Tyleik Williams is a midseason All-American.
On Tuesday, ESPN named the Ohio State defensive tackle to its midseason All-American team, selecting Williams and Notre Dame's Howard Cross III as the best interior defensive linemen in college football after six weeks. ESPN named Illinois' Jer'Zhan Newton and Texas' T'Vondre Sweat honorable mentions.
This season, Williams leads Ohio State with six tackles for loss and ranks fifth behind Tommy Eichenberg (46), Steele Chambers (36), Lathan Ransom (29) and Davison Igbinosun (28) with 27 total tackles. Moreover, the 6-foot-2, 290-pound defensive tackle has collected one sack, four pass breakups, one quarterback hit, one fumble recovery and one defensive touchdown across six appearances in 2023.
In other words, Williams is "a menace in the middle of an Ohio State defense that has allowed seven touchdowns in six games," ESPN's Chris Low wrote.
Williams was Ohio State's lone representative on ESPN's midseason All-American team. Marvin Harrison Jr. was named an honorable mention behind Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III, who leads all Power Five players with 56 catches, converting them into 808 yards and five scores. Eichenberg was also named as an honorable mention behind Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, who leads all FBS players with 13.5 tackles for loss.
Here is a complete look at ESPN's midseason All-American team:
Offense
- QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
- RB Jonathon Brooks, Texas
- RB Audric Estime, Notre Dame
- WR Malik Nabers, LSU
- WR Luther Burden, Missouri
- TE Brock Bowers, Georgia
- OT Olu Fashanu, Penn State
- OG Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
- C Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia
- OG Zak Zinter, Michigan
- OT Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State
- AP Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
Defense
- DE Dallas Turner, Alabama
- DT Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
- DT Howard Cross III, Notre Dame
- DE Laiatu Latu, UCLA
- LB Payton Wilson, NC State
- LB Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M
- LB Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma
- CB Cooper DeJean, Iowa
- CB Terrion Arnold, Alabama
- S Malaki Starks, Georgia
- S Jaylin Simpson, Auburn
Special Teams
- K Will Reichard, Alabama
- P Tory Taylor, Iowa
- KR/PR Zachariah Branch, USC
CBS Sports also released their midseason All-American teams on Tuesday. However, no Ohio State players were selected.
