Trio of Hoosiers Featured on ESPN's Top 100 College Football Players

Indiana's Michael Penix Jr., Ty Fryfogle and Tiawan Mullen made ESPN's top 100 college football player list heading into the 2021 season.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — ESPN released its top 100 players heading into the 2021 college football season, and three Indiana players made the list.

Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. checked in at No. 45, wide receiver Ty Fryfogle was No. 54, and cornerback Tiawan Mullen was No. 75.

There were 13 quarterbacks ranked ahead of Penix on the list. One of which is Desmond Ridder, the Cincinnati QB who Indiana will see at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 18. Penix was the only Big Ten QB to make the list.

The ESPN bio for Penix read, "Penix is coming into the 2021 season recovering from a torn ACL, with Indiana coach Tom Allen saying his recovery has been on schedule. Before the injury, he threw for 1,645 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions in six games. If the Hoosiers are going to repeat their 2020 success, they're going to need Penix to be the player he was before the injury, and then some."

Fryfogle was the eighth wide receiver to be named on the list. Ohio State's Chris Olave (6) and Garrett Wilson (19) were ahead of the Hoosier wideout, and Penn State's Jahan Dotson was behind Fryfogle at No. 95. Those were the only four Big Ten receivers on the list.

The ESPN bio on Fryfogle read, "Fryfogle led the Hoosiers with 721 receiving yards and seven touchdowns last season, and he did that on 37 catches. Now with fellow receiver Whop Philyor, who led the team in receptions, off to the NFL, Fryfogle could see his stats increase even more. The coaches brought in transfer D.J. Matthews from Florida State, but Fryfogle has become a big target for Penix."

For Mullen, he was the sixth cornerback to be featured on the list. Like Ridder was with Penix, Cincinnati's Ahmad Gardner had a higher CB rating than Mullen at No. 26. However, Mullen was the only Big Ten cornerback to make the list.

The ESPN bio on Mullen read, "Mullen is one of the most important players on an Indiana defense that gave Big Ten opponents fits in 2020. In eight games, he recorded 38 total tackles, 4.5 for loss, three interceptions, seven pass deflections and a forced fumble. The junior became the first Indiana cornerback to earn first-team All-America honors in 2020 and will be a key player for Indiana to have success again in 2021."

Penix, Fryfogle and Mullen all weren't ranked heading into the 2020 season. For Indiana to see three players make the cut shows the growth and talent that Tom Allen has brought and continues to bring to Bloomington.

Indiana, which is ranked No. 17 in the preseason AP top 25 poll, will open its season on the road against No. 18 Iowa on Sept. 4. The game starts at 3:30 p.m. ET, and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. As of Tuesday morning, Iowa is a 3.5-point favorite according to sports gambling website FanDuel.com. The over/under is 46.5 points.

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