All Badgers

Nick Herbig and Braelon Allen among 10 Big Ten preseason honorees

Two Wisconsin Badgers are among the top players in the Big Ten entering the 2022 season, earning preseason honors from the conference.

Matt Belz

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Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen and outside linebacker Nick Herbig continue to rack up preseason respect.

On Monday, the two Badgers were among the 2022 Big Ten football preseason honorees, each representing the West Division.

An annual distinction part of Big Ten Media Days, 10 total players from across the conference are selected by media members as some of the top players in the league.

The Big Ten media members vote for five players within each division ahead of the season.

Wisconsin was the only school in the Big Ten West to have multiple representatives, while Ohio State also had added three on the east side.

Here is the complete list of honorees:

B1G West

  • Braelon Allen (RB) - Wisconsin
  • Nick Herbig (OLB) - Wisconsin
  • Jack Campbell (LB) - Iowa
  • Peter Skoronski (OT) - Northwestern
  • Aidan O'Connell (QB) - Purdue

B1G East

  • Blake Corum (RB) - Michigan
  • Jayden Reed (WR) - Michigan State
  • C.J. Stroud (QB) - Ohio State
  • TreVeyon Henderson (RB) - Ohio State
  • Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR) - Ohio State

The news of Allen and Herbig making this annual list comes on the heels of missing out on the preseason Player of the Year award for the conference announced earlier Monday.

Allen finished third in the media-led voting for Offensive Player of the Year behind winner C.J. Stroud and teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Herbig was the runner-up on the defensive side of the ball, narrowly finishing behind Iowa's Jack Campbell, who led the country in total tackles a year ago.

For Allen, this is his third honor in the last week, as he previously made the Doak Walker Watch List and Maxwell Award Watch List. A freshman All-American a season ago, Allen finished last year as a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2021 despite playing sparingly in the team's first four games. Allen ended the season with 1,268 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago and ran for over 100-yards in eight games.

Herbig enters the 2022 season as the Big Ten's top returning sack artist from a year ago, finishing last year with nine sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore. The Hawaii native played a key role in helping Wisconsin have one of the top defenses in the country last season, and he was the third on the team in tackles with 64. Beyond this honor, Herbig has begun to generate some NFL Draft buzz and is also on the Lott Impact Trophy Watch List heading into the year.

The younger brother of current NFL offensive lineman Nate Herbig, Nick was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick in 2021 by the media but is a preseason All-American according to Lindy's and Phil Steele. Herbig is one of three current Badgers who will represent the team in Indianapolis for Big Ten Media Days, joining defensive tackle Keeanu Benton and quarterback Graham Mertz. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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