After leading all Big Ten freshmen in tackles during his freshman season, University of Illinois linebacker Mason Monheim (Orrville HS, Orrville, Ohio) has been named to Phil Steele's second-team all-freshman team.

Monheim started the final 10 games of the season after moving into a starting role in a week three win over Charleston Southern. The true-freshman led Illinois with 86 tackles on the season, the most among all Big Ten Freshmen by a wide margin. Monheim ranked 15th in the conference in tackles per game (7.2), while no other B1G freshman was in the top-50. He also added 6.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one interception, one pass breakup and recovered one fumble during his rookie campaign. In eight Big Ten games, Monheim averaged 8.6 tackles per game to rank ninth overall.

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