Big Ten’s best defenses come out of spring in rebuilding mode
Coordinator changes and heavy player losses have made it a source of uncertainty for the Big Ten’s top defenses.
Start with Wisconsin, which has been in the national top five in total defense for three consecutive years and less than twice since 2014. The Badgers need to replace eight of their top 10 tacklers.
Penn State, in the top 10 defensive scorers three of the past five seasons, has a new coordinator in Manny Diaz. The former Miami coach spent the spring putting together pieces to make up for the loss of up to six players who could be drafted.
Defending conference champion Michigan, fresh off its first college football playoff appearance, hired Jesse Minter as coordinator after Mike Macdonald left after a year for the Baltimore Ravens. Minter is to replace seven starters, including eventual No. 1 draft pick Aidan Hutchinson.
Ohio State is also revamping its defense after being exposed early last season against Oregon and again in a 42-27 loss to Michigan. Coordinator Kerry Coombs was fired, and Jim Knowles, who excelled as an Oklahoma State coordinator, was hired and began installing a 4-2-5 system.
“The biggest revelation of the spring was that no matter how talented these players we have, they want to learn. They absorbed everything I did,” Knowles said. “They’re just in; in football, in us, in the change of culture and the way we manage meetings. They picked it up. I mean, they picked it up at high speed.
QUANTITY QUARTER
There is a lot of starting quarterback experience in the league. Ten of the top 11 passers return, including the top three — CJ Stroud of Ohio State, Aidan O’Connell of Purdue and Taulia Tagovailoa of Maryland.
Six teams, at most, are exploring their options.
Indiana’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Walt Bell will continue to audition Missouri transfer Connor Bazelak, Jack Tuttle and Donaven McCulley in preseason practices.
Iowa, which won the West despite having one of the least productive offenses in the nation, opened the competition between Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla.
Syracuse transfer Tommy DeVito stood out in Illinois’ spring game but will be pushed back in the preseason when Artur Sitkowski returns from injury. Ryan Hilinski is on the front line at Northwestern, despite having a shaky performance last season.
While JJ McCarthy was still recovering from a shoulder injury, an expected competition in Michigan did not materialize between him and incumbent Cade McNamara.
In Nebraska, all signs point to Texas transfer Casey Thompson taking over from Adrian Martinez, the four-year-old starter who transferred to Kansas State.
NEXT WALKER?
Kenneth Walker III was an instant revelation for Michigan State, going 75 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in Game 1 against Northwestern. The transfer from Wake Forest then led the Big Ten to swoop in and win the Doak Walker award.
With Walker gone, the Spartans hope to have similar results with another transfer, either Jalen Berger or Jarek Broussard.
Berger was Wisconsin’s top rusher in 2020 before losing his job to Braelon Allen and being fired from the team a month into the 2021 season.
Berger appears to have come out of spring No. 1 on the depth chart, but more competition in a sense. Broussard is expected to arrive next month from Colorado, where he was Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2020 and received an All-Pac 12 honorable mention last year.
GOPHER HOLES
Sixth-year center John Michael Schmitz is Minnesota’s only returning starter from a unit that led the nation in 235 combined career starts and is expected to produce multiple draft picks.
Line coach Brian Callahan began the rebuild this spring. Two transfers will figure prominently, with guard Chuck Filiaga from Michigan and tackle Quinn Carroll from Notre Dame.
Alex Ruschmeyer, who can play guard and tackle, is the second most experienced lineman behind Schmitz. Tackle Aireontae Ersery might have the highest ceiling.
“Brian Callahan is one of the best talent developers when it comes to offensive line play and if there’s anyone who needs a challenge like that, Brian Callahan can pick them up and crush them. “said coach PJ Fleck.
OPENING OF THE 2022 SEASON
The season opens Aug. 27 with Nebraska playing Northwestern at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, and Wyoming visiting Illinois.
Other openings: September 1, Penn State at Purdue; New Mexico State to Minnesota; September 2, Illinois to Indiana; western Michigan in the State of Michigan; Sept. 3, Notre Dame at Ohio State; State of South Dakota in Iowa; Rutgers at Boston College; Buffalo in Maryland; State of Colorado to Michigan; State of Illinois to Wisconsin.
Note: Nebraska was supposed to face Illinois in Ireland last year, but the trip was canceled due to the pandemic. … The Illini have only five days between their first and second game.
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AP sportswriters Dave Campbell, Tom Canavan, Larry Lage, Steve Megargee, Mitch Stacy, and AP freelance writer John Bohnenkamp contributed.
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