Minimal Michigan State football representation on All-Big Ten teams is telling

Not many All-Big Ten selections.

Michigan State's Jonathan Kim, center, celebrates with the team after the win over Iowa during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
Michigan State's Jonathan Kim, center, celebrates with the team after the win over Iowa during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Two Michigan State football players were named to All-Big Ten teams on Tuesday.

That's right, there were only two (!!) Michigan State selections on either the first or second-team when the conference revealed the All-Big Ten honorees. Those two were Ryan Eckley and Jonathan Kim who are the punter and kicker, respectively, for the 5-7 Spartans.

Four more guys did earn honorable mention selections, but only one of them was on the offensive side of the ball. This lack of adequate representation is telling as to how disappointing the season was.

Khris Bogle, Jordan Turner, Luke Newman, and Charles Brantley were all named honorable mention selections. Newman was the only player on the offensive side of the ball to earn that honor which isn't a huge shock when you consider how poor the offense played this season. The line was horrid, the quarterback play didn't quite live up to the hype, the run game was minimal, and Nick Marsh was the only true pass-catcher who stood out.

Defensively, it's also not surprising to see just these guys. I probably would have included Nikai Martinez as I thought he played well this year and Charles Brantley may have made a first or second team if he had stayed healthy all season.

The defensive representation is about right and hopefully we see a few more guys earn some of these honors next year because having six guys on the first or second teams or honorable mention is just not good enough.

We'll see just how much this team improves next year. Jonathan Smith has some work to do.