tackle Ryan Hayes, senior defensive tackle Mazi Smith and graduate kicker Jake Moody.

Despite missing two-plus games last season and playing at less than 100-percent health in others, Corum racked up 952 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. He also added 24 receptions for 141 yards and one score, and returned 12 kickoffs for 304 yards. He was also named to the fourth team as a kick returner.

Hayes is a three-year starter on the Michigan offensive line, and helped the group win the Joe Moore Award last season. He’s opened 18 career games and is considered a 2023 NFL Draft prospect. He allowed 27 pressures and three sacks last season, per Pro Football Focus.

Smith established himself on the Michigan defensive line last season, and by all accounts he has another gear in him. Many expect him to showcase even more this coming season, with head coach Jim Harbaugh saying he might be the team’s best defender. He registered 37 tackles, 2.5 stops for loss, four pass breakups and 21 pressures last season.

It’s no surprise Moody made the cut here. The three-time All-Big Ten honoree was a 2021 consensus All-American and Michigan’s first ever Lou Groza Award winner, which is handed out to the nation’s top kicker. He led the team with 125 points, the second-highest single-season total in program history and most-ever by a kicker, nailing 23 of his 25 field goal attempts with a program-record 56 extra points. He also sailed 98 kickoffs with a 62.8-yard average and 65 touchbacks.

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Second team

Michigan sophomore running back Donovan Edwards, graduate center Olusegun Oluwatimi and junior right guard Zak Zinter are the Maize and Blue’s second-team choices.

Edwards and Corum hope to be the nation’s top running back duo, and each has a different skillset. A former five-star recruit per the On3 Consensus, Edwards carried 35 times for 174 yards and three touchdowns a year ago, while also shining as a pass-catcher, hauling in 20 receptions for 265 yards and one score. With Hassan Haskins off to the NFL, Edwards will be a headliner in the Michigan backfield.

Oluwatimi has been named a ‘way-too-early All-American’ by ESPN, so he may have a case to be on the first team. Regardless, he’ll be one of Michigan’s most important players this fall, manning the center spot on an offensive line with three returning starters. The newcomer from Virginia was a finalist for the Rimington Award last season and was one of the top transfer additions in the Big Ten this offseason.

Zinter was banged up for much of last season, playing with a club on his hand after breaking a bone just before the season began. He’s appeared in 19 games with 17 starts and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection last year by the league’s coaches.

Third team

Michigan’s third-teamers are graduate wide receiver Ronnie Bell, senior tight end Erick All, senior left guard Trevor Keegan, sophomore linebacker Junior Colson, senior cornerback DJ Turner and junior punt returner A.J. Henning.

Bell led Michigan in receiving in 2019 and 2020 and has racked up 1,380 receiving yards and five touchdowns during his career. The former two-star recruit is a returning captain and expected to be a focal point in the offense after recovering from an ACL injury he suffered in the 2021 season-opener.

All was an All-Big Ten honorable mention last season, when he caught 38 passes for 437 yards — both marks ranked second on the Michigan team — and scored two touchdowns. The highlight of his year was a 47-yard touchdown catch and run that served as the game-winner at Penn State. He returned for another year and is considered one of the country’s best tight ends.

Keegan played through a shoulder injury last season but began playing his best football toward the end of the campaign. The 6-6, 324-pounder was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick.

Michigan’s linebacking corps received a big boost when Colson became a starter midseason. He finished fourth among the Wolverines’ defenders with 61 tackles, and is now the leader of his position group.

Another to breakout at the midway point of the 2021 Michigan season was Turner. He registered two interceptions and posted a team-best 83.3 PFF coverage grade, with 26 receptions, 267 yards and two touchdowns allowed on 59 targets.

Henning was a third-team All-Big Ten performer as a return man last season. He notched a kickoff return touchdown and totaled 177 yards on seven attempts. He also brought back 29 punts for 274 yards.

Fourth team

Michigan’s standouts on the fourth team are senior wide receiver Cornelius Johnson, junior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, graduate punter Brad Robbins and Corum as a kick returner.

Johnson led Michigan in receptions (39) and receiving yards (620) last year with three touchdowns, which was tied for the team’s lead.

Jenkins is primed to be a breakout star on the Michigan defensive line, which is replacing three starters. He made 22 tackles and a half-stop for loss. Harbaugh named him one of the spring’s biggest standouts.

Robbins is a two-time All-Big Ten honoree and totaled 45 punts for 2,085 yards (46.3 average), the second-best single-season average in program history, a year ago.

Michigan preseason All-Big Ten selections

First Team	RB Blake Corum, OL Ryan Hayes, DL Mazi Smith, K Jake Moody
Second Team	RB Donovan Edwards, OL Olusegun Oluwatimi, OL Zak Zinter
Third Team	WR Ronnie Bell, TE Erick All, OL Trevor Keegan, LB Junior Colson, CB DJ Turner, PR A.J. Henning
Fourth Team	WR Cornelius Johnson, DL Kris Jenkins, P Brad Robbins, KR Blake Corum

Preseason All-Big Ten selections by team

Team	Number Of Selections
Michigan	17
Ohio State	16
Iowa	11
Michigan State	11
Minnesota	9
Purdue	9
Penn State	8
Maryland	8
Illinois	7
Nebraska	7
Wisconsin	7
Indiana	6
Northwestern	6
Rutgers	6