Big Ten Coaches, Writers Snub Nico Collins, Ronnie Bell
Ranking first, second, third and 16th on our countdown of the Top 25 players on the team, DE Aidan Hutchinson, WR Nico Collins, WR Ronnie Bell and RT Jalen Mayfield were largely ignored by the Big Ten's coaches and media members when the league announced its All-Big Ten teams last week (offense and defense).
Collins (coaches and media), Bell (media), and Mayfield (coaches) were named all-conference honorable mention while Hutchinson was voted third team by the media and was an honorable mention from the coaches.
According to more than 900 votes on Twitter, Collins was the biggest snub.
The junior wideout led Michigan in receiving touchdowns (seven) and yards per reception (20.6) but he had just 33 total catches for 681 yards. Among the six wide receivers named to the Big Ten's first, second or third team, the average WR caught 63 balls for 979 yards.
Bell caught a U-M team-high 44 balls for 705 yards but only one score. The average all-conference receiver had nine TD catches.
Every team in the Big Ten would likely welcome Collins or Bell with open arms (a potential first- or second-round NFL Draft pick, Collins is, inarguably, one of the six most talented wide receivers in the league) but with mediocre numbers, they don't have a strong case to voters that don't see them every week.
Hutchinson made more "impact" plays (15) - tackles for loss, sacks, interceptions, pass breakups, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries - than any defensive player on Michigan this season save senior Josh Uche. Hutchinson had 4.5 sacks among 8.5 total tackles for loss and set a U-M defensive lineman single-season record with six pass breakups (Ryan Van Bergen held the mark of four in 2009 and 2011).
However, like Michigan's wideouts, Hutchinson was likely prejudiced against because of a lack of big sack numbers - 12 different Big Ten defenders had seven sacks or more in 2019.
