Fourteen Wolverines Honored by Big Ten on Defense and Special Teams
12/3/2019 6:00:00 PM | Football
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Fourteen student-athletes from the University of Michigan football team were recognized with Big Ten honors on defense and special teams, the conference announced Tuesday (Dec. 3). Defensive back Lavert Hill highlights U-M's list of defensive honorees, having earned consensus All-Big Ten first-team recognition from the coaches and media.
Overall, Michigan had 11 defensive players and three specialists earn Big Ten recognition, including five who received league honors for the first time: defensive linemen Carlo Kemp and Aidan Hutchinson, linebacker Cameron McGrone, defensive back Ambry Thomas, and return specialist Giles Jackson.
Michigan's 11 defensive honorees helped form the engine behind a defense which ranks top-30 in 11 categories nationally. Hill earned first-team honors in 2018, making him Michigan's lone player to earn first-team recognition in each of the last two seasons.
Following is a breakdown of Michigan's players on the All-Big Ten defense and special teams ballots:
All-Big Ten Conference (Coaches)
Defense
First Team: Lavert Hill
Second Team: Khaleke Hudson, Kwity Paye, Josh Uche
Third Team: Carlo Kemp, Ambry Thomas
Honorable Mention: Aidan Hutchinson, Cameron McGrone, Josh Metellus
Special Teams
Third Team: Will Hart
Honorable Mention: Giles Jackson, Donovan Peoples-Jones
All-Big Ten Conference (Media)
Defense
First Team: Lavert Hill
Third Team: Aidan Hutchinson, Kwity Paye, Khaleke Hudson, Josh Uche, Josh Metellus
Honorable Mention: Jordan Glasgow, Brad Hawkins, Cameron McGrone, Ambry Thomas
Special Teams
Second Team: Will Hart
Third Team: Donovan Peoples-Jones
Honorable Mention: Giles Jackson
Other Big Ten Conference Awards
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award: Shea Patterson
For Hill, this year's first-team recognition comes after a season that saw him lead the Big Ten in passer rating against by a full 12 points (23.9 passer rating allowed). He made 15 tackles with a team-leading 12 pass breakups (nine breakups, three interceptions). Pro Football Focus College credited Hill with allowing 10 catches on 26 targets in 193 coverage snaps with a forced incompletion percentage of 26.9 percent, more than double the national average (12.8 percent). With one game left to play, he is tied for sixth on Michigan's all-time list of pass breakup leaders with 26 career breakups.
On the coaches' ballot, linebackers Khaleke Hudson and Josh Uche earned All-Big Ten second-team honors with defensive lineman Kwity Paye, and all three were also third-team selections on the media ballot, along with defensive back Josh Metellus.
An assistant captain on defense, Hudson was Michigan's leading tackler in 2019 with a career-best 97 stops, including 3.5 for loss with two sacks. He added three pass breakups, three quarterback hurries and one blocked kick. Uche lists 10th on the team in tackles with a career-high 34, including 23 solo stops. His 11.5 tackles for loss are second on the team, and he leads the way with 8.5 sacks, a full two more than the next-closest Wolverine. Uche was graded by PFF as having the No. 7 pass-rush grade in the country (91.2). Uche's 8.5 sacks are tied for 14th most in a single season at U-M. Paye lists second among all U-M defensive linemen with a career-high 49 tackles (26 solo), including a team-leading 12.5 for loss. Paye has 6.5 sacks as well, with three quarterback hurries and one fumble recovery.
Joining Paye and Uche on the third team of the media ballot is Hutchinson, who was an honorable mention choice on the coaches' ballot. Hutchinson led Michigan's defensive linemen with 63 stops, tied for third-best on the team. He had 33 solo stops and 8.5 tackles for loss, third-most among all Wolverine defenders. Hutchinson added 4.5 sacks, and his six pass breakups list fourth on the team. He also forced two fumbles in 2019.
Third-team selections on the coaches' ballot include Kemp and Thomas. A gap-control run-stuffer and assistant captain on the defense, Kemp totaled a career-high 40 tackles this season. He had 4.5 tackles for loss with a pair of sacks and recovered a fumble. Thomas finished tied-10th on the team with 34 tackles, including three for loss and an impressive 28 solo stops. Thomas' three interceptions are tied for most on the team, and he also has four pass breakups, giving him seven total breakups, tied for second-most on the team. A pair of fumble recoveries gives Thomas five total turnovers this year, most among Wolverine defenders.
McGrone earned honorable mention status on both the coaches' and media ballots. After injury forced him into the starting lineup near the end of September, McGrone seized the job and did not let it go. He finished fifth on the team in tackles with 60, including nine for loss (tied-third on the team) with four sacks and five quarterback hurries, second-most on the team. He forced one fumble as well.
Metellus (coaches), Jordan Glasgow (media) and Brad Hawkins (media) also collected honorable mention. Metellus led U-M defensive backs and listed tied-third overall with 63 stops. He made two interceptions among seven total pass breakups and added 3.5 tackles for loss with one fumble recovery. Metellus is tied-16th all-time with 21 career pass breakups. Glasgow ranked second on the team with a career-high 79 tackles (41 solo) with five sacks among six tackles for loss. He hurried the quarterback four times, broke up two passes, and recovered a fumble, in addition to blocking one punt. Hawkins finished sixth on the team with 53 tackles despite missing two games. He made 30 solo stops and broke up one pass.
On special teams, Will Hart picked up second-team honors from the media and third-team honors from the coaches. Hart punted 46 times for 2,074 yards with a 45.1-yard average this season, No. 1 among Big Ten punters in 2019. One year after setting the Michigan single-season average record at 46.98 yards per punt in 2018, Hart's 2019 average was good for the No. 2 single-season average in program history. Naturally, he owns the top career average in Michigan history at 45.3 yards per punt.
Hart boomed 15 of 46 punts (32.6 percent) over 50 yards, pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line eight times and forced 11 fair catches. He had a 61-yard long and punted 57 yards or longer on five occasions. Hart allowed only 121 total return yards all season long, including six games with zero return yards allowed. The longest return he allowed all season was 17 yards.
Return men Donovan Peoples-Jones (third team, media; honorable mention, coaches) and Jackson (honorable mention, coaches and media) also collected recognition. Peoples-Jones returned 23 punts at an average of 7.6 yards per return. His long return of 50 yards came against Michigan State. Jackson had a memorable freshman season as a returner, with 21 attempts for 523 yards (24.9-yard average) and a 97-yard touchdown scored on the opening kick at Maryland. He had the fourth-best return average in the Big Ten among those with 15-plus kick return tries. Jackson is one of two freshmen in Michigan history to score via receiving, rushing and return touchdowns in the same season.
The All-Big Ten honors for offense will be announced Wednesday (Dec. 4) during a 5 p.m. show on BTN.
