Thirteen Michigan Players Honored by Big Ten on Offense

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Thirteen student-athletes from the University of Michigan football team were recognized by the Big Ten on offense, the conference announced on Wednesday (Dec. 4). The Wolverines boast a pair of All-Big Ten first-team honorees in offensive linemen Ben Bredeson and Jon Runyan.

For the second year running, all five of Michigan's starting offensive linemen received conference recognition. As a group, this year's line allowed 1.83 sacks per game (1.6 in league play, No. 2 Big Ten). Michigan's offense operated at an 81 percent clip in the red zone, scoring on 46 of 57 trips with 35 touchdowns. The U-M offensive line allowed 22 sacks and 57 tackles for loss one year after allowing 23 sacks and 59 tackles for loss in 2018.

Following is a breakdown of Michigan's players on the All-Big Ten offensive team ballots:

All-Big Ten Conference (Coaches)

Offense
First Team: Ben Bredeson, Jon Runyan
Second Team: Cesar Ruiz
Third Team: Michael Onwenu, Shea Patterson
Honorable Mention: Zach Charbonnet, Nico Collins, Nick Eubanks, Hassan Haskins, Jalen Mayfield, Sean McKeon

All-Big Ten Conference (Media)

Offense
First Team: Ben Bredeson, Jon Runyan
Third Team: Zach Charbonnet, Cesar Ruiz, Shea Patterson
Honorable Mention: Ronnie Bell, Nico Collins, Nick Eubanks, Hassan Haskins, Sean McKeon, Michael Onwenu, Donovan Peoples-Jones

Center Cesar Ruiz was a second-team selection on the coaches' ballot and a third-team pick on the media ballot. Ruiz handled all checks and calls for an offense that generated 5.8 yards per play with a balanced ledger of 24 passing touchdowns and 26 rushing touchdowns. He also was the core of Michigan's interior offensive line (guard-center-guard) which was the only FBS group to not allow a sack all season.

Quarterback Shea Patterson earned third-team distinction on both the coaches' and media ballots. Patterson has totaled 2,828 yards in the air this season on 197-of-344 passing with 22 passing touchdowns, three shy of the single-season record at U-M. He has added another five touchdowns rushing and has thrown touchdowns to nine different Wolverines this year. Patterson is the only signal-caller in Michigan history with three consecutive 300-yard games, which came in the final three weeks of the 2019 season. His passing totals in those three games (384 yards, 366 yards, 305 yards) equaled the highest passing yardage total for any quarterback over any three-game stretch in program history (1,055 yards). For his career, Patterson cracked 5,000 yards this year, and was the second-fastest U-M passer to do so, accomplishing the feat in his 24th game at Indiana.

Joining Patterson on the coaches' third-team ballot was Michael Onwenu, who also garnered an honorable mention honor from the media. Onwenu is part of an offensive line that accumulated 402.1 yards per game. U-M surrendered sacks on 4.6 percent of all passing plays, and allowed 4.76 negative plays against per game, on average, which ranks tied for 20th in the country.

Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet was a third-teamer by the media and an honorable mention choice from the coaches. Charbonnet lists No. 3 all-time among freshman running backs at Michigan with a team-high 642 net yards on 136 carries. His 11 rushing touchdowns are the most by any freshman in program history, and he's added another eight receptions in the passing game.

Charbonnet's partner in the backfield, Hassan Haskins, and wide receiver Nico Collins each earned honorable mention from both the coaches and media, along with tight ends Nick Eubanks and Sean McKeon.

Haskins led the team with 5.4 yards per carry (among those with 10-plus carries) on 103 attempts, racking up 575 yards, second most among U-M backs. He had four touchdowns and only 14 yards lost all season. Haskins made his first career start against Notre Dame and racked up 149 yards on 20 carries and added another 100-yard game at Illinois.

Collins finished second on the team with 33 catches and 681 yards. His seven touchdowns led the Wolverine roster and his 20.6 yards per reception are No. 1 in the Big Ten. Collins' 76-yard touchdown at Indiana was the longest play from scrimmage by any U-M player this season. He finished the season with nine games with at least one catch of 20-plus yards.

Eubanks was U-M's fifth-leading receiver with a career-best 23 receptions for 229 yards. He also scored three of his four career touchdowns during the 2019 campaign. McKeon missed several games due to injury but managed two touchdowns and 235 yards on 13 receptions, including a career-long 41-yard catch-and-run against Ohio State. His 18.1 yards per catch are second best on the Michigan roster. Both tight ends also were important pieces of Michigan's run game which produced three backs with a rate of 4.7 yards per carry or better, including two over 5.0 yards per carry.

Receivers Ronnie Bell and Donovan Peoples-Jones were honorable mention picks from the media, while offensive lineman Jalen Mayfield was an honorable mention pick from the coaches. Bell led Michigan in receiving in five games, and finished No. 1 on the team with 44 catches for 705 yards. He went over 70 yards receiving in seven games, including five of the first six. Mayfield helped keep Patterson upright to hit his receivers in stride, and he also helped stabilize a running attack that saw its top two ball-carriers combine to average more than 100 yards rushing per contest. U-M averaged 33.0 points per game and was the No. 3 scoring offense in the Big Ten during conference play

For four Wolverines, this year's honor marked their first Big Ten recognition: Charbonnet, Eubanks, Haskins and Mayfield.

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