COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State graduate linebacker Tommy Eichenberg and junior defensive end JT Tuimoloau are repeat first-team all-Big Ten Conference honorees and are joined on the 2023 all-Big Ten first team by junior cornerback Denzel Burke. The Big Ten announced its defensive and special team’s honorees today. Offensive award winners and all-conference teams will be announced on Wednesday.

Eichenberg was also named today as the Big Ten’s Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year. He is the first Buckeye defender to earn the top linebacker award in the Big Ten. It has been presented only since 2011.

Eichenberg leads Ohio State in tackles for the second consecutive year with 80. He also leads with 40 solo stops and has 2.5 TFLs and four QB pressures.

Tuimoloau, like Eichenberg was first-team all-Big Ten in 2022 as well, has 34 tackles, including six TFLs for a team-high 39 yards in losses. He also has four sacks, five PBUs and a fumble recovery.

Burke is sixth in the Big Ten with 10 passes defended (one interception and nine PBUs). He’s also recorded 19 tackles.

Eichenberg and Tuimoloau were named first-team on both the coaches’ and media all-conference ballots while Burke was named first-team by the coaches and second-team by the media.

Second-Team All-Big Ten
A couple of mainstays on the defensive line, junior end Jack Sawyer and junior tackle Tyleik Williams, were selected to the all-Big Ten second team as chosen by the media. Williams leads all Buckeyes with 10 TFLs and he leads all defensive linemen with 50 tackles. Sawyer is second among the defensive linemen in both categories: he has 44 tackles and 7.0 TFLs. He also ranks second on the team with 3.5 QB sacks.

Sophomore K Jayden Fielding earned second-team honors from the coaches. Fielding is 15-for-18 in field goals (83.3 pct.) and

Third-Team & Honorable Mention Honors
Junior DT Michael Hall Jr. (coaches), graduate LB Steele Chambers (media) and graduate safety Josh Proctor (media) were named third-team all-Big Ten Conference.

Earning honorable mention accolades were DT Ty Hamilton, CB Davison Igbinosun, SAF Lathan Ransom and SAF Sonny Styles.

All-Big Ten Conference Snapshot – Defense & Special Teams 

Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year
LB Tommy Eichenberg

First-Team All-Big Ten
LB Tommy Eichenberg, DE JT Tuimoloau, CB Denzel Burke

Second-Team All-Big Ten
DE Jack Sawyer, DT Tyleik Williams, K Jayden Fielding

Third-Team All-Big Ten
LB Steele Chambers, SAF Josh Proctor, DT Michael Hall Jr.

Honorable Mention All-Big Ten
DT Ty Hamilton, CB Davison Igbinosun, SAF Lathan Ransom, SAF Sonny Styles