2008 Big Ten
Spring Preview
By
Pete Fiutak
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2007 Big Ten Spring Analysis
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2008
Early Lookaheads -
Big Ten
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2008 Big East Insider Spring
Questions & Answers
Illinois
Spring Practice
Begins: March 24 Game: April 19
The early spring buzz ... The program doesn't appear to be taking
any step back after a breakthrough Rose Bowl season. The
recruiting class might not have been the jaw-dropper the
2007 one was, but it was still fantastic with more than
enough new talent coming in to continue the momentum for
the next several years. It's almost like the Rose Bowl
blowout against USC never happened as Ron Zook and the
staff are going full steam ahead acting like last year
was just the beginning to bigger and better things. No,
Illinois doesn't appear to be a one-year wonder.
The big spring question is ... Will Juice throw more? The
team lived and died with the running game, but to beat
the better teams, like Ohio State, the passing attack
had to work. No, this isn't going to be Texas Tech
throwing the ball, but this spring has to be about
getting Juice Williams even more efficient and even more
consistent with his passing. Of course Williams isn't
Vince Young, but remember, Young couldn't throw early in
his career and then he stepped up his efficiency. If
Williams can't improve, backup Eddie McGee could get
more and more work.
The most important position to watch is ... Running back.
Rashard Mendenhall was an elite back who'll be sorely
missed even with a slew of good young talent to work
with. The recruiting class brought in Mikel LeShoure and
Jason Ford, but lost out on Jason Harper to Clemson.
Daniel Dufrene was the third leading rusher last year
and will get the first look, but he'll be pushed hard by
Walter Mendenhall and Troy Pollard. Expect a running
back by committee approach for a while until someone can
emerge.
Spring attitude... Now the pressure is on. The team was one
of the biggest surprises of the 2007 season, and now the
pressure is on Zook to take the program to yet another
level. Everyone knows he can recruit, he was able to do
that at Florida, but is he a good enough game coach to
take all that talent and succeed when the expectations
are jacked up? Everyone's going to gunning for the
Illini this year, and anything less than a ten win
season might be seen as major disappointment.
Indiana
Spring Practice
Begins: March 25 Game: April 19
The early spring buzz ... Can the football program do anything to
take the attention away from Kelvin Sampson and the
fiasco with the basketball team? Yes, there's a football
team coming off a bowl game that deserves a bit of the
spotlight, and now things should be far more settled
than last year when the Terry Hoeppner tragedy was about
happen. Bill Lynch has been running the program, for the
most part, for a full season, and now that he's the head
man, and any interim tag has been taken off, he can do
things like he wants to. The program will never forget
Hoeppner, but the program can now focus more on just
football.
The big spring question is ... Will there be any more from
the running backs? The Hoosiers have a home run hitting
rusher in QB Kellen Lewis, and they have a very fast
back in Marcus Thigpen, but the ground game needs to get
more from the backfield. Thigpen is a track star who
busted off a few big runs here and there, and now it's
time for others to do more. Is Bryan Payton ready for
more carries? Are there any young stars waiting to
emerge? Demetrius McCray would be the one to get excited
about coming off an ankle injury, but off-the-filed
issues could keep him out of the mix early on. Any improvement here could make the team
night-and-day better.
The most important position to watch is ... Cornerback. Don't
let the bad stats fool you; the corner tandem of Tracy
Porter and Leslie Majors might have been the best in the
Big Ten and they'll be sorely missed. The safeties are
set with Nick Polk and Austin Thomas, but the corner
situation has to be settled right away. Christopher
Phillips and Adrian Burks will get the first look after
being the main backups.
Spring attitude... Last year wasn't a fluke. Getting a 12th
game became the rallying cry throughout 2007, and now
the focus has to be on doing more throughout the season
and not just being happy to get to a bowl game. There's
more than enough returning talent to prevent a slide,
and the schedule is nice and easy enough to demand
nothing less than six wins. Now the team has to make a
big leap and challenge to finish in the top five
considering Ohio State and Michigan are off the slate.
Iowa
Spring Practice
Begins: March 26 Game: April 19
The early spring buzz ... The coaching staff is undergoing a bit
of a shakeup just before spring ball kicks in. Former
Michigan wide receivers coach Erik Campbell will take
over for Carl Jackson, and that's a big plus considering
how good the Wolverine targets developed over the last
few years. Lester Erb will coaching the running backs
and special teams, Darrell Wilson will coach the entire
linebacking corps after handling the outside
linebackers, and Eric Johnson will take on more work
with the linebackers. The main defensive coaches are
staying put.
The big spring question is ... Did the receivers grow? With
all the problems with injuries and suspensions, the Iowa
receiving corps was a nightmare with a slew of redshirt
freshmen thrown into the fire. Expect many players to be
back into the mix making the competition interesting,
but Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, James Cleveland and Trey
Stross, the three top wide receivers from last year,
aren't just going to step aside.
The most important position to watch is ... Quarterback. The
big personnel losses are on defense, especially at
linebacker, but the focus throughout spring ball will be
on the quarterback situation where Jake Christensen,
last year's starter, Arvell Nelson, Ricky Stanzi and
Marvin McNutt will all get a shot to win the No. 1 spot.
Because of his experience, Christensen has a slight
edge, and to be fair, he didn't exactly have much to
work with, but the opening is there for someone to take
the job by the horns.
Spring attitude... If it doesn't happen now, it's never going
to. No, Iowa isn't the most talented team in the Big
Ten, but there's more than enough experience to be far
better and far more consistent. Most importantly,
there's no Michigan or Ohio State on the schedule. The
Hawkeyes don't play a bowl team until a road trip to
Michigan State, the sixth game of the season, and
Wisconsin and Penn State have to come to Iowa City. Head
coach Kirk Ferentz needs to get the program back on
track right now.
Michigan
Spring Practice
Begins: March 15 Game: April 12
The early spring buzz ... The candlelight vigils and prayer
services held to get Terrelle Pryor to come to Ann Arbor
might not work, and the program has to move on and
assume the superstar quarterback prospect is going
elsewhere ... like Ohio State. Even so, new head man
Rich Rodriguez did a fantastic job recruiting as he held
on to almost all of Lloyd Carr's key recruits and even
stole a top player or two (sorry, Purdue). If nothing
else, this should be the most interesting spring session
Michigan has seen in years, and considering the changes
in the offense, every minute of every practice will be
vital.
The big spring question is ... How fast can the offensive personnel
adjust to what RichRod wants to do? The offense might be
more ready-made to run the spread than many are making
it out to be. The adjustment over the last few years to
a leaner, more athletic offensive line has made the
front five in solid shape even with Jake Long and Adam
Kraus gone, the receivers are fine, even with the loss
of Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington, and the
running backs are quick and ideal for the attack.
There's more talent currently on the Wolverine offense
than Rodriguez ever had to work with in Morgantown, but
...
The most important position to watch is ... Quarterback.
Again, assume Pryor isn't going to wear the Maize and
Blue, and even if he decides to sign, the offense needs
to prepare a few other options to be ready to roll
before Utah comes to town on August 30th. Is RB Carlos
Brown really going to go under center? Steve
Threet was a top recruit who has the talent to get the
offense moving, even if he's not the ideal player to run
the attack. Without question, no position will get a
bigger national spotlight.
Spring attitude... This isn't a building year. Of course
there's no way all the pieces will be in place compared
to where they'll likely be in 2009, but there won't be
any tolerance for anything less than the 8-4 regular
season the team came up with last year. All the talk
will be about the Ohio State game, but the team has to
be dead-focused on a loaded Utah in the opener or it'll
be Appalachian State all over again. Let's get this over
with now; Michigan isn't going to beat this national
title-level Buckeye team in Columbus, so the concern
should be about the first half of the season with a trip
to Notre Dame to go along with dates against Wisconsin
and Illinois.
Michigan State
Spring Practice
Begins: March 17 Game: April 19
The early spring buzz ... They're talking Rose Bowl. No, not this
year, and yes, every Big Ten team uses Pasadena as the
goal, but second year head man Mark Dantonio is actually
saying the words Rose and Bowl and where the program
looks to get to in the next few years. At least that's
what he's selling to recruits. Again, everyone puts that
carrot out there, but Dantonio actually makes it sound
believable. With the major strides the team made in
2007, it wouldn't be a mega-shock of the Spartans make a
big jump.
The big spring question is ... Is the team ready to win all
the close games? Past Spartan teams would've folded late
in the year if they had to face the adversity last
season's team faced, but it was able to get over the
Michigan heartbreaker to beat Purdue and Penn State and
get to a bowl game. Now the team has to use that
experience and that mental toughness to win more tight
games. MSU lost five games (Wisconsin, Northwestern,
Iowa, Michigan and Boston College) that it could've won
with just one key late play, and it came within seven of
Ohio State. All six of the losses came by seven points
or fewer with two coming in overtime.
The most important position to watch is ... Wide receiver. It
was hardly a shock to lose Devin Thomas early to the
NFL, but it still hurts. Also gone is an excellent
target in tight end Kellen Davis, so while receiver was
a major focus in the recruiting class, getting a future
star in Fred Smith, it's obviously going to take at
least a year for the good haul to contribute. Mark Dell
and Deon Curry, who combined for 44 catches for 430
yards and three touchdowns, have to establish themselves
early on, and a few young players have to take advantage
of the opportunity.
Spring attitude... Start strong. The opener is a nasty one
going to Cal on August 30th, but things ease up
considerably facing Eastern Michigan and Florida
Atlantic before hosting Notre Dame, going to Indiana,
hosting Iowa and going to Northwestern. The second half
of the year is brutal, so anything less than a 6-1 start
could make for a rough final record. There are major
holes to be filled on both sides of the ball, and with
the game against the Bears, there isn't going to be much
time to jell, so every practice will be vital to figure
out who the new replacements are going to be on the
defensive line, at safety, and in the receiving corps.
Minnesota
Spring Practice
Begins: March 26 Game: April 25
The early spring buzz ... After a disastrous first season,
head coach Tim Brewster came up with a tremendous
recruiting class proving that he can get the young
talent to Minneapolis. Now he needs the coaches to make
everyone better. It's been a rough off-season for the
coaching staff at defensive coordinator Everett Withers
took off for the same position at North Carolina, which
is slightly odd considering the D was abysmal last year.
Director of Football Operations, Randy Taylor, is also
gone, but the rest of the coaching staff should stay
intact even though several assistants are getting offers
for other gigs.
The big spring question is ... Is the defense going to be any
better? It's not going to be worse; it can't be. The
Gophers were dead last in America in yards allowed
giving up 519 per game while also giving up close to 37
points per outing. The big problem was youth with five
underclassmen starting and almost all the key reserves
being thrown to the wolves early on. There's a ton of
returning experience and plenty of speed and
athleticism, and now it all has to come together to find
one thing this spring it can do well.
The most important position to watch is ... Quarterback. The
one bright spot last year was a sensational campaign
from QB Adam Weber, who carried the team and kept things
from being even worse than they already are. Even though
he threw 24 touchdown passes and ran for 617 yards and
five scores, he'll have to battle hard to keep the gig
with top recruit MarQueis Gray expected to get every
chance this summer to win the starting job, and
Brewster's son, Clint, a top recruit last year, will
also get a shot. All-around talent David Pittman might
get a few snaps, but he'll be needed elsewhere.
Spring attitude... 2007 Illinois. The 2008 Gopher recruiting
class isn't as good as the 2007 Illinois haul, and there
isn't the foundation in place that the Illini had to
build on, but Ron Zook and company showed just how
quickly a program can go from rags to roses with the
right players and the right breaks. The Gophers have
miles to go before they can even think about watching
the Rose Bowl, much less going, but this is such a young
team with so many underclassmen that this could be a
nice stepping-stone to a big 2009. At least that's the
hope..
Northwestern
Spring Practice
Begins: March 31 Game: April 26
The early spring buzz ... The coaching staff is being changed up a
bit. Mick McCall was hired away from Bowling Green,
where he was the offensive coordinator and a solid
quarterback coach, to take over the offensive
coordinator duties. He did a great job with players like
Josh Harris, Omar Jacobs and Tyler Sheehan, and now he's
expected to work wonders with C.J. Bacher and make him
more effective in the spread attack. Also on board is
Mike Hankwitz, who comes in as the new defensive
coordinator after spending the last few years at
Wisconsin.
The big spring question is ... What kind of defense will the
Wildcats run? There's been talk about moving from a 4-3
to a 3-4, and this spring will determine which direction
the D goes. The strength of the defense appears to be at
linebacker with several good young players ready to step
into bigger roles, but if the line dominates this
off-season, or if a few unsung players step up, the D
might stick with a four man front. If nothing else, the
coaching staff might experiment with both formations.
The most important position to watch is ... The left side of
the offensive line. The O line was a big-time
disappointment last year, but it'll still miss C Trevor
Rees and LG Adam Crum and LT Dylan Thiry. The reserves
are iffy at best, at least they were last year, so if
there's not immediate help from the recruiting class,
the line could be a big problem early on.
Spring attitude... No more giving games away. The Wildcats
were on the wrong end of one of the biggest collapses in
college football history two years ago in a 41-38 loss
to Michigan State, and they also lost to D-IAA New
Hampshire. Had they won those two games, they would've
been 6-6. Last year they inexplicably lost to Duke at
home, which ended up costing them a bowl game. The team
simply isn't strong enough to not win every game it's
supposed to, so if there's any hope of getting a 13th
game, they have to beat Syracuse, Southern Illinois and
Ohio at home, and a win at Duke is a must. That would be
a 4-0 start before Big Ten play kicks in, and anything
less might mean another bowl season spent at home.
Ohio State
Spring Practice
Begins: March 24 Game: April 19
The early spring buzz ... The team is loaded up for a possible third
straight run to the national championship game, but all
the talk is about a player who likely won't even see the
field if he signs with Jim Tressel, top QB recruit
Terrelle Pryor. It's more than just OSU possibly landing
the nation's top prep star; it's also about Michigan not
getting him. Even more important to this season is the
decision by LB James Laurinaitis, OT Alex Boone, and CB
Malcolm Jenkins to return for their senior seasons.
They're arguably the best players in America at their
respective positions, and they make an already great
team something special.
The big spring question is ... What's missing before being a
national champion? Attitude seemed to be a problem more
than anything else in the loss to Florida in Glendale,
but the Buckeyes simply lost to a better team in the
2008 BCS Championship. Even so, it wasn't the pasting or
the embarrassment many in the media made it out to be.
The Buckeyes have more NFL starters on the starting 22
than anyone else in America, there's no questioning the
talent, and there's no doubt this is one of the best
teams in college football. To go from No. 2 to No. 1,
the lines need to be flat-out nastier, and the team
needs to know it can be a national champion and not just
think it can be. That might sound vague, but mindset
really could be the difference. That mindset will be
there if the Buckeyes come out of L.A. with a win over
the Trojans on September 13th.
The most important position to watch is ... Defensive end.
Everything else is in place except for a sure-thing,
top-flight pass rusher. Vernon Gholston had 14 of the
team's 43 sacks, linebackers James Laurinaitis and Larry
Grant each had five, and almost everyone else came up
with one. Cameron Heyward, who cranked out 2.5 sacks,
needs to grow into Gholston's role, while several other
players have to emerge this spring and show they deserve
time on the outside.
Spring attitude... National title
or bust. Georgia will probably be everyone's preseason
No. 1 team, and maybe USC, Oklahoma, Florida, or a
random other team will get a few nods for the top spot,
but no team comes back as loaded or as talented as Ohio
State. A win at USC might be a must to make the trip to
Miami, and if this team really wants to be a national
champion, that's a game it has to win.
Penn State
Spring Practice
Begins: March 24 Game: April 19
The early spring buzz ... All the
talk is about everything other than football. The
off-the-field stuff has taken center stage with WR Chris
Bell and starting DT Phil Taylor suspended because of
academic issues. DT Chris Baker and LB Navorro Bowman
were booted off the team for the time being after being
charged with felony assault after a fight last fall,
with CB Knowledge Timmons being charged with misdemeanor
disorderly conduct for a problem after the fight. Top
safety Anthony Scirrotto agreed to a plea bargain after
pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of defiant
trespass in an issue last April. If that wasn't enough,
everyone is talking about what the succession plan is
going to be after Joe Paterno decides he's done, while
the Nittany Lion nation continues to hold its breath as
it hopes beyond all reasonable hope that super-recruit
Terrelle Pryor will sign and be the 2008 starting
quarterback.
The big spring question is ... Is there a ceiling on the 2008
team? The 2007 team blasted Wisconsin and collapsed
against a motivated Michigan State, but for the most
part it beat the teams it was supposed to, and lost to
the better teams (Michigan, Illinois and Ohio State).
The offense needs more pop, the defense needs to play up
to its talent level game-in-and-game-out, and for a full
sixty minutes, and there can't be any gaffes. It's all
about gearing up for a huge midseason stretch with four
road games in five weeks (Purdue, Wisconsin, Ohio State
and Iowa) after a home date against Illinois. The home
oasis? Michigan.
The most important position to watch is ... Quarterback.
Anthony Morelli was the poster boy for Underwhelming
Quarterbacks of America, but he wasn't bad and led the
way to a few good seasons. Can Daryll Clark make the
offense more exciting? Yes. Can he throw? No. Pat Devlin
could quickly take over the No. 1 spot if he's
consistent this spring, but Clark, because of his
mobility, is an X factor. The team might live through
his mistakes to go with his personality and potential.
Spring attitude... Is it possible
to be a sleeper? Ohio State will be everyone's preseason
Big Ten title pick, Michigan will get the spotlight with
all the changes, and Wisconsin might be the thinking
man's pick for the title, but Penn State could turn out
to be strong enough to go to Pasadena. The defense will
be stellar, the receiving corps might be the best in
America, and the O line should be a strength. If the
quarterback situation is settled early on, then
shhhhhhhh, this will be the league's under-the-radar
team to keep an eye on.
Purdue
Spring Practice
Begins: March 26 Game: April 19
The early spring buzz ... How
will the transition of power go? Joe Tiller is the head
coach, but Eastern Kentucky's Danny Hope was brought
aboard to be an assistant head man and take over in
2009. It's not like Hope is a stranger after serving
under Tiller for years at Wyoming and Purdue, and now
the key will be to not let the succession plan be a
distraction. This is still Tiller's team, but there has
to be some looking ahead to next year and getting Hope
ready.
The big spring question is ... Can the team actually beat
anyone with a pulse? Out of the eight wins last year,
two came against Central Michigan, with the second
coming in the Motor City Bowl classic, and the other six
were teams that missed out on bowls. Take away the CMU
wins and Purdue was 0-5 against bowl teams. That might
not work this season against a tougher schedule. To get
those big wins, the defense has to be better. It
improved last year after a few disastrous seasons, but
it still wasn't anything special.
The most important position to watch is ... Receiver. Greg
Orton, who finished third on the team in receptions is
back, but all-timer Dorien Bryant is gone, along with
top tight end Dustin Keller and troubled Selwyn Lymon,
who was booted off the team. The program always plugs in
new receivers and gets excellent production, but Bryant
isn't instantly replaceable, and several new faces need
to become producers early on this spring.
Spring attitude... Own Ross-Ade.
Purdue has been fine at home, but it hasn't been as
strong as it needs to be against the better teams. That
has to change. In the past, the team could lose the
games it was supposed on the road, beat the lightweights
at home, and go to a bowl, but that can't happen this
year with Oregon, Penn State, Michigan and Indiana on
the home slate. If the Boilermakers can somehow win
three of those, to go along with expected wins over
Northern Colorado, Central Michigan and Minnesota, a top
four conference finish is possible.
Wisconsin
Spring Practice
Begins: March 8 Game: April 19
The early spring buzz ... Now
is the team ready to get over the hump and get to
the BCS? Last year it was the hot team coming into the
season, and it didn't wake up until after getting
knocked out of the Big Ten title races with back-to-back
losses to Illinois and Penn State. This isn't an
little-engine-that-could program; this is a big-time
team that has to start playing up to the expectations
and hype every week. The preseason ranking will be
strong, likely somewhere between 12 and 20 in most
polls, but the team has to finally show it deserves the
respect.
The big spring question is ... Will the defense be
up-to-snuff? Bret Bielema is first and foremost a
defensive coach and is retooling his staff to get
better, and younger. With Mike Hankwitz off to
Northwestern, Dave Doeren has been bumped up from
recruiting coordinator to defensive coordinator while
Charlie Partridge was hired away from Pitt to coach the
defensive line. To be fair, the Badgers suffered a slew
of injuries over the last two seasons, but that's not
being used as an excuse for a D that struggled to get
into the backfield on a regular basis and wasn't tight
enough against spread attacks.
The most important position to watch is ... Offensive tackle.
Sure, the spotlight will be on QB Allen Evridge, and
attention will be paid to the kicking game after losing
P Ken DeBauche and excellent PK Taylor Mehlhaff, but the
difference between a good and a great season in Madison
rests on offensive tackles Gabe Carimi, Kraig Urbik,
Eric Vanden Heuvel and Jake Bscherer, among others. The
tackles have to be much, much better in pass protection
after the quarterbacks suffered some major beatings, and
often at inopportune times.
Spring attitude... It's Bret's
program. Bielema has done a terrific job of keeping
things rolling after the great Barry Alvarez era, and
now this program and this team has his stamp on it. He's
no longer Barry's guy, he's a top-shelf college football
head coach with 21 wins under his belt and two straight
New Year's Day appearances. He represents a new type of
young coach who utilizes all the technology and all the
data and all the possible resources, and now he and his
staff have to coach like it's out of Alvarez's shadow.