Illinois football has a glaring snub on the All-Decade Big Ten Team

The Illinois football program has had some pretty impressive talent over the past decade.

Bret Bielema continues to find and develop talent, sending them to the next level. While in the past, Illinois has had some struggles, we always seem to have at least one great player on the team.

Pro Football Focus recognized that on Thursday. They put together their All-Decade Big Ten Team. So, this is a team that is comprised of players since the 2016 campaign.

Illinois holds their own on this list. We have two players make the team. No surprise, Devon Witherspoon is one of the starting cornerbacks. As a consensus All-American and No. 5 overall pick in the NFL Draft, Witherspoon had to be on the list.

The other player to make the cut was Kendrick Green. He is the starting left guard. Green was a first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American for the Illini. It is kind of a surprise that he is on the list, and there wasn’t another Big Ten player who was a first-team All-American.

I understand that it is probably hard to determine who belongs on the All-Decade Big Ten Team. There are some incredible players at each position.

At the end of the day, I think it is clear that one more Illinois player should have been on the team.

Jer’Zhan Newton.

The two interior defensive linemen to make the list were both Michigan players, Maurice Hurst and Mason Graham.

I am good with Graham donning this spot. He was a two-time All-American, one of which was consensus. He has a ton of accolades, and he should be on the team.

The one I have an issue with is Hurst. In his fifth year at Michigan, Hurst earned consensus All-American honors. Newton also earned consensus All-American honors in his final year at Illinois.

Since the start of the list is 2016, that would be Hurst’s final two years. Let’s compare numbers between him and Newton.

Hurst combined for 89.0 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 3.0 pass deflections, and 1.0 forced fumble in his final two seasons at Michigan.

I will only do Newton’s final two seasons. He had a combined 111 tackles, 13.0 sacks, 5.0 pass deflections, and 1.0 forced fumble.

That is a pretty big difference in numbers, and every opposing offense knew who the main focus on the Illinois defense was. With Michigan, they had a plethora of talent, so they didn’t focus as much on someone like Hurst.

Leaving Jer’Zhan Newton off the All-Decade Big Ten Team adds insult to injury

Newton should have been on this team. He was one of the best players to come through the Big Ten, and the fact that he is left off is wild.

In general, it has not been a good week for Newton. This news is child’s play compared to the bad news Newton received on Thursday.

Newton tore his pec and had surgery. He will be out for a significant time, according to Washington Commanders’ head coach Dan Quinn. This is brutal news for the Commanders, as Newton has been a staple for that defense for the past couple of seasons. In fact, he has started 13 games and played in 33 games for Washington over the past two seasons

Illinois brings up resilient players. Newton will recover and be back on the field for the 2027 season, if not sooner.

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