Buckeyes litter Phil Steele preseason All-Big Ten teams

COLUMBUS — Surprise, surprise: Ohio State has the best roster in the Big Ten. And the preseason All-Big Ten teams from preseason college football magazine magnate Phil Steele reflects that.

Steele loves this Buckeyes team. And he littered the roster onto his preseason all-conference teams.

Steele puts out a first-team, a second-team, a third-team and a forth-team list for each conference.

On his first-team all-conference lineup, Steele lists seven Buckeyes players. On the offensive side of the ball, he has senior running back TreVeyon Henderson, senior wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and senior starting left guard Donovan Jackson on the first-team All-Big Ten team. Defensively, Steele has four Buckeyes listed. Those players are senior defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, senior defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, senior cornerback Denzel Burke and second-year safety Caleb Downs. Downs, of course, transferred to Ohio State from Alabama after becoming a Freshman All-American for the Crimson Tide as a first-year player. He started games for the Tide.

The other six, of course, all chose to return to the Buckeyes instead of leaving for the NFL this offseason.

Only two Buckeyes players made Phil Steele’s preseason second-team all-conference list. Those Buckeyes are senior starting right tackle Josh Fryar and senior defensive end Jack Sawyer. Both played pivotal roles for the Ohio State lineup last year and need to be stars for this team come this fall.

Four Buckeyes, two on offense and two on defense, are on the preseason third-team all-conference team.

Quarterback Will Howard, who transferred from Kansas State after becoming a multi-year starter and Big 12 champion for the Wildcats, is on Steele’s third-team all-conference list entering this season. Former All-SEC running back Quinshon Judkins, who transferred to the Buckeyes from Ole Miss this offseason, is also on the preseason third-team list, according to Steele.

Third-year linebacker Sonny Styles and third-year cornerback Davison Igbinosun both made the third-team list, as well.

No Buckeyes players made Steele’s preseason fourth-team All-Big Ten roster.

Jeremiah Smith, the five-star freshman and No. 1 overall player in the country for the class of 2024 according to the On3 Industry Rankings, was left off Steele’s four preseason all-conference lists.

Ohio State and Oregon led the way with 13 total players on the preseason All-Big Ten team. Michigan is second for the conference; the Wolverines had 11 players make the four teams.

Penn State had nine players crack the list of Phil Steele’s preseason All-Big Ten team.