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Nick Bosa wins conference DLineman of the year over Winovich, Gary, Hurst, and others

The numbers don’t lie, the Big Ten blew it

By David Noe
Dustin Johnston/Maize N Brew

Big Ten award week rolled on with the announcements of individual awards today. Among those announced was the Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year. Many believed that Maurice Hurst, Rashan Gary, and Chase Winovich had a great chance to win the award since they were at the top, or near the top, of every major defensive statistical category for defensive linemen in the conference. Well, that turned out to be incorrect.

“Player A” is Nick Bosa, standout sophomore defensive end for Ohio State. “Player B” is Chase Winovich. “Player C” is Rashan Gary. “Player D” is Maurice Hurst. Who won conference defensive lineman of the year?

Nick Bosa. To say the least, the Michigan faithful, and Michigan players, are displeased. Mo Hurst would like a word with the voters.

Mike McCray is skeptical. Chase Winovich disputes the results. Jack Wangler thinks there has been a mistake. Khaleke Hudson is in disbelief.

This isn’t solely an outrage for Michigan. There were other deserving players in the conference, too. Michigan State’s Kenny Willekes had 69 total tackles, 7 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. That’s 41 more tackles, two more TFLs, and one more sack than Bosa recorded. Northwestern’s Joe Gaziano had 29 tackles, 12.0 TFLs, and 8 sacks. That’s one more tackle, 0.5 TFLs fewer, and two more sacks than Bosa.

In my opinion, and not just because the other likely candidates were Wolverines, it’s hard to understanding how Bosa won this honor.

Poll

Who would you have selected as the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year?

This poll is closed

  • 16%
    Bosa
    (207 votes)
  • 34%
    Winovich
    (449 votes)
  • 3%
    Gary
    (44 votes)
  • 43%
    Hurst
    (561 votes)
  • 1%
    Willekes
    (17 votes)
  • 0%
    Gaziano
    (7 votes)
1285 votes total Vote Now

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