Before they were dominating games at Levi's Stadium, 49ers stars George Kittle and Nick Bosa were tearing up the collegiate ranks. Both competed in the Big 10 Conference, with Kittle catching passes for the Iowa Hawkeyes and Bosa chasing down quarterbacks with the Buckeyes at Ohio State.
So when ESPN put together an all-conference team of Big Ten players in the NFL, Kittle and Bosa naturally were included.
Kittle is coming off two seasons of being among the NFL's best tight ends, even breaking the position's single-season record for receiving yards in 2018. The former Hawkeye was the most valuable player to his team in the NFL last season according to Pro Football Focus, finishing with a 95.0 overall PFF Grade, the best-ever mark for a tight end since 2006. Kittle is expected to get a record-breaking contract extension from San Francisco some time this offseason.
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Bosa came out of the gate with a bang in his first NFL season, racking up nine sacks and 80 total quarterback pressures on his way to earning the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year award. The 22-year-old finished with a better PFF grade as a rookie than Chicago Bears star defensive lineman Khalil Mack.
The two never matched up during their college years, but far and away are two of the conference's best current NFL players.
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