ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced today the 42 students scheduled to attend the 2018 Big Ten Football Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon, held Monday and Tuesday, July 23 and 24, at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile in Chicago.
The list of students scheduled to attend features 31 returning All-Big Ten selections from last season, including four first-team honorees in Michigan’s Chase Winovich and Wisconsin’s Michael Deiter, D’Cota Dixon and T.J. Edwards. Attendees who have earned second- or third-team all-conference accolades include Michigan’s Karan Higdon, Minnesota’s Thomas Barber, Nebraska’s Stanley Morgan Jr., Ohio State’s Dre’Mont Jones, Isaiah Prince and Parris Campbell, Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson, and Penn State’s Trace McSorley and Amani Oruwariye.
Honorable mention All-Big Ten honorees scheduled to appear at the event are Illinois’ Nick Allegretti, Indiana’s Jonathan Crawford, Wes Martin and Luke Timian, Iowa’s Nate Stanley, Maryland’s Derwin Gray and Darnell Savage Jr., Michigan’s Tyree Kinnel, Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke, LJ Scott and Khari Willis, Minnesota’s Carter Coughlin and Rodney Smith, Nebraska’s Jerald Foster, Northwestern’s Nate Hall, Purdue’s Markus Bailey and Rutgers’ Tariq Cole. A complete list of student attendees appears below.
The 47th annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon begins at 10 a.m. CT on July 24 with an autograph session with the head coaches and College Football Hall of Fame inductees Dana Howard of Illinois and Aaron Taylor of Nebraska. Around 10:50 a.m. CT, fans can get group pictures of the Hall of Famers, all 14 coaches and all 42 students in attendance.
The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. and will be hosted by Dave Revsine of BTN, who will sit down with the coaches in small groups to discuss the upcoming season and also interview Howard and Taylor. The luncheon will feature speeches by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and Tournament of Roses president Gerald Freeny, while Michigan State’s Khari Willis will speak on behalf of the students in attendance. The event will also feature highlight videos, additional student interviews by Lisa Byington of BTN and much more, including door prizes highlighted by a free trip to the 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game and to the 2019 Rose Bowl Game.
The Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon is now sold out. The event annually attracts some of the most talented names in college sports. The event has drawn legendary coaches as well as each of the conference’s Heisman Trophy winners since 1970. In all, approximately 1,000 of the conference’s finest players and 80 head coaches have celebrated the start of a new college football season at the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon with nearly 55,000 supporters. For more information, go to www.bigten.org/KOL [bigten.org].
STUDENTS ATTENDING 2018 BIG TEN FOOTBALL MEDIA DAY KICKOFF LUNCHEON
EAST DIVISION
INDIANA
Jonathan Crawford, Sr., S*
Wes Martin, Sr., OL*
Luke Timian, Sr., WR*
MARYLAND
Derwin Gray, Sr., OL*
Taivon Jacobs, Sr., WR
Darnell Savage Jr., Sr., DB*
MICHIGAN
Karan Higdon, Sr., RB*
Tyree Kinnel, Sr., DB*
Chase Winovich, Sr., DL*
MICHIGAN STATE
Brian Lewerke, Jr., QB*
LJ Scott, Sr., RB*
Khari Willis, Sr., S*
OHIO STATE
Parris Campbell, Sr., WR*
Dre’Mont Jones, Jr., DT*
Isaiah Prince, Sr., OT*
PENN STATE
Trace McSorley, Sr., QB*
Amani Oruwariye, Sr., CB*
Nick Scott, Sr., S
RUTGERS
Blessuan Austin, Sr., DB
Tariq Cole, Sr., OL*
Deonte Roberts, Sr., LB
WEST DIVISION
ILLINOIS
Nick Allegretti, Sr., OL*
Mike Dudek, Jr., WR
Jamal Milan, Jr., DL
IOWA
Parker Hesse, Sr., DE
Matt Nelson, Sr., DE
Nate Stanley, Jr., QB*
MINNESOTA
Thomas Barber, Jr., LB*
Carter Coughlin, Jr., LB*
Rodney Smith, Sr., RB*
NEBRASKA
Jerald Foster, Sr., OG*
Stanley Morgan Jr., Sr., WR*
Mick Stoltenberg, Sr., NT
NORTHWESTERN
Nate Hall, Sr., LB*
Montre Hartage, Sr., CB
Clayton Thorson, Sr., QB*
PURDUE
Markus Bailey, Jr., LB*
David Blough, Sr., QB
Elijah Sindelar, Jr., QB
WISCONSIN
Michael Deiter, Sr., OL*
D’Cota Dixon, Sr., S*
T.J. Edwards, Sr., ILB*
* indicates 2017 all-conference selections and honorable mentions
