ISL Notes: Indiana picked to win Big Ten; Notre Dame’s Te’o honored
Already named the preseason No. 1 team in the nation by several publications, Indiana has been chosen as the Big Ten favorite heading into the 2012-13 season as voted on by a panel of conference media. The media also tabbed Hoosier sophomore Cody Zeller as the Preseason Player of the Year. Michigan and Ohio State, two of the three teams that shared the 2011-12 Big Ten title, were selected to finish second and third, respectively, in the conference. 
Zeller was a unanimous pick to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team and was joined on the squad by the Wolverines’ Trey Burke, the Buckeyes’ Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas and Penn State’s Tim Frazier.
Indiana returns all five starters and 11 total letterwinners from last year’s team that advanced to the Sweet 16 and finished with a 27-9 overall record. The Hoosiers are led by fifth-year head coach Tom Crean. Zeller was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the conference coaches last year and was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree by the coaches and media last season.
Michigan welcomes back three starters from last year’s NCAA Tournament squad that won a share of the Big Ten title. Head Coach John Beilein enters his sixth year with the program and returns a pair of All-Big Ten selections in Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. Burke was the media’s selection for Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season.
Ohio State returns three starters from last year’s Final Four squad. The Buckeyes won a share of last year’s Big Ten title and are led by ninth-year head coach Thad Matta. Craft and Thomas both earned All-Big Ten recognition a season ago, while Craft was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.
TE’O HONORED: University of Notre Dame senior linebacker Manti Te’o has been selected a 2012 National Scholar-Athlete by the National Football Foundation.
As a National Scholar-Athlete, Te’o receives a $18,000 postgraduate scholarship and is one of 15 finalists for the Campbell Trophy, the award presented to the nation’s top scholar-athlete and often referred to as The Academic Heisman. Should Te’o win the Campbell Trophy, the scholarship would grow to $25,000.
The National Scholar-Athlete program awards the top football student-athletes from all NCAA divisions and NAIA for their combined athletic, academic and leadership abilities. Fifteen class members were selected this year from a nationwide pool of 147 semifinalists.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade-point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first-team player and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The 147 semifinalists for the award were announced on Sept. 27 and the NFF Awards Committee selected this year’s class. The NFF Awards Committee is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
Te’o is the 17th Notre Dame football player to receive the scholarship and the third in the last six years (John Carlson, 2007; Chris Stewart, 2010). Only Nebraska (20) and Ohio State (19) have had more players selected since the program began in 1959.
Te’o has led Notre Dame back into the spotlight with its highest national ranking since 2006. The Irish enter this week’s contest at Oklahoma ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ polls as well as the BCS standings. Te’o is co-captain of a defense that ranks second in scoring defense and sixth in total defense in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision.
Set to graduate this December with a degree in graphic design, the Laie, Hawaii, native owns a 3.32 cumulative grade-point average and was named the 2011 Notre Dame Football Student-Athlete of the Year. He was also selected as a Second Team Academic All-American and First Team All-District honoree as a junior.
Te’o is a two-time Second Team All-America performer who has already been named the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week three times this season. He received national acclaim earlier this year for his standout performances versus Michigan State and Michigan.
A finalist for the Butkus Award and the Lott Trophy as a junior, Te’o has led the Irish to consecutive bowl berths, including a win in the 2010 Sun Bowl. His 133 tackles in 2010 were the most by a Notre Dame player in 27 years, and he recorded the third-most tackles (63) ever by an Irish freshman. Te’o leads the fifth-ranked Irish with 69 tackles and two fumble recoveries (two) and co-shares the top spot in interceptions (four) and pass breakups (three) this season.
Te’o will be one of the honored guests at the National Football Foundation’s Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 4 in New York City. Also honored at the awards dinner will be former Notre Dame tight end and 2012 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Dave Casper.
The 2012 National Scholar-Athlete Class:
Matt Barkley, QB, USC
Rex Burkhead, RB, Nebraska
Cody Davis, S, Texas Tech
Nick Driskill, S, Mount Union (Ohio)
Nick Florence, QB, Baylor
Nabal Jefferson, DT, Northern Illinois
Barrett Jones, C, Alabama
Aaron Mullane, OL, West Texas A&M
Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse
Nolan Nearhoof, DE, Robert Morris
Ethan Peterson, OL, MIT
Sean Renfree, QB, Duke
Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame
Patrick Ward, OT, Northwestern
Shane Zackery, WR, Saint Xavier (Ill.)
PURDUE WOMEN THIRD, MOSES HONORED: Purdue was picked to finish third by the Big Ten coaches, while the coaches tabbed Courtney Moses as a member of the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Moses is the first Boilermaker to earn preseason conference accolades since Brittany Rayburn was honored in 2010.
Last season, Moses started 32 of 33 games and was the Boilermakers’ second leading scorer (10.8 ppg), second in steals (39) and third in assists (68). She led the conference in free throw percentage, connecting on 78-of-86 free throws for 90.7 percent and set an NCAA Tournament record with nine three-pointers against South Dakota State in the first round of the tournament. The guard from Sweetser, Ind., broke Brittany Rayburn’s school record with a streak of 47-consecutive made free throws, the longest streak in the nation last season.
Ohio State’s Tayler Hill and Penn State’s Alex Bentley shared conference Preseason Player of the Year accolades from the coaches, while Hill earned the nod from the media.
Both the coaches and the media selected Penn State as the preseason favorite and Nebraska as the No. 2 team. The coaches tabbed Purdue as the third pick, while the media favored Ohio State at No. 3.
COLTS TO VISIT GREENWOOD: The Indianapolis Colts 2012 Friday Night Football Tour will visit Greenwood High School on October 26at 7 p.m. ET. The game will feature the Greenwood Woodmen and the Roncalli Rebels. The second playoff game of the tour will be held at Greenwood High School, 615 W. Smith Valley Rd, Greenwood, IN.
The Friday Night Football Tour is a Colts initiative to show support for local football programs, said Pete Ward, Chief Operating Officer of the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are dedicated to supporting Indiana football programs at every level. Being a part of the local community and giving back to Indiana’s loyal football fans is of great importance to the Indianapolis Colts organization.
The Tour will be open 90 minutes prior to kickoff and will feature the Colts traveling museum, Colts In Motion. Colts In Motion is a 42-foot trailer equipped with interactive videos, a chance to feel the field turf, and a behind the scenes look at the team. Other Friday Night Football Tour elements include Colts Cheerleader autographs, a Quarterback Challenge football toss, Colts giveaways, and a chance to register to win Colts tickets.
As a part of the 2012 Friday Night Football Tour, the Indianapolis Colts will make a $500 donation to both the home team’s football and cheerleading programs on behalf of the Friday Night Football Tour sponsors. The Friday Night Football Tour is presented by CollegeChoice 529 Savings Plan, Farmers Insurance Group, Herff Jones, Ivy Tech, and Prairie Farms.
