Five Gophers named Phil Steele preseason All-Big Ten
Recently, Phil Steele released his annual preseason magazine which included his preseason all-conference selections including for the Big Ten. Amongst the four all-Big Tent teams, five Minnesota players were included.
Starting at running back, Gophers junior Darius Taylor was named fourth Big Ten alongside Rutgers’ standout CJ Campbell.
Taylor in 2024 totaled 1,336 yards and 12 touchdowns from scrimmage with 986 rushing yards and 350 receiving yards. He also had 12 total touchdowns on the year. His 1,336 yards from scrimmage ranked eighth in the Big Ten overall while his 12 total touchdowns ranked seventh.
Oregon’s Makhi Hughes and Penn State’s Nick Singleton both earned first-team nods while Washington’s Jonah Coleman and Penn State’s Kaytron Allen were second-team selections. The third team was comprised of Michigan’s Justice Haynes and Ohio State’s James Peoples.
Taylor was the only Gophers’ offensive player to be named to an All-Big Ten team.
On defense, Gophers defensive tackle Deven Eastern was named third-team All-Big Ten while defensive end Anthony Smith was a fourth-team selection.
Eastern is coming off a strong 2024 campaign in which he totaled 27 tackles including five tackles for loss and two sacks. Anthony Smith, enjoyed a breakout eason last fall with 27 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and six sacks. He also had one forced fumble.
Safety Koi Perich was a second-team selection alongside Penn State’s Zakee Wheatley. Ohio State’s Caleb Downs and Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman, took the first team selections. Perich was also named a third-team punt returner while long snapper Alan Soukup earned fourth-team selection.
Perich was among the nation’s best safeties as a true freshman in 2024 with 46 tackles, three tackles for loss, and five interceptions. He also had three pass deflections and one forced fumble. When it came to punt returns, he averaged 9.4 yards per return, over 20 attempts, totaling 188 yards. He also had 314 kickoff return yards on 16 returns.
