ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced today the 43 students scheduled to attend the 2019 Big Ten Football Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon, held Thursday and Friday, July 18 and 19, at the Hilton Chicago.
The list of students scheduled to attend features 27 returning All-Big Ten selections from last season, highlighted by three individual award recipients — Michigan State’s Kenny Willekes (the Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year), Purdue’s Rondale Moore (the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year and Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year) and Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor (the Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year).
Other first-team honorees in attendance will include Michigan State’s Joe Bachie, Minnesota’s Tyler Johnson, Northwestern’s Paddy Fisher and Wisconsin’s Tyler Biadasz. Attendees who have earned second- or third-team all-conference accolades include Illinois’ Reggie Corbin, Maryland’s Antoine Brooks Jr. and Anthony McFarland Jr., Michigan’s Ben Bredeson, Michigan State’s Raequan Williams, Minnesota’s Carter Coughlin, Nebraska’s Mohamed Barry, Northwestern’s Joe Gaziano, Ohio State’s Jordan Fuller and K.J. Hill and Purdue’s Markus Bailey.
Honorable mention All-Big Ten honorees scheduled to appear at the event are Illinois’ Alex Palczewski, Maryland’s Tino Ellis, Michigan’s Khaleke Hudson, Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim, Nebraska’s Khalil Davis and Adrian Martinez, Ohio State’s Jonathon Cooper, Penn State’s John Reid and Purdue’s Lorenzo Neal. A complete list of student attendees appears below.
The 48th annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon begins at 10 a.m. CT on July 19 with an autograph session. Around 10:50 a.m. CT, fans can get group pictures of the current coaches and students in attendance.
The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. and will be hosted by ESPN’s Rece Davis, who will sit down with the coaches in small groups to discuss the upcoming season. The luncheon will feature speeches by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and Tournament of Roses president Laura Farber. The event will also feature highlight videos, additional student interviews by ESPN’s Laura Rutledge and much more, including door prizes highlighted by a free trip to the 2019 Big Ten Football Championship Game and the 2020 Rose Bowl Game.
Minnesota sophomore and four-time cancer survivor Casey O’Brien will speak on behalf of the students in attendance. Casey is a walk-on holder at Minnesota who was a promising high school quarterback when he noticed a discomfort in his knee. With the help of trainers and doctors at the University of Minnesota, it was discovered that he had osteosarcoma, which is a rare form of bone cancer. Casey beat his cancer and played high school football while going through chemo, but instead of playing QB, he was the team's holder. Cancer returned three more times, but Casey has beaten it every time and is now a proud member of the Minnesota football team.
The Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon 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, more than 1,000 of the conference’s finest standouts and more than 80 head coaches have celebrated the start of a new college football season at the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon with more than 56,000 supporters. For more information, including how to purchase tickets, go to www.bigten.org/KOL.
STUDENTS ATTENDING 2019 BIG TEN FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS AND KICKOFF LUNCHEON
EAST DIVISION
INDIANA
Coy Cronk, Sr., OL
Reakwon Jones, Sr., LB
Nick Westbrook, Sr., WR
MARYLAND
Antoine Brooks Jr., Sr., DB*
Tino Ellis, Sr., DB*
Anthony McFarland Jr., So., RB*
MICHIGAN
Ben Bredeson, Sr., OG*
Jordan Glasgow, Sr., LB
Khaleke Hudson, Sr., LB*
MICHIGAN STATE
Joe Bachie, Sr., LB*
Kenny Willekes, Sr., DE* (2018 Big Ten Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year)
Raequan Williams, Sr., DT*
OHIO STATE
Jonathon Cooper, Sr., DE*
Jordan Fuller, Sr., S*
K.J. Hill, Sr., WR*
PENN STATE
Cam Brown, Sr., LB
Blake Gillikin, Sr., P
John Reid, Sr., CB*
RUTGERS
Tyshon Fogg, Jr., LB
Tyreek Maddox-WIlliams, Jr., LB
Zach Venesky, Sr., OL
WEST DIVISION
ILLINOIS
Reggie Corbin, Sr., RB*
Nate Hobbs, Jr., CB
Alex Palczewski, Jr., OT*
IOWA
Michael Ojemudia, Sr., DB
Nate Stanley, Sr., QB
Toren Young, Jr., RB
MINNESOTA
Carter Coughlin, Sr., DL*
Mohamed Ibrahim, So., RB*
Tyler Johnson, Sr., WR*
Casey O’Brien, So., H#
NEBRASKA
Mohamed Barry, Sr., LB*
Khalil Davis, Sr., DL*
Adrian Martinez, So., QB*
NORTHWESTERN
Paddy Fisher, Jr., LB*
Joe Gaziano, Sr., DE*
Jared Thomas, Sr., C
PURDUE
Markus Bailey, Sr., LB*
Rondale Moore, So., WR* (2018 Big Ten Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year)
Lorenzo Neal, Sr., DT*
WISCONSIN
Tyler Biadasz, Jr., C*
Chris Orr, Sr., LB
Jonathan Taylor, Jr., RB* (2018 Big Ten Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year)
* - indicates 2018 all-conference selections and honorable mentions
# - indicates Student Speaker at Kickoff Luncheon
The list of students scheduled to attend features 27 returning All-Big Ten selections from last season, highlighted by three individual award recipients — Michigan State’s Kenny Willekes (the Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year), Purdue’s Rondale Moore (the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year and Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year) and Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor (the Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year).
Other first-team honorees in attendance will include Michigan State’s Joe Bachie, Minnesota’s Tyler Johnson, Northwestern’s Paddy Fisher and Wisconsin’s Tyler Biadasz. Attendees who have earned second- or third-team all-conference accolades include Illinois’ Reggie Corbin, Maryland’s Antoine Brooks Jr. and Anthony McFarland Jr., Michigan’s Ben Bredeson, Michigan State’s Raequan Williams, Minnesota’s Carter Coughlin, Nebraska’s Mohamed Barry, Northwestern’s Joe Gaziano, Ohio State’s Jordan Fuller and K.J. Hill and Purdue’s Markus Bailey.
Honorable mention All-Big Ten honorees scheduled to appear at the event are Illinois’ Alex Palczewski, Maryland’s Tino Ellis, Michigan’s Khaleke Hudson, Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim, Nebraska’s Khalil Davis and Adrian Martinez, Ohio State’s Jonathon Cooper, Penn State’s John Reid and Purdue’s Lorenzo Neal. A complete list of student attendees appears below.
The 48th annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon begins at 10 a.m. CT on July 19 with an autograph session. Around 10:50 a.m. CT, fans can get group pictures of the current coaches and students in attendance.
The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. and will be hosted by ESPN’s Rece Davis, who will sit down with the coaches in small groups to discuss the upcoming season. The luncheon will feature speeches by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and Tournament of Roses president Laura Farber. The event will also feature highlight videos, additional student interviews by ESPN’s Laura Rutledge and much more, including door prizes highlighted by a free trip to the 2019 Big Ten Football Championship Game and the 2020 Rose Bowl Game.
Minnesota sophomore and four-time cancer survivor Casey O’Brien will speak on behalf of the students in attendance. Casey is a walk-on holder at Minnesota who was a promising high school quarterback when he noticed a discomfort in his knee. With the help of trainers and doctors at the University of Minnesota, it was discovered that he had osteosarcoma, which is a rare form of bone cancer. Casey beat his cancer and played high school football while going through chemo, but instead of playing QB, he was the team's holder. Cancer returned three more times, but Casey has beaten it every time and is now a proud member of the Minnesota football team.
The Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon 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, more than 1,000 of the conference’s finest standouts and more than 80 head coaches have celebrated the start of a new college football season at the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon with more than 56,000 supporters. For more information, including how to purchase tickets, go to www.bigten.org/KOL.
STUDENTS ATTENDING 2019 BIG TEN FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS AND KICKOFF LUNCHEON
EAST DIVISION
INDIANA
Coy Cronk, Sr., OL
Reakwon Jones, Sr., LB
Nick Westbrook, Sr., WR
MARYLAND
Antoine Brooks Jr., Sr., DB*
Tino Ellis, Sr., DB*
Anthony McFarland Jr., So., RB*
MICHIGAN
Ben Bredeson, Sr., OG*
Jordan Glasgow, Sr., LB
Khaleke Hudson, Sr., LB*
MICHIGAN STATE
Joe Bachie, Sr., LB*
Kenny Willekes, Sr., DE* (2018 Big Ten Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year)
Raequan Williams, Sr., DT*
OHIO STATE
Jonathon Cooper, Sr., DE*
Jordan Fuller, Sr., S*
K.J. Hill, Sr., WR*
PENN STATE
Cam Brown, Sr., LB
Blake Gillikin, Sr., P
John Reid, Sr., CB*
RUTGERS
Tyshon Fogg, Jr., LB
Tyreek Maddox-WIlliams, Jr., LB
Zach Venesky, Sr., OL
WEST DIVISION
ILLINOIS
Reggie Corbin, Sr., RB*
Nate Hobbs, Jr., CB
Alex Palczewski, Jr., OT*
IOWA
Michael Ojemudia, Sr., DB
Nate Stanley, Sr., QB
Toren Young, Jr., RB
MINNESOTA
Carter Coughlin, Sr., DL*
Mohamed Ibrahim, So., RB*
Tyler Johnson, Sr., WR*
Casey O’Brien, So., H#
NEBRASKA
Mohamed Barry, Sr., LB*
Khalil Davis, Sr., DL*
Adrian Martinez, So., QB*
NORTHWESTERN
Paddy Fisher, Jr., LB*
Joe Gaziano, Sr., DE*
Jared Thomas, Sr., C
PURDUE
Markus Bailey, Sr., LB*
Rondale Moore, So., WR* (2018 Big Ten Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year)
Lorenzo Neal, Sr., DT*
WISCONSIN
Tyler Biadasz, Jr., C*
Chris Orr, Sr., LB
Jonathan Taylor, Jr., RB* (2018 Big Ten Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year)
* - indicates 2018 all-conference selections and honorable mentions
# - indicates Student Speaker at Kickoff Luncheon
