Buckeye Linebacker Ryan Shazier Named Second Team Big Ten All-Decade
Multiple Buckeyes are expected to grace the list, and those former standouts began Monday afternoon as the team commenced with linebackers. Ryan Shazier (2011-13) landed second-team honors.
A 2x All-American, Shazier was picked behind other stars Chris Borland (Wisconsin), Devin Bush (Michigan) and Josey Jewell (Iowa) on the first team.
Shazier (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) flipped from Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators out of high school to play for Jim Tressel in Columbus. In a wild turn of events, he actually ended up competing one season for Luke Fickell and then two for Meyer anyways.
He played in every game as a freshman and made 57 tackles, the most by a true freshman since Andy Katzenmoyer, and then took over a starting role as a sophomore. Shazier led the conference in tackles for loss that second campaign (17), was named first team All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-America. He was second in the league with 115 total tackles, with one of those being a memorable game-saving stop against Wisconsin on fourth-and-inches.
Shazier’s junior season was even more impressive with 143 tackles, ranking top-three nationally in both solo stops (101) and tackles for loss (22.5). He was a first team All-American and finalist for the Butkus Award, presented to the nation’s top linebacker.
Shazier ended his three-year stretch with a whopping 315 stops, making 45.5 for a loss in just 39 games and helped the Buckeyes achieve an undefeated 12-0 season in 2012. He was eventually drafted in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers and was on his way to a stellar NFL journey, making the Pro Bowl in 2016 before a career-ending injury on Monday Night Football in 2017 against Cincinnati.
The Big Ten All-Decade Team will continue getting released throughout the week as follows:
Tuesday: Offensive Line
Wednesday: Tight Ends and Defensive Backs
Thursday: Wide Receivers and Defensive Lineman
Friday: Quarterbacks, Kicker, Punter, All-Purpose and Coach
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