Big Ten Preview: Examining Empty Shoes

The Big Ten took its lumps last year. Ohio State got pummeled in the BCS title game. Illinois was thumped in the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin blew a bowl game against Tennessee.

One thing that can be said is that many of the league's teams were young a year ago. Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State, Northwestern, and Minnesota each return 15 or more starters, with OSU topping the chart with 19 (!). That means there aren't many star players missing from the 2007 season.

As you could imagine, such a fact makes it somewhat difficult to draw up a list of biggest shoes to fill across the Big Ten. But we're here to take on such challenges head-on here at FanHouse, so jump with me and look at our top five.

1. Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois

When Mendenhall decided to turn pro, he took a good chunk of Illinois' offense with him. Not only did he lead the team with just short of 1,700 yards rushing, but he was one yard short of 2,000 yards from scrimmage. Mendenhall's big-play ability will be sorely missed in the Illinois backfield this season. The projected feature back this season, junior Daniel Dufrene, didn't even reach 300 yards rushing last season. With the impact Mendenhall had on a team that is still inadequate in the passing game, Dufrene has a lot of work to do this season. The pressure is also on Juice Williams. The junior QB improved last year, but is still uneven and inconsistent with his throws. Having stud sophomore receiver Arrelious Benn will help him, but the Illini are desperate to increase the passing output (just 157 and 168 yards, respectively, in Williams' first two seasons). If they can't do better than that with a home-run threat like Mendenhall, how are they going to perform when there are serious questions at running back?

2. Mike Hart, RB, Michigan

It's fitting that his last name is "Hart", because he was the heart and soul of the Michigan offense a year ago. Hart battled through injuries and adversity as a senior to top 1,350 yards rushing. He reached the end zone 14 times. When things weren't going well against Oregon, Hart was the most intense player on the field for Michigan. When things weren't going well against Ohio State, Hart was so banged-up that he really couldn't do anything to help. Hart was superb in the Capital One Bowl win over Florida, rushing for nearly 130 yards. Now, as Rich Rodriguez takes over at Michigan, the running back position becomes even more important. Juniors Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor appear to be the best options he has available to him. There's no question he'd love to have a guy like Hart, who not only is a solid running back, but was also a tremendous leader for this offense. Rodriguez instead inherits a very inexperienced offense, which might set back the growth of this program a little bit. They are still a bowl team, but they're going to miss players like Hart as they move forward.

3. Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio State

Sure, it's easier to handle losing a star player when you return nine starters on that player's side of the ball. However, you're dreaming if you think Ohio State can just plug in some random dude at defensive end and get Gholston's production. He terrorized opposing quarterbacks all season long (he's featured here destroying Wisconsin's Tyler Donovan), to the tune of a team-high 14 sacks. He was voted the top defensive lineman in the Big Ten, and the New York Jets thought enough of him to draft him early in the first round in April. Now, theory could have it that he'll be somewhat easy to replace for tOSU, because he's the only star player they lost on either side of the ball. In reality, however, that doesn't make it any easier. Players with Gholston's all-around defensive ability don't come around every day, not even for a football factory like Ohio State. Lawrence Wilson, who broke his leg in the season opener and redshirted last year, will likely start in Gholston's place.

4. Jehuu Caulcrick, RB, Michigan State

Yes, he "only" ran for 872 yards. Sure, he "only" averaged 3.9 yards per carry. But Caulcrick played a valuable role for a Michigan State team that increased their offensive production by a touchdown from the year before, and broke a four-year bowl drought in their first year under Mark Dantonio. Caulcrick played the thunder to Javon Ringer's lightning. For a guy who has had injury issues during his college career, having a bruiser helped the undersized Ringer tremendously. Ringer ran for 1,447 yards and played the full season. Caulcrick added those 872 yards, but he made the most of his role as a goal-line back. He scored 21 touchdowns, a total that led all Big Ten running backs (Mendenhall was second with 17). Ringer is back this year, but Caulcrick is gone. Dantonio is charged with finding an effective short-yardage back, because Ringer just isn't big enough or durable enough to handle that workload. A guy to watch could be redshirt freshman Ashton Leggett, who tips the scales at 232 pounds. It's not all about how much you weigh, but finding a way to use a bigger back like Leggett could make the offense more effective. It also increases the odds that Dantonio can keep Ringer healthy.

5. Tyler Donovan, QB, Wisconsin

More than once last year, I was taken aback by Donovan. It wasn't his big arm or cat-like reflexes that got me. It was something much more simple than that. Toughness. Donovan was simply the leader of Wisconsin's offense a year ago, exhibiting on more than one occasion the kind of toughness that younger players look up to. He kept getting up after hard hits, especially in games against Ohio State and Michigan. No, the outcome in the tOSU game wasn't what Badger fans wanted, but it was clear that the Badgers had the right guy at quarterback. Donovan got Wisconsin back to a New Year's Day bowl, and if it weren't for the fact that Erik Ainge simply had more weapons at his disposal, Donovan may have been able to lead his team to an upset win. For a one-year starter, he won a lot of respect in Madison and will be missed. The job becomes a tad easier in a way for projected 2008 starter Allan Evridge. The Badgers' offensive line was offen-sieve in many games last year, and they should be better. Not only that, but Donovan was stuck working with inexperienced receivers Kyle Jefferson and Xavier Harris after starters Paul Hubbard and Luke Swan went down with injuries. Jefferson appears to have a ton of ability, and star tight end Travis Beckum is also back. But Evridge will get hit like Donovan did at some point in the season. How he responds will go a long way toward determining what kind of season Wisconsin has. All the other pieces are in place for a run at a BCS bowl game.