The Big Ten leads all college football conferences with seven players on the preseason Thorpe Award Watch List, two more than any other league. The award was created in 1986 to honor the nation's top FBS defensive back.
Six member schools are represented this year, led by Ohio State with two Buckeyes on the list. Seven Big Ten players have won the Thorpe Award all-time, highlighted by a four-year run of dominance from 1997-2000. The most recent Big Ten winner was Iowa's Desmond King in 2015. Hawkeye CB Cooper DeJean was a finalist for the 2023 award, laying the groundwork for being a second round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in April.
Big Ten Players on the 2024 Thorpe Award Watch List
CB Sebastian Castro, Iowa
CB Will Johnson, Michigan
CB Denzel Burke, Ohio State
S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
CB Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon
S Dillon Thieneman, Purdue
S Hunter Wohler, Wisconsin