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Wisconsin freshman earns Badgers' highest honors on All-Big Ten defense

The Wisconsin Badgers only had one player make it onto any of the first, second or third-team All-Big Ten teams, and it was a true freshman who barely played in the first half of the season.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin Badgers freshman linebacker Mason Posa (8) is seen during the first half of the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday October 11, 2025 at Camp Randall in Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Badgers freshman linebacker Mason Posa (8) is seen during the first half of the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday October 11, 2025 at Camp Randall in Madison, Wisconsin. | Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers only had one player make it onto any of the first, second or third-team All-Big Ten teams, and it was a true freshman who barely played in the first half of the season.

The conference announced its defensive honorees for the 2025 season on Wednesday, and linebacker Mason Posa made it on the third-team all-conference.

No other Badgers defensive player was present on the first, second or third teams, and it would be surprising to see any Wisconsin offensive players earn all-conference honors given their massive struggles this season.

Luke Fickell's defense did have four other players make it on the honorable mention defensive team: outside linebackers Darryl Peterson and Mason Reiger, inside linebacker Christian Alliegro and cornerback Ricardo Hallman.

Posa emerged as a breakout freshman quickly after he started earning extended playing time halfway through the season.

His first start was Week 9 at Oregon, though his role started to grow in Weeks 7 and 8 against Iowa and Ohio State.

Had he played more from the very beginning, he would have had a strong case to be first or second-team All-Big Ten this year.

Despite his late start, he still finished as PFF's highest-graded linebacker in the conference and seventh highest-graded linebacker in the country.

Posa looked like a future star in the making with a well-rounded skillset as a run stuffer and blitzer up the middle.

Related: Badgers breakout freshman linebacker promises loyalty to Wisconsin: 'We here to stay'

He could stand to get more comfortable dropping back in pass coverage, but for a true freshman thrown out there against some of the top offenses in the country, he held his own.

He'll be one of the most important players for Fickell and his staff to retain and not let anywhere near the transfer portal this winter. Posa is the kind of player they can build a defense around for the next three years.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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