Big Ten Football: Looking at the Early Favorites for the All-Conference Team
Despite being just three weeks into the 2014 college football season, we already have a grasp on the players to watch this season—and the grasp is getting a little tighter each week.
There's a long way to go between now and naming the Big Ten's All-Conference team, but we're ready to identify some early front-runners for the honor.
A lot goes in to determining a player's candidacy for an All-Big Ten selection, and three games is barely enough time to separate the truly great players from the flash-in-the-pan performances.
Still, with the usual suspects up to their old ways and some promising newcomers who seem (for now) to be living up to expectations, we're confident about most of the guys we're naming to this watch list.
Each Big Ten team has nine or ten games left on the regular season schedule, and fortunes are sure to shift as quickly as summer vanishes from Big Ten country. But after Week 3, here are our early favorites for the 2014 All-Big Ten team.
Unless otherwise noted, quotes or references to quotes were obtained firsthand by the writer.
Special Teams (Returner)
1 of 10
Favorite: De'Mornay Pierson-El, Nebraska
Pierson-El already has 12 punt returns to his credit in this young season, and he's racked up 216 yards (18.0 average) and a touchdown. There may be some other returners with higher averages, but Pierson-El is the only Big Ten returner to have more than 10 returns so far in 2014.
That consistency over the long haul may prove to be the deciding factor come December.
Player to Watch: William Likely, Maryland
With six punt returns on the season, Likely leads the Big Ten in yards per return with 27.5. He also had a return for a touchdown against West Virginia last Saturday.
Special Teams (Kicker/Punter)
2 of 10
Favorite: Brad Craddock, Maryland
Head football coaches are just like the rest of us. Kickers aren't important—until they are. So coaches love it when they don't have to worry about the kicker.
Consistency is the name of the game, and so far in 2014, no kicker has been more consistent than Maryland's Brad Craddock. Through three games, Craddock has attempted five field goals, making all five. He's also a perfect 14-of-14 on extra points and has booted 12 of his 23 kickoffs into the end zone for a touchback.
Player to Watch: Sam Ficken, Penn State
Ficken leads the Big Ten with six made field goals (on seven attempts). Add in the game-winner in Dublin against UCF, and Ficken has all the makings of a place kicker to watch this season.
Defensive Backs
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Favorite: Trevor Williams, Penn State
There's more that goes into a great defensive back than interceptions, but when so many defensive backs around the Big Ten are just settling into the new season, Penn State's Trevor Williams is already making game-changing impacts with his defense.
Williams has two picks already in 2014, and has broken up a third pass. He's also added seven tackles, making him an early favorite for All-Big Ten defensive back.
Players to Watch: Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Minnesota & Josh Mitchell, Nebraska
Boddy-Calhoun has two picks so far this season along with 13 tackles and two pass break-ups, while Mitchell has a conference-leading five passes broken up.
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Linebackers
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Favorite: Yannick Ngakoue, Maryland
It's still early—both in 2014 and in Ngakoue's collegiate career—but this sophomore is already making a name for himself in College Park. Ngakoue leads all Big Ten linebackers with six tackles for loss (half of his total tackles) and is second among all defenders in the category.
Ngakoue has also added a sack and a pass breakup to his résumé this season, making him a young player you'll definitely want to keep an eye on this season.
Players to Watch: Darron Lee, Ohio State & Raekwon McMillan, Ohio State
These pair of Buckeyes have combined for eight tackles for loss, while McMillan is tied for the lead among Big Ten linebackers with a pair of sacks. Even more impressive is the fact that both Lee and McMillan are freshmen.
Defensive Line
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Favorites: Bobby Richardson, Indiana & Kemoko Turay, Rutgers
Indiana isn't exactly known for its stifling defense, and a loss to Bowling Green State won't help that perception moving forward. But the Hoosiers do have an outstanding playmaker in Bobby Richardson, who has three sacks through two games .
Along with Richardson, a senior, is Rutgers newcomer Kemoko Turay. Despite his youth, this freshman is already impressing pundits with his 3.5 sacks through three games—tops in the conference—and seven tackles. Turay has also two blocked kicks to his credit this season, easily making him an early favorite for All-Big Ten honors.
Players to Watch: Anthony Zettel, Penn State & Shilique Calhoun, Michigan State
Zettel has three sacks already this season and leads the Big Ten with a whopping seven tackles for loss. Calhoun is one of the nation's top athletes at defensive end. We're confident he'll be making an major impact this season, and his six tackles (including a sack) are only the beginning.
Offensive Line
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Favorites: Brandon Scherff, Iowa & Rob Havenstein, Wisconsin
Both Iowa and Wisconsin are your prototypical Big Ten programs that like to run the ball every bit as much (if not more) as passing the ball. In order to have the success the Hawkeyes and Badgers have enjoyed in the run game, top-tier offensive linemen are a must.
Enter Brandon Scherff and Rob Havenstein.
These two dominant offensive linemen are some of the biggest and baddest athletes any defensive lineman will line up against anywhere in the nation. Quarterbacks and running backs love them, defensive tackles and linebackers despise them and NFL scouts salivate over them.
Scherff has an excellent shot at becoming the No. 1 overall draft pick next spring, and Havenstein isn't far behind. Don't be surprised if both of these guys aren't only on the final All-Big Ten team but also headlining several award watch lists come November.
Players to Watch: Taylor Decker, Ohio State & Jack Conklin, Michigan State
Decker is the anchor of a young and inexperienced Ohio State offensive line—Decker is the only returning starter for 2014. Conklin is a superb athlete who started 13 games for Michigan State last season as a freshman. This year, he brings a dominating presence to an experienced offense.
Tight Ends
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Favorite: Josiah Price, Michigan State
Last year, there was no tight end in the nation better than Michigan's Devin Funchess. But after moving to the wide receiver spot this season, more traditional tight ends are making an impact worthy of recognition. Chief among them is Michigan State's Josiah Price.
Price leads all Big Ten tight ends with over 52 receiving yards per game. That number also places him in the top 15 in the conference for receiving yards per game, regardless of position. Price also excels at the more "old school" tight end job of blocking on the end, giving Connor Cook more time in the pocket to find other targets down field.
Player to Watch: Sam Arneson, Wisconsin
On the rare occasions that Wisconsin's running game isn't working, you can usually count on the short passing game. Enter Sam Arneson. The senior has 92 yards on five receptions this season, and like MSU, the tight ends in Madison also play a major role in the run and pass game in terms of blocking abilities.
Wide Receivers
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Favorite: Tony Lippett, Michigan State
A few years ago, the thought of a Michigan State receiver earning all-conference honors may have been almost comical. MSU, after all, was a program with deep issues at quarterback and solid performers at running back.
The Spartans still have a talented corps of running backs, but quarterback play has improved so dramatically under Connor Cook, it's now possible to view MSU's receivers as among the best in the conference.
The leader of the group in East Lansing is Tony Lippett, who through just two games, is still ranked third in the conference with 300 receiving yards. His three TDs are tied for second in the conference, and his 150.0 yards per game is far and away the best in the Big Ten (and sixth in the nation).
With the Spartans a favorite to compete for a second consecutive Big Ten title in 2014, don't be surprised if MSU continues to exploit the Cook-to-Lippett connection all the way to Indianapolis.
Player to Watch: Penn State Pick 'em
The great thing about having a quarterback like Christian Hackenberg is that his talent really opens up the receiving options. Penn State has an emerging pair of receivers that could each—or maybe both—find their way onto the All-Big Ten team come December.
Sophomore Geno Lewis and freshman DaeSean Hamilton are averaging 126.7 and 112.3 receiving yards per game, respectively, through three games. The only thing so far holding these two back from some major recognition is their lack of scoring output.
So far, Lewis has a single touchdown reception, and Hamilton has yet to score.
Running Backs
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Favorite: Tevin Coleman, Indiana
Apologies to Nebraska and Wisconsin fans, but through three weeks, the rushing juggernaut in the Big Ten resides in Bloomington.
Tevin Coleman is off to a remarkable junior season, averaging—wait for it—218.5 rushing yards in Indiana's two games this season.
Okay, so those two games were against a bad FCS program and a MAC school (a loss, no less), but Coleman's performance isn't completely out of line with history. Last season, he averaged 106.4 yards per game while scoring a dozen times (both fifth in the Big Ten).
We don't expect his stratospheric numbers to last all season long, but there's little question that Coleman is the real deal. His problem now will be finding a way to generate enough buzz about his numbers while languishing in a pitifully underachieving program.
Player to Watch: Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska
Here's the pick everyone was expecting. Abdullah is up to his old tricks again, averaging 132.0 yards per game (second in the Big Ten to Coleman, yet more than 86 yards per game back) and having found the end zone three times (1.0 TD per game to Coleman's 2.5).
As the long season wears on, Abdullah will undoubtedly be a major magnet for attention. He has an excellent shot at overtaking Coleman in most, if not all major statistical categories before season's end, which would all but guarantee him another All-Big Ten selection.
Quarterbacks
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Favorite: Tommy Armstrong, Nebraska
Tommy Armstrong once looked to be on a certain path to being called "Tommy Turnover" or some equally unflattering moniker.
This season, however, Armstrong looks to be making amends for his past failures with a vast improvement that could finally lead the Cornhuskers past that four-losses-per-season hump (something which they've never done under Bo Pelini).
Through three games, Armstrong's touchdown-to-interception ratio stands at seven-to-one, a far cry from 2013's nine-to-eight failure.
There are a few quarterbacks with better yardage numbers than Armstrong (Penn State's Christian Hackenberg, Michigan State's Connor Cook and Illinois' Wes Lunt), and there is a whole host of guys beating his mediocre 53.1 percent completion mark.
But as long has he keeps throwing touchdowns without tossing those dreaded picks, the Huskers should continue to find success.
Player to Watch: Wes Lunt, Illinois
Wes Lunt, the transfer from Oklahoma State, is currently second in the Big Ten with 323.7 passing yards per game. He also has a Big Ten-leading nine touchdowns while completing 65.8 percent of his throws.
Is this just the cure head coach Tim Beckman needed for what has been ailing the Illini? Considering Beckman previously had the services of Nathan Scheelhaase, we're not convinced of that. Still, Lunt's a gamer, and he's worth keeping an eye on in 2014.
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