The No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes nearly swept the major individual honors for the 2025 Big Ten football season, securing five of the conference’s top awards while placing a bevy of players on the All-Big Ten teams.
The conference announced its defensive and offensive honors this week, with the undefeated Buckeyes (12-0) dominating the defensive side of the ball.
Here is the full breakdown of the Big Ten awards and All-Conference honors earned by Ohio State players this season.
Major Individual Awards
Ohio State became the first program in conference history to sweep the three primary defensive positional awards in a single season.
-
Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year: Caleb Downs (Safety)
-
Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year: Caleb Downs (Safety)
-
Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year: Kayden McDonald (Defensive Tackle)
-
Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year: Arvell Reese (Linebacker)
-
Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year: Jeremiah Smith (Wide Receiver)
-
Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year: Julian Sayin (Quarterback)
This marks the second consecutive year Jeremiah Smith has won the Receiver of the Year award. Caleb Downs is the first Buckeye to win Defensive Player of the Year since Chase Young in 2019.
All-Big Ten First Team
The Buckeyes saw significant representation on the first team, particularly on defense, where six starters were recognized by the media.
Offense
-
WR Jeremiah Smith (Coaches and Media)
-
WR Carnell Tate (Coaches and Media)
-
TE Max Klare (Coaches and Media)
Defense
-
S Caleb Downs (Coaches and Media)
-
DT Kayden McDonald (Coaches and Media)
-
LB Arvell Reese (Coaches and Media)
-
LB Sonny Styles (Coaches and Media)
-
DE Caden Curry (Media)
-
CB Davison Igbinosun (Media)
All-Big Ten Second Team
Quarterback Julian Sayin earned second-team honors in his debut season leading the offense.
Offense
-
QB Julian Sayin (Coaches and Media)
-
OT Luke Montgomery (Coaches and Media)
-
OG Austin Siereveld (Coaches)
-
RB Bo Jackson (Coaches)
Defense
-
DE Caden Curry (Coaches)
-
CB Davison Igbinosun (Coaches)
Special Teams
-
LS John Ferlmann (Media)
All-Big Ten Third Team
Offense
-
RB Bo Jackson (Media)
-
OL Carson Hinzman (Media)
-
OL Tegra Tshabola (Media)
-
OL Phillip Daniels (Media)
-
OG Austin Siereveld (Media)
Defense
-
CB Jermaine Mathews Jr. (Coaches)
-
S Jaylen McClain (Media)
Special Teams
-
LS John Ferlmann (Coaches)
Honorable Mentions
Several other Buckeyes received honorable mention recognition from either the coaches or the media:
-
Defense: DE Kenyatta Jackson Jr., S Lorenzo Styles Jr., DT Tywone Malone Jr., DT Eddrick Houston, LB Payton Pierce
-
Special Teams: KR/PR Brandon Inniss, K Jayden Fielding
-
Offense: TE Will Kacmarek, OT Tegra Tshabola (Coaches)”
