| Ohio State | |
| Gone | DE Vernon Gholston |
| Back | WR Brian Robiskie, LB James Laurinaitis, LB Marcus Freeman CB Malcolm Jenkins, OT Alex Boone |
| Damage |  Gholston will be a major loss. The Detroit junior was a terror all year long -- if OSU hadn't busted three coverages at the wrong time he would have made an enormous impact on the national title game -- and perhaps the best defensive end in the Big Ten since Simeon Rice. OSU has a lot of talent, but guys like Gholston are rare no matter how many hyped recruits you've reeled in.But the unfortunate reality for Big Ten fans is that OSU got off easier than everyone expected. Jenkins and Laurinaitis have been projected in the top half of the first round by most draft services, but elected to return. A few likely first-day picks in Robiskie, Freeman, and Boone elected to stick around, as well. Despite the loss of Gholston OSU is a big winner here. |
| Michigan | |
| Gone | WR Mario Manningham, WR Adrian Arrington, QB Ryan Mallett (transfer) |
| Back | DT Terrance Taylor, DE Tim Jamison |
| Damage | Manningham's departure was assumed from last summer, but Adrian Arrington's dynamite Citrus Bowl might have been the decisive factor in his decision to enter early; both departing leaves Michigan thin and young at wideout. Third WR Greg Mathews comes back, but he seems a steady possession type in the mold of Jason Avant, not a gamebreaker like Manningham was and Arrington was developing into. Mallett's departure will mean little to Michigan fans if Rich Rodriguez can reel in uberrecruit Terrelle Pryor. Meanwhile, a couple defensive linemen who could have gone somewhere on the first day return; Michigan brings back every contributor from a pretty decent defensive line from a year ago. They'll have to make their returns count for Michigan's defense to keep what looks like a shaky-at-best offense in games. |
| Wisconsin | |
| Gone | CB Jack Ikegwuonu |
| Back | TE Travis Beckum |
| Damage | Ikegwuonu was quietly a superb performer over the past couple years. Wisconsin had the aid of a soft, Ohio State-free schedule and a full blast of the Ryan Mallett Experience against Michigan, but #1 in pass efficiency D is #1 in pass efficiency D, and that was greatly aided by Ikegwuonu's shut-down capabilities. Counterpart Allen Langford, toasted frequently as a sophomore, was capable this year but isn't likely to match Ikegwuonu's contributions in his final year. Getting Beckum back is a major bonus for new QB Allan Evridge, though. Beckum is a matchup nightmare in pads who should be the slam-dunk Mackey winner unless Evridge is a complete disaster. |
| Penn State | |
| Gone | CB Justin King |
| Back | LB Sean Lee |
| Damage | King seemed a superstar in the making after a superb sophomore season and was well on his way to the first round of the draft when he ran into Indiana's James Hardy -- about whom more later -- and got owned. Owned hard. He then failed to live up to admittedly lofty expectations the rest of the year. His departure leaves Penn State's secondary looking shaky. PSU blog Run Up The Score: Scared for 2008? Totally. Penn State's cornerbacks are now A.J. Wallace and Lydell Sargeant, neither of whom were overly impressive while fighting for the starting spot opposite King. Another possible option is moving Tony Davis back to cornerback, but that just creates another gaping hole elsewhere in the defense. For a secondary that tended to fall apart at critical times in 2007, this is bad news for 2008.
Getting Sean Lee, the latest in PSU's recent string of late-first/early-second OLB/MLB hybrids, back is a nice boost for a defense that looks stout up front. The other side of the ball? Well... I'm sure JayPa will get a guy above the median in passer efficiency one of these years. |
| Indiana | |
| Gone | WR James Hardy |
| Back | None |
| Damage | Weapons like James Hardy just don't come around that often when you're Indiana. Hardy's projected as a second-rounder many places; the last time IU had a second-rounder in the NFL draft it was Antwaan Randle-El six years ago. The damage here is severe, albeit to the Hoosier's chances to repeat as bowl participants and little else. |
| Michigan State | |
| Gone | WR Devin Thomas |
| Back | RB Javon Ringer |
| Damage | In the richest tradition of Michigan State wide receivers, Thomas talked big about beating Michigan, did not, and fled to the NFL. He takes with him every ounce of big-play ability MSU got from its passing game a year ago, but there are a couple promising youngsters on the way in rising sophomore Mark Dell and incoming freshman Fred Smith. Either could emerge into a suitable replacement, or MSU could fish out another JUCO. The WRs for erratic (read: bad) QB Brian Hoyer will probably be substandard. However, if MSU was forced to lose one of its offensive stars they would probably have picked Thomas over RB Javon Ringer, a talented runner held back by frequent injury and pounding power back Jehuu Caulcrick the past couple years. His most notable highlight last year was a zig-zagging cutback run against Michigan that spanned 70-some yards vertically and 50 horizontally before Shawn Crable dragged him down. Ringer averaged 5.9 YPC last year in front of a meh offensive line; he's good.The Spartans moved from John L Smith's spread offense to a traditional pounding ground game under Mark Dantonio; with a full, healthy year from Ringer he will press Chris Wells for All-Big Ten and possibly All-America. |
| Illinois | |
| Gone | RB Rashard Mendenhall |
| Back | None |
| Damage | Mendenhall will vie with Gholston for the title of the Big Ten's single most damaging departure. While Illinois figures to fill the gap with promising JUCO transfer Daniel Dufrene, -- get busy livin', kid -- Dufrene can't match Mendenhall's NFL combination of speed, power, and moves. For my money, he was the top running back in the Big Ten a year ago, better than Ringer or Hart or Wells, and Illinois will miss him dearly. The offensive burden now falls more heavily upon junior-to-be Juice Williams, who may have improved radically as a sophomore but mostly because there was nowhere to go but up. |
No (early) departures: Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue.
The Upshot: Ohio State's claim as the Big Ten frontrunner just gets stronger.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-16-2008 @ 8:38PM
Tom said...
Wisconsin played Ohio State this year in Columbus. OSU only missed Indiana and Iowa.
They missed OSU the previous two years, though.
Reply
1-17-2008 @ 1:45PM
aroochild said...
yano who is going to win the super bowl?
aroochild does
but so does like every1 else
dam u patriots
Reply