Indiana lineman and Concord High School graduate Jason Spriggs will be among the athletes present at the 2015 Big Ten football kick-off luncheon. (File photo by Nick Goralczyk)

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced today the 42 players scheduled to attend the 2015 Big Ten Football Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon presented by Allstate and BMW, held Thursday and Friday, July 30 and 31, at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago.

The list of students scheduled to attend features 27 returning all-conference selections, including first-team honorees in Maryland’s Brad Craddock and William Likely, Michigan State’s Jack Allen and Shilique Calhoun, Minnesota’s Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Penn State’s Anthony Zettel and Rutgers’ Leonte Carroo.

Frankie Williams is one of three players to represent the Purdue Boilermakers at the Big 10 kick-off luncheon. (File photo by Mike Deak)

Attendees who have earned second-team All-Big Ten honors include Iowa’s Austin Blythe and Drew Ott, Michigan State’s Connor Cook, Nebraska’s Nate Gerry, Ohio State’s Taylor Decker and Joshua Perry, Purdue’s Frankie Williams and Wisconsin’s Michael Caputo. Previous honorable mention all-conference honorees scheduled to appear at the event are Illinois’ Ted Karras and Mason Monheim, Indiana’s Jason Spriggs, Iowa’s Jordan Lomax, Minnesota’s Theiren Cockran, Northwestern’s Dan Vitale, Ohio State’s Adolphus Washington, Penn State’s Jordan Lucas and Angelo Mangiro, Purdue’s Robert Kugler, Rutgers’ Darius Hamilton and Wisconsin’s Joel Stave. A complete list of player attendees appears below.

The 44th annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon will be held on Friday, July 31. The day begins with the Big Ten partnering with USA Football to put on its first free Kickoff Luncheon Youth Clinic. From 8:30-10 a.m. CT, USA Football staff will take approximately 120 boys and girls, kindergarten through eighth grade, through basic catching, passing, agility and defense drills.

Beginning at 10 a.m., fans in attendance will take part in an autograph session with the head coaches, while select players will participate in brief, live interviews highlighted by questions from fans on-site and through social media channels. Coaches and players will be available for a photo session around 11 a.m.

The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. and will showcase interviews with all 14 head coaches, and include speeches by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and Tournament of Roses president Mike Matthiessen. Indiana’s Nate Sudfeld and Ohio State’s Joshua Perry will speak on behalf of the players in attendance.

The program will also include recognition of 2015 Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award recipients Campbell Sode of Rutgers men’s lacrosse and Jessica Plant of Minnesota women’s swimming and diving. This scholarship is given annually by the Indianapolis Big Ten Community Partnership to recognize one male and one female Big Ten senior pursuing a postgraduate degree for achievements in academics, athletics, extracurricular activities and leadership. Additionally, veterans will be honored at the luncheon for their service as part of the Wounded Warrior Project.

A limited number of tickets remain available for $110 per seat or $1,100 per table (10 seats). Contact Eddie Thiebe at the Big Ten office at 847-696-1010, ext. 164, or [email protected] to purchase tickets.

The Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon annually attracts some of the most talented names in college sports. The event has drawn legendary coaches as well as each of the conference’s Heisman Trophy winners since 1970. In all, more than 900 of the conference’s finest players, almost 80 head coaches and nearly 51,000 supporters have made the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon a yearly stop in their preseason college football schedules.

PLAYERS ATTENDING 2015 BIG TEN FOOTBALL MEDIA DAY KICKOFF LUNCHEON

INDIANA
Adarius Rayner, Sr., DL
Jason Spriggs, Sr., OL*
Nate Sudfeld, Sr., QB

MARYLAND
Brad Craddock, Sr., PK*
William Likely, Jr., DB*
Andrew Zeller, Sr., OL

MICHIGAN
Joe Bolden, Sr., LB
Jehu Chesson, Sr., WR
James Ross III, Sr., LB

MICHIGAN STATE
Jack Allen, Sr., C*
Shilique Calhoun, Sr., DE*
Connor Cook, Sr., QB*

OHIO STATE
Taylor Decker, Sr., OT*
Joshua Perry, Sr., LB*
Adolphus Washington, Sr., DT*

PENN STATE
Jordan Lucas, Sr., S*
Angelo Mangiro, Sr., C/G*
Anthony Zettel, Sr., DT*

RUTGERS
Leonte Carroo, Sr., WR*
Darius Hamilton, Sr., DT*
Keith Lumpkin, Sr., OL

ILLINOIS
Josh Ferguson, Sr., RB
Ted Karras, Sr., OG*
Mason Monheim, Sr., LB*

IOWA
Austin Blythe, Sr., C*
Jordan Lomax, Sr., DB*
Drew Ott, Sr., DE*

MINNESOTA
Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Sr., DB*
Theiren Cockran, Sr., DE*
Mitch Leidner, Jr., QB

NEBRASKA
Tommy Armstrong Jr., Jr., QB
Nate Gerry, Jr., S*
Jordan Westerkamp, Jr., WR

NORTHWESTERN
Traveon Henry, Sr., S
Christian Jones, Sr., WR
Dan Vitale, Sr., SB*

PURDUE
Danny Anthrop, Sr., WR
Robert Kugler, Sr., C*
Frankie Williams, Sr., CB*

WISCONSIN
Michael Caputo, Sr., S*
Corey Clement, Jr., RB
Joel Stave, Sr., QB*