The MVP for each Big Ten team in the past decade

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nitramnaed

nitramnaed

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Can't argue with this choice.

Minnesota — FS Antoine Winfield Jr. (2016-19)​

Simply put, Winfield is the best defensive back to ever play at the University of Minnesota. (The only player who could compete for that distinction is Tony Dungy, who played quarterback for the Gophers but was moved the DB in the NFL because that’s what they did with Black quarterbacks in the ’70s.)

Though his father starred for the Vikings, Winfield Jr. was only a 2-star recruit in high school. He turned into a steal.

Winfield Jr. was the Big Ten defensive back of the year and a unanimous All-American in 2019 before being drafted by the Buccaneers in the 2nd round in 2020. He is only the 2nd Gopher to be named a unanimous All-American since 1962.

saturdaytradition.com

The MVP for each Big Ten team in the past decade

Saturday Tradition picks the MVP for every Big Ten program for the years 2012-21 -- and there may be a few surprises.
saturdaytradition.com saturdaytradition.com
 

Winfield is an excellent choice. Was great to watch him play for the Gophers and is arguably the best DB we've put in the NFL since Dungy.

That said, to not even mention Tyrone Carter as a DB worth consideration shows that if it didn't happen last night to most internet "writers", it's not real.

Winfield is by far the better pro and arguably the better player, but before Winfield, Carter was a complete game changer for Mason. 2 year First team all-American and Thorpe Award winner is kind of a big miss to not even mention in this article.

And it wouldn't have diminished the point. It took 16 years from Carter's last season to get a consistent game changer in the backfield in Winfield, Jr. An absolute steal in recruiting and the best NFL career so far of some talented but not dare I say Elite (and the real definition of the term elite) DBs at Minnesota.
 

caliGopher said:
Winfield is an excellent choice. Was great to watch him play for the Gophers and is arguably the best DB we've put in the NFL since Dungy.

That said, to not even mention Tyrone Carter as a DB worth consideration shows that if it didn't happen last night to most internet "writers", it's not real.

Winfield is by far the better pro and arguably the better player, but before Winfield, Carter was a complete game changer for Mason. 2 year First team all-American and Thorpe Award winner is kind of a big miss to not even mention in this article.

And it wouldn't have diminished the point. It took 16 years from Carter's last season to get a consistent game changer in the backfield in Winfield, Jr. An absolute steal in recruiting and the best NFL career so far of some talented but not dare I say Elite (and the real definition of the term elite) DBs at Minnesota.
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Did you miss the part about the last decade?
 


Word said:
Did you miss the part about the last decade?
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no. Dungy didn't play in the last decade either but was mentioned. I don't have an issue with Winfield as the best player in the last decade either. Nor do I have an issue that Winfield is arguably the best DB we've had possibly ever, but I do think if you're going to make that claim, you should mention TC, particularly considering, unlike Dungy, he played DB in college.
 


I think the authors point was to take a swipe at the NFL for their racist attitude about black QB's back then. The more accurate description would have been that AWjr was the best college DB since TC. Still could have brought TD into the conversation.
 






Winfield is a good choice. He was, however, a lower range 3 star (0.8285) not a 2 star. For those who like to complain about Fleck’s recruiting, Winfield was lower ranked than any of the current 18 HS commits in the Gophers’ 2023 class.
 
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Peter Mortell should be the pick, hands down. He was the inaugural holder of the year award recipient. Hard to beat that type of accolade.
 


Aw Jr good choice.

Also in my running:
Hageman.
Cobb.
Tyler Johnson.
Morgan.
Coughlin.

And for this post game outfit alone santoso makes the list


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caliGopher said:
Winfield is an excellent choice. Was great to watch him play for the Gophers and is arguably the best DB we've put in the NFL since Dungy.

That said, to not even mention Tyrone Carter as a DB worth consideration shows that if it didn't happen last night to most internet "writers", it's not real.

Winfield is by far the better pro and arguably the better player, but before Winfield, Carter was a complete game changer for Mason. 2 year First team all-American and Thorpe Award winner is kind of a big miss to not even mention in this article.

And it wouldn't have diminished the point. It took 16 years from Carter's last season to get a consistent game changer in the backfield in Winfield, Jr. An absolute steal in recruiting and the best NFL career so far of some talented but not dare I say Elite (and the real definition of the term elite) DBs at Minnesota.
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You nailed it. Winfield may fit the bill as the MVP of the last decade but I would contend that Carter was the best DB to play at the U of M.

And that is not meant to take anything away from AWJR. Winfield was a phenomenal player for us but the reality is he really just had the one great year in 2019. He was good as a freshman and then hurt for the majority of his 2nd and 3rd years.

Carter on the other hand was a force on defense for his entire career at the U. Dude was a tackling machine. I mean he won the friggin Thorpe award as the best DB in the country. TC was an amazing college football player.
 

stocker08 said:
Antoine Winfield Jr is a very good choice. But the correct answer is Drew Goodger.
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We nicknamed Drew “twinkle toes” just because he liked to try to vault defenders. Of course when he did, he got cartwheeled.
 

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