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A lot of the new Big Ten has already completed spring practice, while there are a few schools still waiting to finish up this weekend. Here is a quick look around SBNation at Each School and where they stand:
Indiana - First year head coach Kevin Wilson was pleased with the offense in his first spring. Dusty Kiel appears to be leading the race to replace Ben Chappell, as he threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns in Indiana's spring game. Peegs.com had a full report:
But after new coach Kevin Wilson's first Spring Game on Saturday afternoon - a 27-24 win for the "Hoosiers" against "Indiana" - no clear-cut answer was in sight.
"They're all very capable, that's why we are keeping them all in the mix," Wilson said. "We'll keep it going through the summer. It'll be the middle part of the preseason before we probably get it locked down. We'll see how it plays out."
The game's winning score came with 24 seconds remaining, as junior quarterback Adam Follett found fullback Leneil Himes alone in the flat for an easy 12-yard touchdown.
And though Follett proved capable in the game's final minutes, the real attention centered around the play of sophomore quarterbacks Dusty Kiel and Ed Wright-Baker.
According to IU co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Rod Smith, both players had good games but could improve in a variety of areas.
Kiel finished 14-of-27 for 196 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Wright-Baker added 82 yards in the air on 8-of-10 passing with one touchdown.
"Dusty Kiel did some good things? he had some well-executed throws throughout the spring," Smith said. "Ed Wright, the same thing. I thought he got better as the season went on."
Illinois - the Fighting Illini will have their spring game this coming Saturday, while Hail to the Orange will have a full report.
Iowa - Black Heart Gold Pants had several things it was looking for in last week's spring game:
Five Things We're Paying Attention To Today.
1) Quarterbacks. How good does Vandy look? Is Derby getting more comfortable? Is Wienke the clear back-up quarterback? How accurate are all of the quarterbacks?
2) Keenan and friends. Marvin McNutt is sitting out the spring game while rehabbing his shoulder/thumb injuries, so we won't get to see a key cog in Iowa's passing game today. We will, however, get to see the future of the Iowa receiving corps on display -- is Keenan Davis asserting himself as one of the best receivers on the team? Will Don Shumpert and/or Kevante Martin-Manley do something to justify the buzz they've been generating? And what of the walk-on contingent -- who will be this year's Don Nordmann? (Early favorite: Steven Staggs, since he's shockingly listed as the other starting receiver today opposite Davis.)
3) Trench warfare. Iowa fans have grown accustomed to seeing the defensive line bully the offensive line during these events: not only are they intimately familiar with what the offense likes to do, but they've rolled out a steady stream of all-conference performers like Clayborn, Ballard, Klug, King, Kroul, etc. This year, though, the table are turned a bit: the offensive line is returning a trio of starters (Reiff, Ferentz, Zusevics), as well as a few guys with ample starting experience (Gettis and MacMillan, though he's been slowed by an injury during spring ball). Meanwhile, the defensive line has Mike Daniels, Broderick Binns, and, er, a whole bunch of guys we don't know too much about. All of which is to say: we ought to see the offensive line opening up some nice holes for the running game and pass protecting well.
4) Secondary. Outside of Prater at cornerback, there's not too much we know about this unit. As discussed extensively, Micah Hyde is playing at free safety, although it's anyone's guess as to whether he'll still be there by September. But it will be interesting to see how he looks back there today, as well as how good his replacements at cornerback (Bernstine, Castillo, BJ Lowery) look as well. Bernstine could see some time at safety, as well, and this could be our first real glimpse at Iowa's latest walk-on-turned-starting-safety story, Colin Sleeper.
5) The kicking game. Are either Meyer or Mossbrucker consistently hitting kicks? Is Eric Guthrie still holding off Jonny Mullings at punter?
Michigan - Maize N' Brew pointed out what conclusions you can and can't draw from Michigan's spring game:
Spring is perhaps the most important stretch of practice that a player will be involved in all year. Free from focus on opponents, game prep, and walkthroughs a player in the spring gets three or four weeks on the field with his coaches to work on improving himself as a player. Does a corner back move fluidly enough on pass coverage? Spring is the time to work on those fundamentals. Does a quarterback have the proper footwork on his drops and rollouts? Fifteen practices with the OC to make that second nature. Does the defensive front seven shed blockers effectively? Drill it in the spring so that when fall comes the team can focus on the little things that help win games. Those fifteen spring practices are the basis for how much better a player will be in the coming year.
The problem is, that the improvement is hard to quantify in terms of numbers that fans want to hear: wins and losses, rushing yards, tackles, etc. Thus the message boards are filled with an army of armchair quarterbacks who definitively state that player X is a disappointment or player Y is going to have a breakout year based on reading tea leaves from practice observers and watching two and a half minute youtube highlight videos. If you have read any message board in the past month you already know what I'm talking about.
The absolute worst, however, is the flood of opinion that rushes out after the annual spring game. The one day during the spring when we all get to be coaches and scouts for an afternoon.
Michigan State - The Only Colors has a similar theme in their coverage:
Last Saturday the football team had its first scrimmage of the Spring. In the 115-play controlled affair (whatever controlled means, I'm guessing that it has something to do with play calls. Or the Konami Code), the defense prevailed 55-45. I don't know why the press releases release the score since the defense can score points in 18 different ways while the offense has 11 ways to put points. If you think this lack of understanding is going to hamstring my predictions for the 2011 season though, you'd be dead wrong. Let me present to you five things I know with 100% certainty. PUT IT IN STONE:
Andrew Maxwell is WITHOUT A DOUBT, the best quarterback. I mean, look at that stat line: 15 of 26, 116 yards, and one interception. A bit lower than what we're used to, but look at Kirk Cousins's line: 6 of 16, 46 yards, and one interception as well. Now you're going to say, "Pete, he's MSU's career leader in passing efficiency. Pete, he led MSU to a 11-2 record last season. Pete, he's one of the best leaders Michigan State football has ever had." Now those are points that exist, but if sports talk radio and Bleacher Report have taught me anything, it's that REAL LEADERS PLAY HARD NO MATTER WHAT THE STAKES. I don't care that receivers dropped three of Cousins's passes, and I don't think I'm overreacting when I say that those drops reflect poorly on Cousins's leadership abilities and character. FOR SHAME.
Your 2011 starting halfback -- Nick Hill. Hill had 36 yards on 8 carries; that equals 4.5 yards per carry. First-team backs Edwin Baker and Le'Veon Bell combined for 50 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns, that equals 3.56 yards per carry. So yes, Baker and Bell are workable backs, but if the duo hold exactly to their combined average (and there's no evidence to the contrary on this), they'll barely pick up first downs by 0.68 yards on third down. If Hill plays, he'll picks up a new set of downs by 3.5 yards on third down, so there should be no doubt who one of the starters will be in the backfield this season.
Minnesota - Jerry Kill is the second new coach in the conference and The Daily Gopher is pleased with what he is doing:
I'm including tight ends, H-backs, fullbacks, and whatever other positions of blockers/receivers Jerry Kill and Matt Limegrover come up with for their offense. I'm doing that because this position can use all the help it can get, and at this point, some of those guys might end up playing a big part in the passing game. This is the position of greatest worry thus far, and I imagine will be that way all season long, which is interesting because the best player on the entire team, Da'Jon McKnight, is a receiver. McKnight could be one of the best PLAYERS in the Big Ten this season if everything goes well, but there's just nothing but questions and concerns after him. USC could throw all four defensive backs on McKnight in the opener and just dare anyone else to catch the football and beat them. Ok, ok that may be a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea. There's just such a lack of depth, experience, and talent after McKnight that right now the coaches are just throwing everything they can think of at the wall to see if it sticks. Marcus Jones is a true freshman who played primarily corner in high school, yet has been running with the first team as a slot receiver all spring. JD Pride was switched from QB to receiver despite never playing the position, and the coaches are also considering moving TE Eric Lair outside as well. Victor Keise has looked ok filling in for the injured Da'Jon in practice this week, so perhaps he's an answer? IF, and right now that's a big if, Brandon Green can get healthy and get caught up and/or Ge'Shun Harris can start putting it all together, and/or maybe one of the other freshman comes in this summer and lights it up, then the #2 wideout position could be solved. I'm just not counting on it until we see it actually happen.
Nebraska - The Cornhuskers enter the Big Ten as one of the favorites to reach the new Big Ten title game, and the folks at Corn Nation are anxious to officially join their new conference:
The playbook was pretty limited, and it was hard most of the day to keep track of who was where, especially since the jerseys didn't have names on the back. But from a pure competitive perspective, it probably was the most competitive finish ever for a Nebraska Spring Game, with the game being decided on the final play of the game.
There were a lot of good things to see, and some things not so good. In that respect, it's tough to do a report card because I usually grade the entire team by position, and we saw some extremes at each position. So focus less on the letter grades and more on the comments. Let's face it; it was a scrimmage. (Cue a quote from Allen Iverson: "We're talking about practice.")
Northwestern - Sippin' On Purple provided live coverage of last week's Spring game at Ryan Field.
Ohio State - Along the Olentangy has enjoyed being able to talk about actual football rather than the ongoing saga with Jim Tressell and Terrelle Pryor, focusing on the receivers:
One of the most effective ways to forecast an offense for the upcoming season is to examine the percentage of yards that will be lost from the previous season. By breaking down where an offense's yards came from, we not only see which players most urgently need to be replaced, but we can also predict what next season's offense will look like.
Dane Sanzenbacher's graduation leaves a gaping hole in the Ohio State offense. You can debate whether DeVier Posey or Sanzenbacher were more important to last season's passing attack, but Sanzenbacher's production is undeniable. He accounted for 32% of Ohio State's receiving yards and filled the "security blanket" role for Terrelle Pryor. Primarily playing the slot and flanker receiver positions, Sanzenbacher's routes would take him across the middle often, and he took some hard hits in his time at Ohio State. His toughness and uncanny ability to settle into holes in zone coverage bailed out the Buckeye offense on more than one occasion, and he will be sorely missed.
Penn State - Black Shoe Diaries has both an Offensive reaction and a Defensive reaction from the Nittany Lions' spring game.
Purdue - The Boilermakers had their spring game on April 9th, and it was highlighted by a 67-yard field goal from kicker Carson Wiggs:
You can't talk about this without talking about Carson Wiggs, who apparently has adjusted to having Cody Webster as the holder and Kevin Ballinger as the snapper just fine. Wiggs scored the black's only three points on a 42 yard field goal just before halftime. He then put on a show as the clock ran down. He tried from 47 (good), 52 (good), 57 (wide left) and 67 (good) as the clock wound down. Each kick was from a full formation, and the 67-yarder, yes you read that right, not only was good, but it was in the net. It came off of his leg like it was shot out of a cannon. I think he would have tried one from the engineering fountain if there was more time. I talked to Carson and got his autograph in the postgame and he was incredibly personable, giving me some Twitter love as well. I have dubbed him, Ballinger, and Webster as "The Blur 2: Even Blurrier".
Wisconsin - The Badgers will have their spring game this Saturday, but Bucky's 5th Quarter is already talking about it.
The Columbus Dispatch’s Buckeye Extra section is reporting more troubles for coach Jim Tressell this afternoon:
After Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel was alerted that some of his players had traded memorabilia for free tattoos from a suspected drug dealer, he exchanged numerous emails, phone calls and text messages with the tipster, his star quarterback Terrelle Pryor and Pryor’s mentors.
Documents obtained by The Dispatch also show Tressel called an FBI agent within days of getting the first email warning the coach of the potential NCAA rules violation and a federal drug investigation.
But OSU records don’t show a single call or email from Tressel to the Ohio State compliance office in which he could have reported his players’ apparent violations of NCAA regulations.
Tressel did not send athletic director Gene Smith emails about the issue, either.
Tressel’s phone logs from last April and his emails from April through January, obtained through a public-records request, shed new light and more detail on the coach’s communication with others.
Spring Football wrapped up around the league this past Saturday, and here is a wrap up from this weekend's games:
Illinois Fighting Illini - Hail tot he Orange is hoping the Illini can make consecutive bowl games for the first time in nearly 20 years:
A small select group of things are certain in life- death, taxes, and Fighting Illini football seasons ending up much different than what you expected in the preseason. Last year's team wasn't expected to really do much- Yet the finished 7-6 (despite a very difficult schedule) and with a quite decisive bowl victory.
Conversely, in '08 and '09, expectations were sky-high heading into September, yet both of those teams flopped (and that's putting it nicely). So what about this year? Expectations are kind of mixed, "up in the air" you might say as this year's squad competes to become the first team to reach back-to-back bowl games since 1992.
And that's fitting, because the 20th anniversary of the 1988-92 teams that made five consecutive bowl games will both be celebrated during the weekend festivities. If Red Grange and Robert Zuppke presided over the "Golden Years," of Illini college football, then surely the Jeff George/Jason Verduzco/John Mackovic teams were the "silver era" of the program's history.
That said, let's begin the journey this fall to finding out whether or not this team will match the '92 squad's accomplishment.
Minnesota Golden Gophers - The Daily Gopher sees this season starting and ending with ben Davis product MarQueis Gray:
He's been the talk of practice all spring, and I just peed my pants a little in excitement thinking about seeing him in anything even remotely resembling game action. Ok that may have been a little "TMI" as the kids would say, but I can't help- I love me some MarQueis Gray. By now you know the story: the offseason work ethic, the leadership, the ridiculous ability. Now we'll get a chance to see how it all comes together. We know he's dangerous when he runs the ball, but how's he going to look throwing under pressure?
Ohio State Buckeyes - Since most of the speculation on the Buckeyes has been off the field, it was nice for Along the Olentangy to talk about the actual game. the offense won, but not really:
Ohio State's offense won the "Jesse Owens Spring Game", 59-27, but the unique scoring system made it nearly impossible for any other result to take place. Only when the defense made a special play, a forced fumble, interception, or sack, would they gain noteworthy points in the scrimmage format. Standard stops would merely count for one point toward the defensive total, and individual plays that would normally be classified as a big defensive victory, like a tackle-for-loss, were likewise marginalized in the scoring system.
The format kept the game close early, when it appeared the offense would not find any success, and it allowed the offense to eventually blow past the defense once they did discover the endzone. A slew of late touchdowns further distorted the final tally. Taylor Graham, Braxton Miller, and Joe Bauserman all threw for touchdowns in the final thirty plays, saving an offense that often looked painfully out of sync.
Wisconsin Badgers - Bucky's 5th Quarter was both looking forward to the NFL Draft and back at the Spring Game:
Jeff Potrykus of the Journal-Sentinel expands on the Wisconsin spring game. He mentions that the UW offensive line has enough firepower to be a successful unit in 2011, despite losing two All-Americans in Carimi and John Moffitt.
Tom Mulhern of Madison.com writes that new UW defensive coordinator Chris Ash cranked up the pressure in Saturday's spring game.
The Badgers received their third oral commitment for the 2012 football season over the weekend. According to Jeff Potrykus, Wisconsin Rapids linebacker Vince Biegel turned down offers from Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota to stay close to home for the 2012 season. Biegel is highly touted, and is on ESPN's Top 150 watch list.
Today, Ohio State University will conduct it's annual Spring football contest. However, this year the game has a bit of a twist. From SB Nation's OSU blog, Along The Olentangy:
Nationwide is sponsoring this year's event, and it is now entitled the "Jesse Owens Spring Game," a nice nod to a past Buckeye and American great.
While it does seem extremely odd that OSU's Spring game, which is actually a scrimmage this year, has a corporate sponsor, proceeds from the game are are benefiting various charities: The Ohio National Guard Family Readiness and Warrior Support Program, LiFE (Learning in Fitness & Education) through Sports Program, and the Ruth and Jesse Owens Scholars Fund.
This game comes at a particularly trying time for OSU football. Head coach Jim Tressel was suspended two games bu the university for the upcoming season for committing a major violation of NCAA rules. Tressel intentionally withheld key information to NCAA investigators as they were looking into the actions of several Buckeyes players, including quarterback Terrell Pryor. Tressel was also fined $250,000.
For many, Tressel's punishment did not fit the severity of the crime:
Something’s rotten in Columbus. And the stench is bordering on the overwhelming.
In October of 2009, Dez Bryant was ruled ineligible for the remainder of what turned out to be his final season at Oklahoma State for lying to the NCAA. And Bryant hadn’t even committed a major violation; the fact that he fibbed led to the ultimate sanction.
Almost exactly 17 months later, Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel has been found to have committed a major violation and was slapped with a two-game suspension and fined $250,000 for, in essence, lying to his employer. On three different occasions. And you wouldn’t have to stretch very far based on his Herbie Hancock on compliance forms to make the case that his lies to the school were lies to the NCAA as well.
And he’s slapped with a two-game suspension? There’s that odor again.
The NCAA has yet to hand down its punishment of Tressel. Until they do, Tressel is allowed to participate in Spring scrimmages.
For more on OSU football, check out SB Nation's Ohio State blog Along The Olentangy and the Buckeyes coverage at SB Nation Cleveland.
Although given how cold it has been these past few days in the Midwest, it may be tough to call it spring, that hasn't stopped Big Ten teams from holding their annual early practices and spring games. As we all know life isn't fair for Big Ten schools, and while the likes of Alabama and Arkansas were playing in sunshine and 60 degree weather, we Yankees were still gritting our teeth through a winter that wont end.
It was snowing in northern Illinois last weekend, but Northwestern wasn't deterred they held their Spring game in weather that must have felt closer to a late November game, Sippin' on Purple has the coverage
Running back: Right now, the clear-cut choice is Mike Trumpy: but NU always likes to go committee, and NU is also always super-super indecisive about its running backs. We've been hearing good stuff about Tyris Jones, and I'm interested to see whether that's an actual thing or whether it's just like every spring where they give one guy a lot of reps randomly and people act as if he'll contribute but then he goes back to being nonexistent. We'll see if he actually gives Jacob Schmidt a run for his slow-running money as a short-yardage back.
Jeravin Matthews: Yes, the former answer to NU's questions at running back is now a potential starting corner. I'm a rising senior; so is Jeravin. I've been waiting my entire college career for a very good athlete to actually contribute on the field, we'll see if he can finally pull through.
Paul Jorgensen: NU only loses one offensive lineman. We'll see if Jorgensen, a right guard, can supplant Doug Bartels to fill the hole on the o-line left by sorta Keegan Grant.
Mean while in western Pennsylvania, Penn State tried to hold their Blue-White Game in similarly less than optimum conditions, as Black Shoe Diaries noted in their coverage.
It wasn't even weather for ducks at Beaver Stadium for the 61st annual Blue-White Game. The scrimmage was stopped two minutes into the second half with the Blue team leading 10-0 Saturday afternoon as heavy rain bands pounded Happy Valley.
The half of football that was played was pretty gruesome. Robert Bolden threw an interception on the first snap from scrimmage and combined, the two teams turned the ball over three times in the half. There were also unofficially four fumbles.
With bad conditions and vanilla gameplans, there wasn't a whole lot to take away from what transpired on the field. Nevertheless, it was a good day for starting quarterback hopeful Matthew McGloin who finished the game 5-10 for 109 yards and a touchdown. His effort included 3/4, 59 yard performance in the game's only touchdown drive.
Fighting Illini Rusher Jason Ford Arrested Early Sunday Morning
Jason Ford, the player most likely slated to take over for record setting running back Mikel Leshoure, was arrested around 2 AM Sunday morning in a parking garage, for an outstanding warrant that was issued a year ago.
In April of 2010 Ford pled guilty to driving with a suspended license, and apparently an outstanding warrant for the senior still existed. Ford was not arrested for anything that took place on Sunday morning, but was simply arrested for that outstanding warrant after authorities did a routine check on him.
Illini coach Ron Zook issued the following statement: "I became aware of the situation Sunday morning and will allow Jason the opportunity to work through this issue. Any disciplinary action will be handled internally."
If it turns out that the suspended license was all that Ford was really in trouble for, it is unlikely that Ford will miss any games this season. The Illini certainly don't want to make the difficult task of replacing an NFL running back in Leshoure any more challenge by losing their best replacement.
For more on the Illinois Fighting Illini, follow SB Nation's Hail to the Orange.
Apr 26 3:15p by Joe Kutsunis