A Pair of Ducks Land on Jake Butt's Top 25 Players in the Big Ten

Tackle Ajani Cornelius and speedy wide receiver Tez Johnson come in at number 18 and number 17 in Jake Butt's list of the Top 25 players in the Big Ten for 2024.

Butt is a former Michigan tight end and currently a color analyst for the Big Ten Network. He's teasing out his list in the runup to the 2024 college football season, a brand new deal where four West Coast teams are joining the conference.

Butt said, "Everyone always says how the new four are going to adjust to the physicality of the Big Ten? Well Cornelius is an example of why Oregon and the rest of these schools have strength in the trenches."

Butt notes that with Dillon Gabriel being a left-handed quarterback, as the right tackle it's Cornelius that has the responsibility to protect his blindside. Last season the 6-5, 315-pound senior from Harlem, New York took his stance for 899 snaps, allowing zero sacks, just 10 pressures and one quarterback hit. That's a measure of security Gabriel did not enjoy at Oklahoma, where he was sacked 17 times.

Of Johnson, who makes the list at #17, Butt said, "He's a production machine. What makes him a special player is his speed and agility, in the slot in particular. As a pass catcher you need to eat up grass, get on the defender's toes where they're uncomfortable-- that's when can change direction and create separation."

The diminutive speedster from Pinson, Alabama smashed an Oregon record last season with 86 receptions, good for 1182 yards and 10 touchdowns. He'll have to adjust to a new quarterback this year but he's likely to remain a production machine.