Five Maryland football players earned All-Big Ten honors, the conference announced Tuesday. That number is a sizable step back from last season, when the Terps had 16 honorees.
Wide receiver Tai Felton was named to the All-Big Ten first team by both the coaches and media. The senior is the seventh Terp to be selected to the All-Big Ten first team, and the first receiver since DJ Moore in 2017.
The Ashburn, Virginia, native amassed 1,124 receiving yards, 96 catches and nine touchdowns this year, all top-three in the conference. He tallied 140 more yards and 15 more receptions than any other Big Ten receiver.
Felton had more than 100 receiving yards in each of Maryland’s first four games this season, becoming the second player in program history with four consecutive triple-digit outings.
While his production slightly tapered off, he still finished the year with the program’s single-season receptions record and became the fourth ever Terp with 1,000 receiving yards in a season. He ended his Maryland career third in catches, fourth in yards and tied for fourth in touchdowns all time in school history.
[Tai Felton joins Maryland football’s greatest receivers atop the record books]
Ohio State freshman Jeremiah Smith was selected as the Big Ten’s Receiver of the Year over Felton. Felton recorded 190 more yards and 39 more catches than Smith, while Smith caught one more touchdown.
Senior defensive back Dante Trader Jr., redshirt sophomore punter Bryce McFerson, senior linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II and redshirt senior defensive back Glen Miller were all honorable mentions. Both the coaches and media selected Trader and McFerson, while just the media chose Hyppolite and Miller.
Trader’s four pass deflections led Maryland, while his 59 tackles ranked second behind Hyppolite. Trader was one of five Terps to record an interception this year; while Miller’s three picks tied for both the team lead and sixth in the Big Ten.
Hyppolite had 6.5 tackles for loss and an interception along with 66 total tackles. He was an All-Big Ten third team selection last season.
McFerson, an offseason transfer from Notre Dame, averaged 45.1 yards per punt, fifth among all Big Ten punters. He totaled 18 punts of 50 yards or more and 21 punts placed inside the 20-yard line — both ranked third in the Big Ten.
