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Nassib named all-Big Ten

Ohio State dominated The Associated Press All-Big Ten team released Tuesday, with seven players on the first team and running back Ezekiel Elliott voted the offensive player of the year.

Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib was picked as the defensive player of the year, Michigan safety Jabrill Peppers the newcomer of the year and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz was the overwhelming choice as coach of the year.

Elliott and Michigan State receiver Aaron Burbridge were the only unanimous first-team picks in voting by a panel of writers and broadcasters who cover the conference.

Elliott ran for a Big Ten-leading 139.3 yards a game, and his 19 rushing touchdowns are most in the conference and second nationally. He has run for 100 yards in 11 games this season, including a 274-yard outing against Indiana. If the junior from St. Louis follows through with his announced intention to enter the 2016 NFL draft, he’ll finish as the No. 2 all-time rusher in Ohio State history behind Archie Griffin with 3,812 yards.

Nassib is one of the feel-good stories in college football, having walked on to Penn State in 2011 out of West Chester, Pennsylvania. He was awarded a scholarship before the 2013 season and this season emerged as one of the most productive defensive linemen in the country. His school-record 15.5 sacks lead the nation, as do his six forced fumbles. He’s second in the nation with 19 tackles for loss.

Peppers was voted newcomer of the year even though he appeared in three games as a freshman in 2014 before a leg injury shortened his season. Peppers is one of the conference’s most versatile player, playing both ways and lining up at eight different positions for Michigan.

Burbridge broke out in his senior year for league champion Michigan State, catching 80 passes for 1,219 yards to become only the seventh receiver in program history to go over 1,000 in a season. He and quarterback Connor Cook are among four Spartans on the first team.

Ferentz, who will finish his 17th season as Iowa’s head coach in the Rose Bowl against Stanford, led the Hawkeyes to a 12-0 regular season. That was a five-win improvement over 2014, when the Hawkeyes lost five of their last seven.

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