ESPN named IU senior offensive lineman Dan Feeney to its college football preseason All-America team Monday.
Feeney joins five other Big Ten student-athletes on the list, including Ohio State senior center Pat Elflein on the offensive line. IU Coach Kevin Wilson has praised Feeney many times throughout his playing career for his consistency and effort. The fifth-year Hoosier enters the 2016 season as a leader both for the team and the offensive line.
CBS Sports, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated and ESPN all recognized Feeney as a first team All-American after the 2015 season. He was a reliable member of an offensive line that included now Green Bay Packers’ lineman Jason Spriggs.
Spriggs was also named a first team All-American after the season, making the pair the fifth and sixth first team All-American offensive linemen in program history.
Feeney enters the 2016 campaign on the Outland Trophy Watch List, an award given to the nation’s best interior lineman, for the second season in a row. He has allowed only one sack in 37 starts, 2,719 snaps, at right guard for the Hoosiers. In 2015, he allowed zero and led the team in knockdowns.
The Orland Park, Illinois, native has also helped clear the way for a few high-profile running backs in recent seasons. Tevin Coleman rushed for over 2,000 yards in 2014, and both Jordan Howard and junior Devine Redding rushed for over 1,000 yards last year.
Coleman and Howard are both in the NFL now, playing for the Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears respectively.
Feeney likely would have been drafted had he chosen to declare for the 2016 NFL Draft, but he elected to return.
Jordan Guskey
