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2008 Big Ten Spring Football Prospectus
April 11, 2008
2008 BIG TEN FOOTBALL SPRING PROSPECTUS WEBSITE Welcome Back: Returning to Big Ten fields in 2008 are 25 All-Conference players from last season, including 12 first-team honorees and 13 second-team selections. The first-team returnees are comprised of four offensive, six defensive and two special teams standouts. The second-team picks include seven players on offense, five on defense and one kicker. In addition, 29 honorable mention honorees from last season also return to campus. ALL-BIG TEN FIRST-TEAM RETURNEES OFFENSE Beanie Wells, JR, RB, OSU A.Q. Shipley, SR, C, PSU (Coaches only) Travis Beckum, SR, TE, WIS DEFENSE
Greg Middleton, JR, DL, IND STATS: 50 tackles (26 solo), 17 TFLs, 16 sacks First-team Sporting News All-American led the nation with 16.0 sacks (1.23 per game), part of a defense which tied for eighth nationally with 42 QB drops. Mitch King, SR, DL, IOWA (Coaches only) Malcolm Jenkins, SR, DB, OSU James Laurinaitis, SR, LB, OSU Maurice Evans, JR, DL, PSU SPECIAL TEAMS Jeremy Boone, JR, P, PSU ALL-BIG TEN SECOND-TEAM RETURNEES OFFENSE Ryan McDonald, SR, C, ILL Kellen Lewis, JR, QB, IND Javon Ringer, SR, RB, MSU Alex Boone, SR, OT, OSU Rich Ohrnberger, SR, OG, PSU Kraig Urbik, SR, OG, WIS DEFENSE Terrance Taylor, SR, DL, MICH (Coaches only) Marcus Freeman, SR, LB, OSU (Coaches only) Sean Lee, SR, LB, PSU Matt Shaughnessy, SR, DL, WIS SPECIAL TEAMS Familiar Faces in Starting Lineup: For the first time since 2003, all 11 Big Ten teams return at least half of their starters from a season ago, with defending Big Ten champion and national runner-up Ohio State leading the way with an impressive 20 of 24 starters back on the field in 2008. The Buckeyes bring back nine starters on both offense and defense along with their kicker and punter. Four Big Ten teams are tied for second with 17 starters returning including Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State and Wisconsin. The Badgers are the only other team to return nine starters on one side of the ball, equaling the Buckeyes with nine defensive stalwarts back on the field. On the offensive side of the ball, Wisconsin joins Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern and Penn State to rank second behind OSU with eight players returning. Buckeyes Make Run for Four Straight Titles: Ohio State has won the last three Big Ten Championships and will look to join Michigan as the only school to win four or more straight crowns on multiple occasions during the 2008 campaign. The Buckeyes shared the crown with Penn State in 2005 before ending the 2006 and 2007 seasons alone atop the standings to compile a Big Ten mark of 22-2 over the last three years. OSU is the first conference team in more than a decade to claim three straight titles since Michigan won at least a share of five consecutive championships from 1988-92. Ohio State has clinched three consecutive crowns for the first time since posting a Big Ten-record six straight titles from 1972-77. The Wolverines are the only team in Big Ten annals to post four or more consecutive first-place finishes on multiple occasions, accomplishing the feat five different times including the five-title string from 1988-92. and four different four-year runs. Buckeyes Aiming for Big Ten First: In 112 years of Big Ten football, no team has ever stood alone atop the standings in three straight seasons, a feat Ohio State will look to accomplish in 2008. The Buckeyes have won three straight Big Ten Championships, including outright crowns in 2006 and 2007, the first back-to-back outright champs since Michigan in 1991-92. Only six Big Ten programs have produced consecutive outright titles, including Chicago (1907-08), Michigan (1947-48, 1988-89, 1991-92), Michigan State (1965-66), Minnesota (1937-38, 1940-41), Ohio State (1916-17, 1954-55, 2006-07) and Wisconsin (1896-97). The Buckeyes are the third conference school to accomplish the feat on multiple occasions along with the Wolverines and Golden Gophers. Big Ten Winning Streaks: A season after Ohio State set a Big Ten record by extending its conference winning streak to 20 games, the team that snapped that string of success will open the 2008 campaign tied for the longest active Big Ten victory streak. Both Illinois and Iowa enter the upcoming season with three-game winning streaks in conference play. The Illini's three-game streak included a road victory over the Buckeyes on Nov. 10 that ended OSU's 28-game regular-season winning streak, which matched a conference record set by Michigan from 1901-03. Michigan State and Wisconsin enter the 2008 season with two straight Big Ten triumphs. Painter Ready to Chase Records in 2008: Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter will enter his senior season among the top 10 in four offensive categories in the Big Ten career records book. The Boilermakers signal caller boasts 8,763 passing yards (9th in Big Ten history), 1,269 attempts (7th), 760 completions (9th) and 9,101 total offensive yards (8th). He is also near the top 10 with 1,450 total offensive plays and 54 touchdown passes. Veterans Under Center: After returning only six starters at the quarterback position entering the 2007 campaign, two of which were sophomores, eight Big Ten teams could have a familiar face behind center at the start of the 2008 campaign. The conference's top five players in passing yards per game will be back on the field including Northwestern's C.J. Bachér (1st with 304.7 ypg), Purdue's Curtis Painter (2nd with 295.8), Minnesota's Adam Weber (3rd with 241.2), Indiana's Kellen Lewis (4th with 234.1) and Michigan State's Brian Hoyer (5th with 109.6). In addition, Ohio State's Todd Boeckman topped the conference with a pass efficiency rating of 148.9 to lead OSU to the national championship game while Illinois' Juice Williams was the only quarterback to rank among the top 10 in both rushing and pass efficiency to return the Illini to the Rose Bowl. Iowa's Jake Christensen will also be back after tossing 17 TDs in his first year as the starter. Crowded Backfield: The Big Ten's backfields will also feature some of the nation's top running backs, including four players that have earned first- or second-team all-conference laurels and two former national freshman of the year honorees. Six of the Big Ten's top 10 rushers in yards per conference game will return, including Ohio State's Beanie Wells, who led the Big Ten with 140.2 yards per outing last season on his way to first-team All-Big Ten and Sporting News second-team All-American laurels. Michigan State's Javon Ringer rated third with 118.4 yards per conference game to pick up second-team All-Big Ten accolades. Wisconsin's P.J. Hill, a 2006 first-team All-Big Ten selection and CBS Sportsline.com National Freshman of the Year, ranked fifth in conference play in 2007 with 82.8 yards per game despite missing two games due to injury. Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton, a 2005 second-team All-Conference pick and Sporting News National Freshman of the Year, also returns after missing time due to injury last season. Three other returning players ranked among the top 10 rushers in conference action last season. Illinois quarterback Juice Williams rated seventh with 69.8 yards per game, Wisconsin's Zach Brown filled in for Hill and ranked eighth with 69.4 yards per outing as a freshman and Purdue's Kory Sheets rounded out the top 10 with 53.5 yards per contest. Strong on Defense: On the defensive side of the ball, three players who earned first- or second-team All-American accolades will be back on the field, highlighted by Ohio State's James Laurinaitis. The Buckeyes' linebacker is a two-time consensus All-American, winner of the 2007 Butkus Award and 2006 Nagurski Trophy and reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Fellow Buckeye Malcolm Jenkins was a second-team All-American in the defensive backfield while Indiana defensive end Greg Middleton was a Sporting News first-team All-American after leading the country in sacks as a sophomore. Penn State linebacker Sean Lee is the Big Ten's top returning tackler after averaging 10.6 stops per game to rank second behind only former teammate and Bednarik Award winner Dan Connor. While Middleton topped the nation with 16.0 sacks, PSU's Maurice Evans also ranked among the country's top 10 with 12.5 sacks (third in the Big Ten, eighth nationally) while rating second in the conference with 21.5 tackles for loss. Wisconsin defensive back Shane Carter led the Big Ten and ranked ninth nationally with seven interceptions. Illinois defensive back Vontae Davis and Iowa defensive lineman Mitch King also return after being named first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches. A New Face in Ann Arbor: The Big Ten will welcome one new head coach in 2008 in Michigan's Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez joins the Wolverines after spending seven years as head coach at West Virginia, where he led the Mountaineers to a 60-26 record, four Big East titles and six consecutive bowl game bids. Following a 10-2 season when his team won the Big East title and a Bowl Championship Series berth, he was a finalist for the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. Rodriguez was the 2003 and 2005 Big East Coach of the Year. Under his guidance, WVU claimed four of the last five Big East championships and recorded three consecutive seasons (2005-07) of double-digit victories for the first time in school history. A member of West Virginia's 1981-84 teams, Rodriguez was a three-year letterwinner (1982-84) as a defensive back for coach Don Nehlen, who served as an assistant coach at Michigan for Bo Schembechler from 1977-79. Rodriguez will begin his Michigan tenure with a home game against Utah on August 30. Tiller Enters Final Year in West Lafayette: Purdue head coach Joe Tiller will begin his 12th and final season at the helm of the Boilermakers only two victories away from becoming the school's all-time winningest coach. Tiller enters the 2008 season with an 83-54 record in 11 seasons in West Lafayette. Jack Mollenkopf set the school record with 84 victories over 14 seasons from 1956-69. In January, Tiller announced that he would retire at the end of the 2008 campaign and Purdue introduced Danny Hope as associate head football coach. Hope, who served as an assistant under Tiller at Purdue from 1997-2001, will assume the position of head coach at the end of the season. Hope returns to the Boilermakers from Eastern Kentucky, where he served as head coach from 2003 to 2007. His five-year record was 35-22, including 32-8 in Ohio Valley Conference games. Paterno Chases All-Time Win Record: Penn State's Joe Paterno hit the 500-mark in career games as a head coach at the end of last season and enters this year just one game behind the NCAA record for career victories. Paterno became just the second mentor in NCAA history to coach in 500 or more games during the Nittany Lions' bowl victory over Texas A&M at the end of last season. He joins former Big Ten coach Amos Alonzo Stagg, who coached in 548 games from 1890-1946 with Springfield, Chicago and Pacific. Paterno enters the 2008 campaign with 372 wins to rank second all-time among Football Bowl Subdivision coaches in total victories, trailing only current Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden, who wrapped up last season with 373 triumphs. Big Ten Mentors Near Coaching Landmarks: In addition to Penn State's Joe Paterno chasing the all-time victory record, two more Big Ten coaches are on the verge of coaching landmarks. Iowa's Kirk Ferentz will spend his 150th game as a head coach on Oct. 11 at Indiana. Ferentz has built a mark of 73-70 in his first 12 seasons with the Hawkeyes and Maine, which is Iowa's opponent in the season opener on August 30. In addition, Michigan State's Mark Dantonio enters the 2008 campaign with 48 career games as a head coach and will stand on the sidelines for his 50th game on Sept. 6 against Eastern Michigan. Paterno Continues Climb Up Big Ten Century Club: With the departure of Michigan's Lloyd Carr, Penn State's Joe Paterno is the lone active coach appearing among the list of 12 mentors to collect 100 or more wins at a Big Ten school. Paterno posted nine triumphs last season to move past current Wisconsin Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez, who wrapped up his 16-year coaching tenure in Madison following the 2005 campaign with a record of 118-73-4. Paterno has built a mark of 125-58 since the Nittany Lions joined the conference in 1993 to rank eighth, just six wins shy of Illinois' Robert Zuppke (131-81-13) for seventh place. Carr concluded his 13-year career with 122 victories to appear ninth on the list. Among other active Big Ten coaches, Purdue's Joe Tiller boasts 83 wins in 11 years in West Lafayette while Ohio State's Jim Tressel has racked up 73 victories in seven seasons with the Buckeyes. Spreading the Love: Parity has reigned over the Big Ten landscape for the last decade (1998-2007) with eight different teams winning the conference title either outright or as a co-champion: Illinois ('01), Iowa (`02, '04), Michigan (`98, `00, '03, '04), Northwestern (`00), Ohio State (`98, `02, '05, '06, '07), Penn State ('05), Purdue (`00) and Wisconsin (`98, `99). The title has been shared by at least two teams five times in this span, with a pair of three-team ties in 1998 and 2000 and two teams atop the standings in 2002, 2004 and 2005. Big Ten Takes on Bowl Teams: The 2008 Big Ten non-conference schedule features 13 games against 2007-08 bowl opponents, as nine of the 11 conference programs will face at least one bowl team. Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota and Purdue will be challenged by a pair of bowl programs. Both the Hoosiers and Boilermakers will host Central Michigan (Motor City Bowl) of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Purdue and CMU will meet for the third time in a 14-game stretch, after the Boilermakers earned victories last season during the regular season and in the 2007 Motor City Bowl. Indiana will take on another MAC bowl team in Ball State (International) while Purdue will be challenged by Oregon (Sun) out of the Pac-10. The Spartans and Golden Gophers will both host Florida Atlantic (New Orleans) out of the Sun Belt. Michigan State will also hit the road to battle the Pac-10's California (Armed Forces) while Minnesota will face a road test at Bowling Green (GMAC) of the MAC. The Big Ten and Pac-10 will actually take part in four non-conference games with Ohio State playing at Southern California (Rose) and Penn State hosting Oregon State (Emerald). Other Big Ten squads challenging bowl teams out of conference include Illinois taking on the Big 12's Missouri (Cotton), Michigan hosting Utah (Poinsettia) of the Mountain West Conference and Wisconsin playing at Fresno State (Humanitarian) of the Western Athletic Conference. No Plays for 2008: Each year, two Big Ten teams do not meet. Here is the breakdown of "no-plays" for 2008: Team -- Does not play |
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