2018 College Football Previews: Big Ten

The Big Ten is a conference of dichotomies. The top five are extremely good, the bottom is extremely bad. The Big Ten East is on par with the SEC West and ACC Atlantic, the Big Ten West is the second worst division in the power five. All-in-all it’s a top three conference, but to usurp the ACC, and eventually catch the SEC, it will need better consistency from top to bottom.

The average power rating for the Big Ten squads is 9.57.

The average power rating for the Big Ten East squads is 12.15.

The average power rating for the Big Ten West squads is 6.99.

Note: Glosssary and P.L.U.M.P. Page

Team	Adj. 2017 W/L	% Yards Ret.	% Touches Ret.	% Line Starts Ret.	% Tackles Ret.	% Passes Def. Ret.	247 Sports Score	Total Points
East Division
Michigan State	15.26	85.71%	81.04%	62.86%	86.72%	93.48%	219.02	24.69
Ohio State	21.3	57.28%	53.30%	45.33%	57.58%	48.39%	306.42	22.15
Michigan	13.67	75.04%	72.24%	45.22%	82.85%	94.44%	258.86	21.01
Penn State	17.8	62.76%	61.98%	54.97%	51.11%	46.27%	247.98	18.32
Maryland	1.39	78.05%	80.55%	100.00%	60.82%	56.41%	204.66	3.04
Indiana	0.56	62.95%	66.04%	100.00%	47.89%	58.33%	173	0.37
Rutgers	-2.81	49.79%	51.41%	54.37%	72.62%	74.65%	173.55	-4.53
West Division
Wisconsin	22.09	88.86%	88.10%	100.00%	57.35%	31.08%	198.14	26.5
Northwestern	13.75	67.69%	68.95%	73.13%	65.74%	61.40%	177.72	16.66
Iowa	12.16	66.92%	61.08%	26.99%	53.05%	47.95%	184.8	9.41
Purdue	6.31	85.52%	89.46%	72.67%	42.97%	47.50%	159.47	6.76
Minnesota	2.81	49.62%	46.24%	56.25%	64.73%	58.33%	178.67	0.15
Nebraska	3.32	44.30%	49.59%	58.56%	72.68%	50.00%	218.13	0.01
Illinois	-6.92	62.70%	59.49%	54.95%	66.28%	50.00%	174.81	-10.65

2018 shapes up to be one of the best conference races in the country on all three levels. There are legitimately five contenders for the conference, with two more possible dark horses and the usual Iowa conundrum. Four of these contenders are in the east in the form of MSU, OSU, UM, and PSU with Maryland being the dark horse if everything goes right. In the West, Wisconsin is a title contender and my top ranked team in the Big Ten. They’re joined by dark horse Northwestern, oddity Iowa, and Minnesota and Nebraska who have made fantastic hires in the past couple of off-seasons. If Wisconsin can make a national title run, they would be the biggest outlier in recent memory to challenge for the title.

Top Returning Offensive Producers (Above Average Production)

Quarterbacks (Minimum 120 Pass Attempts)
Player	Year	Team	Height	Weight	AY/A	AY/R	Comp%	Sack%
Trace McSorley	4	PSU	72	195	8.57	7.11	66.51%	5.90%
David Blough	4	PUR	73	205	6.99	8.21	64.97%	8.70%
Alex Hornibrook	3	WIS	76	215	7.71	2	62.26%	6.20%
Nate Stanley	3	Iowa	77	212	7.6	2.54	55.84%	6.60%
Brian Lewerke	3	MSU	75	212	6.87	6.94	58.99%	4.10%
Peyton Ramsey	2	IND	74	210	5.95	4.35	65.37%	6.00%
Elijah Sindelar	3	PUR	76	230	6.48	3.87	56.84%	5.20%
Clayton Thorson	4	NW	76	225	5.98	6.65	60.37%	6.50%
Max Bortenschlager	3	MARY	75	211	5.5	5.12	51.93%	12.10%
Jeff George Jr	3	ILL	75	215	5.29	5	51.93%	10.00%
Demry Croft	3	MINN	77	205	3.55	8.84	41.46%	13.40%

Running Backs (Minimum 12 Touches)
Player	Year	Team	Height	Weight	Tou.	AY/R	AY/T	RBP>12
Jonathan Taylor	2	WIS	71	214	307	7.41	6.79	25.99
J.K. Dobbins	2	OSU	70	208	216	7.9	5.93	18.67
Karan Higdon	4	MICH	70	190	172	7.3	9.36	15.68
LJ Scott	4	MSU	73	229	221	5.2	6.89	14.5
Rodney Smith	4	MINN	71	210	246	4.51	5.63	13.75
Ty Johnson	4	MARY	70	208	142	7.06	11.33	13.47
Chris Evans	3	MICH	71	206	151	5.89	8.82	11.67
Mike Weber	3	OSU	70	214	111	8.02	7.83	10.33
Morgan Ellison	2	IND	73	225	153	5.66	5	9.81
D.J. Knox	4	PUR	67	210	106	6.57	7.7	8.47
Devin Ozigbo	4	NEB	72	230	145	4.25	6.83	8.28
Jeremy Larkin	2	NW	70	194	95	7.08	7.67	8.01

Wide Receivers (Minimum 18 Targets)
Player	Year	Team	Height	Weight	Tar.	AY/T	Cat%	WRP>18
Quintez Cephus	3	WIS	73	205	38	16.23	78.95%	12.89
Stanley Morgan Jr	4	NEB	73	195	109	10.82	55.96%	11.8
Parris Campbell	4	OSU	73	208	53	12.11	75.47%	11.01
Felton Davis III	4	MSU	76	195	97	9.79	56.70%	9.94
Juwan Johnson	3	PSU	76	226	79	9.12	68.35%	9.67
A.J. Taylor	3	WIS	71	202	46	12.42	67.39%	9.31
K.J. Hill	3	OSU	72	198	74	8.2	75.68%	9.21
JD Spielman	2	NEB	69	180	97	8.95	56.70%	9.09
DeAndre Thompkins	4	PSU	71	187	40	12.52	70.00%	9.05
Terry McLaurin	4	OSU	73	204	44	12.54	65.91%	8.97
Tyler Johnson	3	MINN	74	190	68	11.94	51.47%	8.63
Danny Davis III	2	WIS	72	186	40	12.86	65.00%	8.63
Johnnie Dixon	4	OSU	71	195	34	16.95	52.94%	8.55
Bennett Skowronek	3	NW	76	218	78	9.49	57.69%	8.42
C.J. Saunders	4	OSU	71	176	20	12.02	85.00%	7.82

Tight Ends (Minimum 12 Targets)
Player	Year	Team	Height	Weight	Tar.	AY/T	Cat%	TEP>12
Noah Fant	3	Iowa	77	232	59	11.97	50.85%	36.39
Louis Dorsey	2	ILL	78	225	45	10.06	48.89%	23.33
Brycen Hopkins	3	PUR	77	240	49	8.3	51.02%	20.96
T.J. Hockenson	2	Iowa	77	243	36	10.97	69.44%	20.34
Cole Herdman	4	PUR	76	240	36	10.8	55.56%	20.03
Sean McKeon	3	MICH	77	248	46	7.8	67.39%	18.49
Zach Gentry	4	MICH	79	248	26	13.14	65.38%	17.6
Jerome Washington	4	RUTG	76	258	50	6.03	56.00%	15.52

Unlike last season there’s hope about Big Ten QBs, but hope needs to turn to production in 2018. There are three QBs that have stand above the rest: Penn State’s Trace McSorely, Purdue’s David Blough, and Wisconsin’s Alex Hornibrook. McSorely and Hornibrook are both 60%+ passers and both are above 7.5 AY/A, but both leave their fanbases wanting more. Right or wrong PSU and UW fans want their QBs taking the next step. And for both that’ll mean cutting down on the sacks and being more efficient through the air. Blough goes into his senior season in his second year in Jeff Brohm’s offense. Last year Bloug was good through the air and efficient on the ground but he’ll need to improve his almost 9% sack rate and bring his AY/A up into the mid 7s, low 8s. After those three the rest of the top performers are young guys, with 6 juniors, a sophomore, and a senior. The young players are lead by Iowa QB Nate Stanley and Michigan State QB Brian Lewerke. Both are juniors, Stanley had 7.6 AY/A last season and Lewerke bested the 6 adjusted yard mark on both through the air and on the ground. As we move to skill support, Hornibrook has the best running back and skill position player in the conference returning next to him. Jonathan Taylor burst onto the scene as a freshman racking up 7.4 AY/R and 6.79 AY/T on 307 touches. No other returning back is within 60 touches of him. Taylor and Hornibrook were set to be joined by Quintez Cephus, but shortly before the writing of this piece it was announced Cephus has legal trouble and would be leaving the team indefinitely. The burden to pick up the slack falls on junior A.J. Taylor (12.42 AY/T on 46 targets) and sophomore Danny Davis III (12.86 AY/T on 40 targets). Keeping that efficiency will be touch but as long as they stay in the double digits the passing game should improve as a threat for the Badgers. Another sophomore is poised to make a greater impact in 2018, J.K. Dobbins. Dobbins, and junior Mike Weber, lead the Barrett-less Buckeyes into the season. Dobbins was impressive as a freshman with just shy of 8 AY/R, and a relatively lackluster 5.93 AY/T. Weber saw 100 less touches last year but was much more efficient gaining a similar 8 AY/R on the ground and a very good 7.83 AY/T. In the pass game the new OSU QB will have a quintet of returning receivers to through to. Led by senior Parris Campbell (53 targets, 12.11 AY/T), the Buckeys also bring back junior K.J. Hill (74 targets, 8.2 AY/T), and seniors Terry McLaurin (44 targets, 12.54 AY/T), Johnnie Dixon (34 targets, 16.95 AY/T), and C.J. Saunders (20 targets, 12.02 AY/T). Michigan brings in Shea Patterson (8.39 AY/A, 4.73 AY/R, 63.85 comp%) as a transfer, and slots him in next to Karan Higdon who leads another two-headed monster alongside Chris Evans. With 172 and 151 touches respectively, both were more efficient through the air than on the ground (7.3 AY/R|9.36 AYT and 5.89|8.82 AY/T), but Evans will need to be more efficient on the ground to match either Taylor or the Ohio State duo in production. Michigan doesn’t have a WR back who made the list, although returning sophomore Tarik Black should be very good, but it did have a pair of TEs. Sean McKeon and Zach Gentry are back, both are big (248 lbs.), but Gentry was much more explosive (7.8 to 13.14 AY/T). L.J. Scott is back for his 6^th or 7^th season as the running back for Michigan State after a season in which he was productive, if unspectacular, gaining 5.2 adjusted yards on the ground and 6.89 through the air on 229 touches. Joining Lewerke and Scott is receiver Felton Davis III. Davis and Lewerke need to be more efficient in 2018 to improve both Davis’ catch rate (56.7%) and AY/T (9.79). Minnesota’s Rodney Smith is, to borrow from my draft articles, 80% L.J. Scott. He took 246 touches in 2017 and did… things with them (4.51 AY/T and 5.63 AY/T). He will be playing next to a newly minted walk-on QB and along with junior receiver Tyler Johnson. Johnson was a bright spot on a rough offensive 2017 for the Gophers taking his 68 targets for 11.94 AY/T on a rather abysmal 51.47% catch rate. There isn’t much room except up for the Minnesota offense. Our last back to touch on is Ty Johnson from Maryland. Johnson played next to 17 quarterbacks once again for the Terps but still managed to break the 7 adjusted yard mark on the ground and be dynamite through the air breaking the 11 adjusted yard mark. For Johnson, and Maryland, QB health will be a major factor in growth and success in 2018. At receiver, with Cephus out, the top returning wideout is Nebraska’a Stanley Morgan Jr. With the addition of Scott Frost as head coach the offense is going to change and that should mean good things for Morgan who had 109 targets that he took for 10.82 AY/T on just 56% catch rate. Better QB paly should help and so should an offense that is predicated on more efficiency. Lastly, the Big Ten is the conference of TEs. Iowa brings back Noah Fant who lead the league with both 59 targets and 11.97 AY/T in 2017, and T.J. Hockenson who produced 10.97 AY/T and a 69.44% catch rate in his freshman year. Illinois brings back Louis Dorsey a sophomore who had 10.06 AY/T in 2017 on 45 targets. Lastly, Purdue brings back junior Brycen Hopkins (45 targets, 8.3 AY/T) and Cole Herdman (36 targets, 10.8 AY/T).

Top Returning Defensive Producers (Above Average Production)

Interior Defensive Linemen (Minimum 12 Points)
Player	Year	Team	Height	Weight	Tkls	TFLs	Sacks	PDs	Pts
Jacob Robinson	4	IND	76	285	20.5	7	4	10	225.63
Rashan Gary	3	MICH	77	281	45	12	6	0	153.75
Samdup Miller	2	NW	75	261	24	8.5	5.5	1	129.63
Alex Miller	3	NW	75	280	18	4.5	2	5	121
Tymir Oliver	3	ILL	76	285	26	4.5	3	2	91.75
Kevin Givens	3	PSU	73	287	16	4	3.5	2	89.13
Winston DeLattiboudere	3	MINN	75	247	10.5	3.5	2	3	85.13
Trent Goens	3	NW	75	254	12	5.5	4	0	78
Kevin Wilkins	4	RUTG	74	306	31.5	5.5	0	2	77.88
Dre'Mont Jones	3	OSU	75	295	15	5	1	2	77.5
Lorenzo Neal	3	PUR	74	325	20	5.5	2	1	77.5
Brady Reiff	3	Iowa	75	260	8.5	1	1	4	73.38
Raequan Williams	3	MSU	76	300	22	6	2.5	0	72.88
Jordan Thompson	4	NW	75	290	17	4.5	2.5	1	72.63
Allen Stallings IV	3	IND	74	240	20	5.5	3	0	72.25
Tito Odenigbo	4	ILL	75	300	18.5	3.5	0	2	58.63
Gay Moore	4	MINN	76	287	15.5	2.5	1	2	57.63
Davon Hamilton	3	OSU	76	300	11	4.5	0.5	1	55.63
Khalil Davis	3	NEB	74	290	11	3	2	1	55.25

Edge Rushers (Minimum 12 Points)
Player	Year	Team	Height	Weight	Tkls	TFLs	Sacks	PDs	Pts
Joe Gaziano	3	NW	76	280	30	13	9	5	274.66
Nick Bosa	3	OSU	76	270	26.5	16	8.5	2	218.91
Kenny Willekes	3	MSU	76	244	54	15	7	2	211.91
Andrew Van Ginkel	4	WIS	76	234	32.5	10	6.5	4	207.41
Parker Hesse	4	Iowa	75	257	33.5	11	4	4	196.69
Anthony Nelson	3	Iowa	79	260	31	9.5	7.5	4	196.34
Shareef Miller	3	PSU	77	257	28.5	11	5	0	127.28
Shaka Toney	2	PSU	75	233	14	6.5	4	0	117.28
Samdup Miller	2	NW	75	261	24	8.5	5.5	1	113.84
Bobby Roundtree	2	ILL	77	245	39	4	4	3	110.94

Off-Ball Linebackers (Minimum 12 Points)
Player	Year	Team	Height	Weight	Tkls	TFLs	Sacks	PDs	Pts
Nate Hall	4	NW	74	230	64	16.5	5	8	158.63
Paddy Fisher	2	NW	76	245	89	9	0	4	156.85
Thomas Barber	3	MINN	73	233	95.5	10.5	1.5	4	155.82
T.J. Edwards	4	WIS	73	244	67	11	2	11	144.35
Devin Bush	3	MICH	71	222	70	9.5	5	9	130.53
Joe Bachie	3	MSU	74	233	73	8.5	3.5	5	130.26
Markus Bailey	3	PUR	73	235	78	11	7	3	125.29
Ryan Connelly	4	WIS	75	228	72.5	11	3	2	113.68
Carter Coughlin	3	MINN	76	245	33	11.5	6.5	0	92.54
Kamal Martin	3	MINN	75	229	35.5	6.5	2	2	86.88
Ben Stille	2	NEB	77	255	18.5	9.5	3.5	1	78.32
Deonte Roberts	4	RUTG	73	235	65.5	5	0	2	76.91
Andrew Dowell	4	MSU	73	222	52	2.5	1	4	69.83
Tr' Watson	4	ILL	74	235	50.5	4.5	1.5	3	61.72
Del'Shawn Phillips	4	ILL	74	220	65.5	4	1	2	59.8
Trevor Morris	4	RUTG	73	232	77.5	3.5	0.5	1	56.61
Manny Bowen	4	PSU	73	226	36.5	3.5	1.5	1	53.19
Blake Cashman	4	MINN	74	235	25	5	2	2	48.73
Koa Farmer	4	PSU	73	237	33.5	5.5	1	1	48.66

Cornerbacks (Minimum 12 Points)
Player	Year	Team	Height	Weight	Tkls	TFLs	Sacks	PDs	Pts
Amani Oruwariye	4	PSU	73	209	24	0	0	12	80
Kiy Hester	4	RUTG	72	208	27	0.5	0	13	75.5
Montre Hartage	4	NW	72	195	53	2	0	10	69.5
Darnell Savage Jr	4	MARY	70	191	52	0	0	11	67
Tyree Kinnel	4	MICH	71	201	54	4.5	1	9	66.25
Lavert Hill	3	MICH	71	177	20	5	0	9	65.5
Josiah Scott	2	MSU	70	173	26	1	0	12	64
Damon Arnette	3	OSU	72	195	40	3	0	10	63
David Long	3	MICH	71	187	18	2	0.5	8	54.13
Damon Hayes	3	RUTG	73	198	38	2	0	11	54
Justin Layne	3	MSU	75	180	32	0.5	0	9	42.5
Kendall Sheffield	3	OSU	72	183	36	2	0	9	37.5
Dontye Carriere-Williams	2	WIS	70	192	26	0	0	7	34
Tariq Castro-Fields	2	PSU	72	185	9.5	2	0	4	29.5

Free Safeties (Minimum 12 Points)
Player	Year	Team	Height	Weight	Tkls	TFLs	Sacks	PDs	Pts
Jonathan Crawford	4	IND	74	203	52	3	0	9	104.63
Patrick Nelson	3	ILL	74	210	48.5	2.5	0	2	102.63
Jacob Huff	4	MINN	71	207	56	3.5	0	7	102.59
Stanley Green	3	ILL	71	195	53.5	0	0	2	98.22
Cameron Watkins	3	ILL	72	190	31.5	3.5	0	4	93.88
Navon Mosley	3	PUR	72	190	54	1	0	5	84.63
Antonio Shenault	4	MINN	71	192	54	3.5	1	4	81.78
RaVon Davis	4	MARY	70	177	34.5	4.5	0	1	72.31
Andre Brown Jr	3	IND	72	195	27.5	3	0	1	71.84
Josh Metellus	3	MICH	72	199	36.5	0.5	0	5	69.44
Nate Hobbs	2	ILL	72	180	39.5	2	1	2	67.47
David Dowell	3	MSU	73	191	42	0	0	9	66.94
Antonio Reed	4	NEB	74	210	33	1	0	1	53.56

Strong Safeties (Minimum 12 Points)
Player	Year	Team	Height	Weight	Tkls	TFLs	Sacks	PDs	Pts
Khaleke Hudson	3	MICH	72	205	62.5	17	8	11	180.64
Jake Gervase	4	Iowa	73	210	44.5	3	0	9	114.71
Antoine Brooks Jr	3	MARY	71	210	65	9.5	1	3	110.24
Khari Willis	4	MSU	72	215	55	5.5	4	5	98.89
Jacob Thieneman	4	PUR	73	210	66	5	2	4	95.53
Bennett Williams	2	ILL	72	200	49	1.5	0	5	92.26
K.J. Gray	3	RUTG	73	205	45.5	3	1.5	7	91.89
Jordan Fuller	3	OSU	74	207	63.5	3	0	4	84.84
Amani Hooker	3	Iowa	72	210	48.5	0	0	4	65.94
D'Cota Dixon	4	WIS	70	204	44.5	3.5	1.5	4	65.48
Aaron Williams	4	NEB	71	190	39.5	0.5	0	3	60.4
Isaiah Wharton	4	RUTG	73	205	31.5	0.5	0	9	53.4
Trae Williams	3	NW	72	212	14.5	1	0	4	42.49

There is a lot of young talent in the front seven in the conference and on the interior, that’s led by a senior. Duh. The interior producers aren’t as deep as the edge producers, but Jacob Robinson is legit. The Indiana senior was relatively disruptive with 7 TFLs and 4 sacks, but his greatest impact was his ability to get in passing lanes (10 PDs). Indiana doesn’t return anything else of note in the front seven but does bring back stud safety, Jonathan Crawford who had 52 tackles and 9 passes defensed. Crawford is joined in the secondary by Andre Brown who had 27.5 tackles, 3 TFLs, and just 1 PD. The only other interior lineman of note is Northwestern tackle Alex Miller. Miller had 4.5 TFls, 2 sacks, and his own handful (5) of pass breakups. He’s joined by fellow linemen Trent Goens, Jordan Thompson, and Samdup Miller who combined for just 53 tackles, but also 18.5 TFLs, and 12 sacks. That quartet of linemen is joined by junior edge rusher Joe Gaziano who led the edge rushers in production last year with 13 TFLs, 9 sacks, and 5 PDs. Behind those 5 players are the top two returning producers at OBLB, Nate Hall and Paddy Fisher. Hall and Fisher combined by 153 tackles, 25.5 TFLs, 5 sacks, and 12 PDs. That’s a lot of production in the front seven returning. In the secondary only two players are back, senior CB Montre Hartage who had 52 tackles and 11 PDs, and junior safety Trae Williams who had 14.5 tackles and 4 PDs. Although Gaziano had a better production score than Ohio State’s Nick Bosa, Bosa is the best edge player in the conference, and probably the nation. On a loaded line last season Bosa still managed to rack up 16 TFLs, 8.5 sacks, and a pair of passes defensed. He’s joined on the line by juniors Dre’Mont Jones and Davon Hamilton, who combined for 26 tackles, 9.6 TFls, and a pair of sacks. Continueing with the excellence at edge rusher in the conference is MSU junior Kenny Willekes who had 54 tackles, 15 for a loss, and 7 sacks last season. He’s joined up front by Raequan Williams (6 TFLs and 2.5 sacks). At linebacker, junior Joe Bachie and senior Andrew Dowell combined for 125 tackles, 11 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, and 9 PDs. MSU continues a strong line of corners in 2018 with the return of Josiah Scott and Justin Layne who had 12 and 9 PDs respectively in 2017. At safety, David Dowell and Khari Willis combined for 97 tackles and 14 PDs. Wisconsin replaces quite a bit on defense especially up front. At edge and OBLB, however, Andrew Van Ginkel (Edge), T.J. Edwards (OBLB), and Ryan Connelly (OBLB) will continue what has been a remarkable run of linebacker production for the Badgers. That trio combined for 172 tackles, 32 TFLs, 11.5 sacks, and 17 passes defensed. In the secondary, like the defensive line, attrition has taken its toll, but two notable producers are back, sophomore CB Dontye Carriere-Williams and senior safety D’Cota Dixon. Carriere-Williams and Dixon combined for 70.5 tackles and 11 PDs. At Iowa, in what has to be a rarity, no linebacker producers return, there are however two notable edge rushers and one interior linemen. The edges, Parker Hesse (Sr.) and Anthony Nelson (Jr.), combined for 64.5 Tackles, 20.5 TFLs, 11.5 sacks, and 8 PDs. On the interior there’s Brady Reiff (1 TFL, 4 PDs). In the secondary, the only returner is safety Jake Gervase who had 44.5 tackles and 9 PDs. The edge rusher bonanza continues at Michigan where junior Rashan Gary moves better than any 280-pound man has a right to move. In 2017 he had 45 tackles, 12 for a loss, and 6 sacks. Gary is joined by linebacker Devin Bush (70 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, 5 sacks, and 9 PDs), corners Tyree Kinnel (Sr.), Lavert Hill (Jr.), and David Long (Jr.) who combined for 92 tackles, 11.5 TFLs, and 26 PDs, and safeties Josh Metellus (Jr.) and Khaleke Hudson (Jr.) who had 99 tackles, 17.5 TFLs, and 16 PDs. All-in-all the pass defense is going to be very, very good, and aggressive, in 2018. The beat goes on as we’re not yet done with notable edge producers, as we move on to Penn State. Junior Shareef Miller and sophomore Shaka Toney are back for the Nittany Lions, and along with Kevin Givens (INT) combined for 58.5 tackles, 21.5 TFLs, and 12.5 sacks. On the second level, seniors Manny Bowen and Koa Farmer combined for 70 tackles and 9 TFLs. They’ll have to be stouter in 2018 to shore up the front seven. The only secondary player back for this year’s campaign is corner, and top conference producer, Amani Oruwariye (24 tackles and 12 PDs). Lastly at edge, is Illinois sophomore Bobby Roundtree who had 4 TFLs and 4 sack sin 2018. He’s joined in the front seven by a quartet of upperclassmen (Oliver, Odenigbo, Watson, and Phillips) who combined for 160.5 tackles, 16.5 TFLs, and 5.5 sacks. In the secondary the Illini have a quartet of DBs returning (Nelson, Green, Watkins, and Williams) who combined for 13 PDs and 182.5 tackles in 2017. At OBLB we see the first of the elite producers for the Golden Gophers. Linebacker Thomas Barber, 95.5 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, and 4 PDs, leads LBs Carter Coughlin, Kamal Martin, and Blake Cashman, and interior linemen Winston DeLattiboudere and Gay Moore. That quintet combined for 119.5 tackles, 29 TFLs, 13.5 sacks, and 11 PDs and form an experienced base in the second year of the “Row the Boat” era. In the back four, safeties Jacob Huff and Antonio Shenault return for their senior season after combining for 110 tackles, 7 TFLs, and 11 PDs. For Purdue, junior Markus Bailey returns off a 78 tackle, 11 tackle for loss, and 7 sack sophomore season. He’s joined on the interior by Lorenzo Neal who had 5.5 TFLs last season at nose guard. In the secondary for the Boilermakers, Navon Mosley and Jacob Thieneman combined for 120 tackles, 6 TFLs, and 9 passes defensed. Maryland has a trio of DBs (Savage Jr, Davis, Brooks Jr) combined for 151.5 tackles and 15 passes defensed.