After seeing 11 Hawkeyes earn All-Big Ten honors on defense and special teams on Tuesday, there was some trepidation among Iowa fans as to whether the Hawkeyes would have anyone other than center Tyler Linderbaum earn similar honors of the offensive side of the ball. Iowa has had their struggles on offense this season and those struggles have certainly been pointed out by fans and media alike.
But on Wednesday, the Hawkeyes earned a smidge more respect from the Big Ten coaches and media when it came time to name the All-Big Ten teams. Iowa had five players recognized. They were, of course, led by superstar center Tyler Linderbaum who was named the Rimington-Pace Offensivee Lineman of the Year.
.@TLinderbaum is the heart of the @HawkeyeFootball O-line and has solidified himself as one of the best OLs in the country.@B1Gfootball - pic.twitter.com/XJxrQD4kXI
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 1, 2021
Linderbaum is Iowa’s ninth player to win the award and the first since Tristan Wirfs took home the honors in 2019. The converted defensive tackle has started the last 33 games for Iowa at center and finds himself as a finalist for both the Rotary Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy. He’s on the Rimington Trophy watch list and is a shoe in to be a finalist for that as well.
The Solon native earned midseason All-America honors from the Associate Press, The Athletic, CBS Sports and Sporting News. He was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year by Pro Football Focus after posting the best run blocking grade of any center in the country since 2014.
Tyler Linderbaum: 96.3 run blocking grade this season
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) December 1, 2021
Highest grade by a Center since 2014 pic.twitter.com/3K3zp70Bed
Linderbaum was the only Hawkeye to earn First Team All-Big Ten honors, but was joined by four other members of the offense, including two other offensive linemen in being recognized Wednesday.
Offensive guard Kyler Schott was named Second Team All-Big Ten by the coaches and Third Team by the media. Schott has started 17 games for the Hawkeyes while playing in 24 over his career. After battling injuries, the senior has started the last 8 games for Iowa at left guard.
Along with Schott, junior tight end Sam LaPorta was named to the Third Team by the coaches and Honorable Mention by the media. LaPorta leads the Hawkeyes in both receptions and receiving yards with 486 yards on 40 catches for a 12.1 yards per catch average. He is second on the team with two receiving touchdowns on the year.
Junior running back Tyler Goodson was named Third Team All-Big Ten by the media and Honorable Mention by the coaches. Goodson became the first Hawkeye to top 1,000 yards rushing this year since Akrum Wadley achieved that in 2017. He leads the team in rushing with 1,101 yards on 238 attempts for a 4.1 yard per carry average. He’s found the endzone six times on the ground and once through the air. Goodson has added 219 receiving yards on 25 receptions for 8.8 yards per catch.
Redshirt freshman Mason Richman is the final Hawkeye to earn all-conference honors. He was named Honorable Mention by both the coaches and media. Richman has started 10 games this year while appearing in all 12. He was one of eight true freshman to see game action in 2020, appearing in three games.
Here’s a look at the full All-Big Ten offense teams as selected by the coaches and media.
All-@B1Gfootball Offensive Teams as selected by the Coaches & Media: pic.twitter.com/cKR3OUnEnW
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 1, 2021
The #13 Hawkeyes are set to take on the #2 Michigan Wolverines in the Big Ten Championship Game this Saturday at 7pm CT. The game will be broadcast on FOX.