Downs returns as the Big Ten’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year and the key figure in a defense replacing all but three starters. He’s coming off a year where he recorded 82 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and six pass breakups.

Ohio State and Penn State showed why they are the early favorites to win the Big Ten this year by having the most players land on the conference’s Preseason Honors list. Both the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions ended the 2024 campaign in the final six of the top 25 and in the college football playoffs.

The Big Ten stopped publishing a preseason media poll more than a decade ago following a vote of the head coaches. The intervening years have offered no incentive to restart the process. In fact, preseason polls appear to be headed the way of the dodo,