The All-Big Ten teams and individual awards are out, and the league hands out its four major awards — Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Freshman of the Year — later Tuesday. As always, we’re handing out our endorsements for each award in advance of the announcement. We'll agree on some and differ on others.
Let's wrap up the endorsements with the league's top freshman.
Adam Rittenberg endorses Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg
This was the easiest decision of the four major awards, as Hackenberg is the only acceptable choice here. The true freshman started all 12 games for Penn State, finishing third in the Big Ten in passing yards (2,955) and tied for second in touchdown passes (20). He had some freshman moments but also showed tremendous poise in rallying Penn State to wins against Michigan and Illinois. Hackenberg ended his season with a signature performance against Wisconsin (339 pass yards, four touchdowns) as Penn State recorded the most surprising and impressive win of the Bill O'Brien era. Hackenberg won five Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards, including each of the last two weeks. The league had other good freshmen, such as Ohio State defensive lineman Joey Bosa, Wisconsin running back Corey Clement and Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr., but Hackenberg wins this award going away.
Brian Bennett endorses Hackenberg
Slam dunk. I think Hackenberg could win a lot of major awards before his career is done. I'd add Wisconsin's Sojourn Shelton and Ohio State's Dontre Wilson as other standout freshmen. But this one's a rout.
More endorsements:
