Wisconsin football: Cole Van Lanen is named preseason AP All-American

It is honestly kind of depressing writing these posts about the Wisconsin Badgers 2020 football season that won’t be, but starting left tackle Cole Van Lanen was named to the preseason AP All-American second team on Tuesday. Van Lanen has had his share of preseason honors already this summer, being named to the Outland Trophy watch list and being on several other All-American teams too.

Van Lanen was going to be the anchor of the Wisconsin offensive line this season after star center Tyler Biadasz declared for the NFL Draft after last season, but with the Big Ten not playing football in the fall, the final season of Van Lanen’s career is up in the air. There is talk of a winter/spring season happening but that could interfere with Van Lanen’s professional dreams, as he would likely be selected in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The B1G and the SEC each had 12 players on the two AP teams, leading all conferences. The Ohio State Buckeyes had three players represented, making them the team with the second most players behind Alabama’s six.

Purdue’s Rondale Moore (all-purpose player) and Iowa’s Keith Duncan (kicker) made the first team from the B1G West, while Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum (center), Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman (wide receiver) and Northwestern’s Paddy Fisher (linebacker) made the second team.