Ranking the Big Ten: Tackle

As the 2019 season draws nearer by the day, it’s time to start taking a look at some of the top players to watch in the Big Ten Conference.

We continue our annual Ranking the Big Ten series today with the tackles, which feature some of the top offensive line bookends in college football.

Related: QB | RB | WR | TE | C | G

An injury forced Jackson to miss Iowa's 2018 season opener, but he returned the next week and put together another dominant campaign at left tackle.

After starting 12 games and earning Freshman All-American honors as a redshirt freshman, Jackson followed up by being named a consensus second-team All-Big Ten selection last year.

The 6-foot-6, 320-pound native of Detroit enters 2019 as a preseason first-team all-conference pick and could be in line for an early jump to the NFL is all goes according to plan.

Runyan began his Michigan career as a guard but moved to tackle toward the end of his sophomore year in 2017, where he made his first career start in the Outback Bowl against South Carolina.

He's been there ever since, and is now regarded as one of the top tackles in the Big Ten Conference entering his senior season.

Runyan, the son of former NFL star Jon Runyan Sr., started all 13 games in 2018 and earned first-team all-conference honors by the league's coaches and was a second-team selection by the media.

He may only have one career start under his belt, but Van Lanen has played in every game since his redshirt freshman season and has gotten better with every snap.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound native of Green Bay, Wis., made his first and only start last September vs. New Mexico State, but he ended up ranking as the nation's highest-graded offensive tackle in the country by ProFootballFocus (90.4) at the end of the year.

Now set to be a full-time starter as a junior, Van Lanen a preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection by Athlon and is expected to be the next in a long line of dominant Badger offensive linemen.

Even though he played much of his first season as a starter last year with nagging back and hip injuries, Munford proved himself as one of the most valuable members of Ohio State's offensive line at left tackle.

His blend of size (6-6, 310) and athleticism give the Buckeyes an element of versatility at the position they haven't had in some time. Munford sat out of spring ball to allow his injuries to fully recover, but he'll be the anchor of OSU's front once again this fall.

The Cincinnati, Ohio, native was pegged a preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection by Athlon, and if he can stay healthy, he'll have a legit chance for an early jump to the NFL.

Wirfs made history, so to speak, when he became the first true freshman to start a game at either offensive tackle spot under head coach Kirk Ferentz when he took over as the top right tackle in 2017.

The 6-foot-5, 320-pounder has been in that role ever since, and now he helps give the Hawkeyes one of the best tackle duos in the country opposite Jackson.

Wirfs was only an honorable-mention All-Big Ten selection last season, and he'll once again be a bit overshadowed by Jackson entering his junior campaign. But most anyone who's evaluated his film can see that he has NFL potential written all over him.