Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, August 4, 2013
We're 25 days from the 2013 football season kicking off. Indiana (Indiana State) and Minnesota (UNLV) get things started for the Big Ten on Thursday, Aug. 29 on BTN/BTN2Go. To help count down the days to kickoff, BTN.com is ranking the top 25 players. Join us as we count it down, from 25-1, every day.
No. 25: Anthony Hitchens, LB, Iowa
What will the senior do for an encore after leading the Big Ten in tackles (124) and ranking fifth in the nation (11.2 per game) last season? The 6-1, 233-pound native of Lorain, Ohio, also collected 5.5 tackles for loss and one sack-despite missing one game because of injury. Hitchens notched 10 or more tackles in seven of the 11 games he played in 2012. He?ll be part of one of the Big Ten?s top linebacking corps, playing alongside seniors James Morris and Christian Kirksey, who all bring speed and a nose for the ball to the field. And Hitchens is the best of the bunch.
View Hitchens' career stats:
2010 stats: 9 tackles
2011 stats: 25 tackles, 1 FR
2012 stats: 124 tackles; 5.5 TFL; 1 sack
BTN.com?s top 25 players of 2013
1. Aug. 28
2. Aug. 27
3. Aug. 26
4. Aug. 25
5. Aug. 24
6. Aug. 23
7. Aug. 22
8. Aug. 21
9. Aug. 20
10. Aug. 19
11. Aug. 18
12. Aug. 17
13. Aug. 16
14. Aug. 15
15. Aug. 14
16. Aug. 13
17. Aug. 12
18. Aug. 11
19. Aug. 10
20. Aug. 9
21. Aug. 8
22. Aug. 7
23. Aug. 6
24. Aug. 5
25. Anthony Hitchens, LB, Iowa
