Wisconsin football: Two Badgers named AP second-team All-Americans

Braelon Allen and Nick Herbig each enter the 2022 season as second-team AP All-Americans.

Author:
Matt Belz
Publish date:
Aug 22, 2022 1:53 PM EDT

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers are closing in on their first game of the 2022 season, as Illinois State will come to town in just under two weeks. When the Badgers hit the field on September 3, the team will have an Associated Press All-American on each side of the ball.

On Monday, Nick Herbig and Braelon Allen were each named second-team All-Americans by the AP.

The honor for Herbig and Allen comes exactly a week after Wisconsin was recognized as the No. 18 team in the country, according to the Associated Press, and is just the latest in a growing list of preseason accolades for each player.

This off-season, Herbig has earned the following distinctions:

Allen has a similarly impressive list of honors:

Both players enter this season with high expectations after strong seasons a year ago.

Herbig finished third on the team in total tackles last season with 64, led the team with nine sacks, and tallied 14.5 tackles for loss. He also recovered two fumbles and broke up four passes in 2021, his second year as a full-time starter.

Now a junior, Herbig is one of the defensive leaders for Wisconsin and is also generating NFL Draft interest. He has high hopes for this season, aiming for 20 sacks and helping lead the Badgers to another top-5 defense.

Allen enters his sophomore campaign for Wisconsin as the definitive No. 1 weapon on the offense and one of the top running backs in the country after his breakout season in 2021. As a 17-year-old, Allen ran for 1,268 yards and 12 touchdowns despite starting the season as the No. 4 running back on the depth chart. His 6.8 yards-per-carry average helped him become a Freshman All-American, and he finished the year as a second-team All-Big Ten selection.

After the first four games, Allen had eight 100-yard games last season and returns as part of a tremendous three-headed rushing attack with Chez Mellusi and Isaac Guerendo, both of whom are back healthy this fall.

Wisconsin is one of only three Big Ten schools with multiple All-American selections based on the AP vote. Here is a complete list of teams and players with Big Ten representation.

Iowa (2) - LB Jack Campbell (1st), DB Riley Moss (1st)
Michigan (1) - K Jake Moody (1st)
Minnesota (1) - C John Michael Schmitz (2nd)
Northwestern (1) - OT Peter Skoronski (1st)
Ohio State (5) - RB Treyvion Henderson (1st), OT Paris Johnson (1st), WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (1st), QB C.J. Stroud (2nd), OT Dawand Jones (2nd),
Rutgers (1) - P Adam Korsak (1st)
Wisconsin (2) - RB Braelon Allen (2nd), LB Nick Herbig (2nd)