Tommy Eichenberg is now officially considered the best linebacker in the Big Ten.
Amid the announcement of the conference's end-of-season defensive awards, Eichenberg was named the conference’s Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year on Tuesday.
Despite missing two games with an injury he sustained at Rutgers, Eichenberg racked up 80 tackles, 40 of them solo, with 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble during the regular season.
Eichenberg collected 10 or more tackles in three Ohio State games this year, including 10 against Western Kentucky, 12 in the above-mentioned game against the Scarlet Knights and a season-high 13 against Maryland.