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Makai Lemon, Bishop Fitzgerald among USC Trojans named to 2025 All-Big Ten Football Team

Erik-McKinneyby: Erik McKinney7 hours agoErikTMcKinney

Several USC Trojans were named to the 2025 All-Big Ten Football Teams this week with wide receiver Makai Lemon and safety Bishop Fitzgerald leading the way.

Lemon and Fitzgerald were the two First-Team selections for the Trojans. Lemon was joined at receiver by the Ohio State duo of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. He posted a phenomenal junior season with 79 receptions for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns through the air, another two touchdowns rushing and a 24-yard touchdown pass. Lemon is also one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s best wide receiver.

Fitzgerald missed the final two games of the season due to injury but finished the year with 51 tackles, one sack, three pass deflections and five interceptions. He returned one of those picks for a touchdown in the season-opener. He’s joined on the first team by fellow safeties Caleb Downs of Ohio State and Dillon Thieneman of Oregon.

Other USC Trojans on All-Big Ten Teams

Tight end Lake McRee was named to the Second Team offense. The redshirt senior caught a career-best 30 passes for 450 yards and four touchdowns this season and was a constant presence in the USC running game.

Quarterback Jayden Maiava was named to the Third Team offense. With two Heisman Trophy favorites at the position in the same conference, it was going to be tough to push much higher than that. Maiava finished his redshirt junior season with 3,431 passing yards on a 66.2 completion rate, with a career-best 23 touchdown passes against eight interceptions. He also added six scores on the ground.

Kicker Ryon Sayeri was named to the Third Team as well. The redshirt freshman walk-on had a strong season, connecting on 17-of-21 field goals, all 47 of his extra points and had a 70% touchback rate on kickoffs.

Honorable Mention USC Trojans

USC Trojans named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten on offense included offensive linemen Alani Noa, Justin Tauanuu and Tobias Raymond, wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane, tight end Walker Lyons and running back King Miller. Only Oregon had more honorable mention selections on offense than USC.

On defense, Honorable Mention went to defensive linemen Anthony Lucas and Devan Thompkins, linebacker Eric Gentry and safety Kamari Ramsey.

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Garry Paskwietz was a pioneer in bringing team-specific sports coverage to the internet. He founded WeAreSC in 1998 and was an Emmy winner for his work with Fox Sports West. Always generous with his time, knowledge, and compassion, he touched the lives of countless USC and high school football fans.

Garry Paskwietz