Gophers sophomore Rashod Bateman won the Big Ten's Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year award on Wednesday.
Rashod Bateman named Big Ten Receiver of the Year; Tyler Johnson also first-team
December 5, 2019 at 6:06AM
He joins sophomore safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who won the defensive back of the year honor Tuesday, as the first Gophers players to garner these recognitions.
Bateman set a single-season record with 1,170 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging more than 20 yards per catch. He also made the All-Big Ten first team along with senior Tyler Johnson, who added 11 touchdowns and 1,114 receiving yards this season. This is believed to be the first time a school has sported both first-team receivers in the conference from both the coaches and the media voting.
Sophomore quarterback Tanner Morgan and senior running back Rodney Smith were also consensus All-Big Ten second-team picks. Morgan set single-season team passing records with 28 touchdowns and 2,975 yards. Smith ran for 1,094 yards and eight touchdowns.
Sophomore left guard Blaise Andries was a consensus All-Big Ten third-team selection. Right tackle Daniel Faalele, center Connor Olson, right guard Curtis Dunlap Jr. and left tackle Sam Schlueter were all consensus honorable mentions.
In all, 18 Gophers earned conference nods, including coach P.J. Fleck, who took home the coaches' coach of the year title. Senior defensive end Carter Coughlin was a consensus second-team choice, while senior linebacker Kamal Martin, senior defensive tackle Sam Renner and junior cornerback Coney Durr were consensus honorable mentions. Senior linebacker Thomas Barber and sophomore cornerback Benjamin St-Juste were media honorable mentions. Senior defensive end Winston DeLattiboudere was the Gophers' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner.
Ratings boost
According to ESPN, the "College GameDay" telecast hosted by the Gophers last Saturday drew more viewers (2.3 million) than any of its shows this season and 2.8 million for the final hour. The Gophers-Wisconsin game drew 5 million viewers on Ch. 5, the local ABC affiliate.
Widely known that Minnesota sports fans are among the most suffering in the nation, this holiday season has the chance to become special, given the recent success of the Vikings, Wolves, Lynx and Wild.
