The One Player Each Big Ten Team Will Miss Most in 2015
No matter who declares (or doesn't declare) for the 2015 NFL draft, the Big Ten is set to lose a fair amount of talent.
Decisions from projected first-round picks such as Nebraska defensive end Randy Gregory and Michigan State defensive end Shilique Calhoun could change things, but the senior class was strong enough that each team will sorely miss at least one player regardless of how the early-entry process plays out.
This list separated the "most missed player" from the "best player" by accounting for context. If a team is losing its best player at a position where it doesn't have a logical replacement, its best player might also be its most missed.
But if it's losing its best player at a position where it does have a logical replacement, he might not be.
We also made an effort to only include seniors and players who have declared for the NFL draft, so as not to be presumptuous.
Sound off below and let us know whom you would add!
Illinois
1 of 14
The Player
LB Earnest Thomas III
55 tackles (9.5 TFL), 4.5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 QB hurries, 1 forced fumble
Why He'll Be Missed
Earnest Thomas III is a versatile linebacker who is capable of filling—and performing well in—any role the Illini ask of him.
This year, for example, he led the team with 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He played the role of a disruptive backfield-rusher. Last year, though, he was second on the team with 101 tackles and only had two tackles for loss and no sacks. He was an in-the-box safety who stayed out of the backfield but cleaned things up at the next level.
Illinois does not have much in the way of reliable defensive depth, so the loss of Thomas will be tough to overcome. He was a puzzle piece who helped the Illini paper over some of their issues.
Indiana
2 of 14
The Player
RB Tevin Coleman
2014 Stats
270 carries, 2,036 yards, 15 TD; 25 receptions, 141 yards
Why He'll Be Missed
Indiana has played in one bowl game since 1993, so a season in which it beat the champion of the SEC East (Missouri) and boasted a 2,000-yard rusher will go down as one of the best in a long time.
But Tevin Coleman was a senior, which means the party (if that's what you want to call a 5-7 season) has come to an end.
Coleman led the country with four runs of 70-plus yards, eight runs of 60-plus yards and nine runs of 50-plus yards this regular season. He was one of the best home run threats in college football history—not hyperbole—and the Hoosiers do not have a successor in place.
Their second-leading rusher, D'Angelo Russell, was also a senior.
Iowa
3 of 14
The Player
LT Brandon Scherff
Why He'll Be Missed
I wanted to get cute by listing Louis Trinca-Pasat, John Lowdermilk or some other underrated defensive player, but all logical roads led back to left tackle Brandon Scherff.
The best in a long line of great Iowa linemen, Scherff fought through what appeared to be a serious injury at the start of the season and played well enough to win the Outland Trophy. He was the fourth Hawkeye to win the award and the first since Robert Gallery in 2003.
"He's played his best football as a senior," head coach Kirk Ferentz said of Scherff after the Outland Trophy presentation.
And that is what makes him so scary.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Maryland
4 of 14
The Player
ILB Cole Farrand, Maryland
2014 Stats
111 tackles (5 TFL), 7 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Why He'll Be Missed
Cole Farrand was the heart of a Maryland defense that was better than expected and helped the Terps—the boring, stale, Oatmeal-flavored Terps—make a bowl game in their first Big Ten season.
The wild-haired inside linebacker had 19 tackles in a win over Indiana, 17 tackles in a loss against Ohio State and 18 tackles in a loss against Michigan State. Maryland did not always win when he played his best, but he always brought his A-game against top-flight opponents.
Farrand stands in for the defensive front seven by proxy, but fellow seniors L.A. Goree, Andre Monroe, Darius Kilgo, Keith Bowers, Alex Twine, Matt Robinson, Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil and Spencer Myers will be missed as well. That is nine of UMD's 16 leading tacklers.
Michigan
5 of 14
The Player
ILB Jake Ryan
112 tackles (14 TFL), 2 sacks, 1 INT, 3 pass breakups, 5 QB hurries, 2 forced fumbles
Why He'll Be Missed
Jake Ryan was the leader of a Michigan defense that helped the Wolverines stay competitive despite staggering offensive futility.
The former outside linebacker kicked inside and had the best year of his career, playing his best against Big Ten opponents. He had 10 or more tackles in five consecutive conference games during October and November—a stretch in which UM went 3-2.
Sophomore Ben Gedeon is the most likely candidate to replace Ryan inside, but after recording four tackles in the season-opener against Appalachian State, he only recorded 13 the rest of the season.
Michigan State
6 of 14
The Player
FS Kurtis Drummond
2014 Stats
65 tackles (3 TFL), 4 INT, 11 pass breakups
Why He'll Be Missed
Kurtis Drummond assumed leadership duties in 2014 after Max Bullough, Denicos Allen, Darqueze Dennard and Isaiah Lewis departed.
The team's back seven was never as good in 2014 as it was in the year prior, but it was good enough to hold its own against most of its opponents—and for that, Drummond deserves the credit.
MSU struggled to find a replacement for Lewis all season, wavering between R.J. Williamson and freshman Montae Nicholson at strong safety.
Now it is in the market for two starting safeties—as well as a defensive coordinator, if you believe reports that Pat Narduzzi accepting the head coaching job at Pittsburgh is a done deal.
The No Fly Zone might be over.
Minnesota
7 of 14
The Player
S Cedric Thompson
2014 Stats
77 tackles (3 TFL), 2 INT, 1 pass breakup, 2 forced fumbles
Why He'll Be Missed
Cedric Thompson played his best when Minnesota most needed it, coming on strong against the best teams on its schedule.
He had nine tackles and one forced fumble against Iowa. He had 10 tackles (one for loss) against Ohio State. He had just four tackles but another forced fumble against Nebraska. And he rounded out the season with 12 tackles (two for loss) against Wisconsin.
Running back David Cobb was the best player on the team, but with blue-chip recruit Jeff Jones reportedly set to play this spring after missing his freshman season for academic reasons, the Gophers should still have a workhorse to rely on in the offensive backfield.
In the defensive backfield? Maybe not so much.
Nebraska
8 of 14
The Player
RB Ameer Abdullah
2014 Stats
237 carries, 1,523 yards, 18 TD; 16 receptions, 208 yards, 3 TD
Why He'll Be Missed
Ameer Abdullah is the active FBS leader in career all-purpose yards (6,917), and he contributes to Nebraska in just about every way.
He carried the offense through the better part of the season, and even though he couldn't lead the Huskers to 10 wins and/or save Bo Pelini's job, we'll always have Sept. 6 against McNeese State.
Nebraska has power back Imani Cross and shifty junior Terrell Newby around to replace Abdullah, but neither brings the versatility or workhorse mindset of their soon-to-be-former teammate.
This offense officially lacks an identity.
Northwestern
9 of 14
The Player
C Brandon Vitabile
Why He'll Be Missed
Brandon Vitabile is a four-year starter who displaced a three-year starter—Ben Burkett—from center to offensive guard when he was only a redshirt freshman.
That was way back in 2011, and from that point forward, Vitabile has been the rock in the middle of Northwestern's offense.
Kain Colter and Venric Mark got most of the credit (and deserved it) but only because the center position is so easy to overlook. Vitabile was every bit as important to the 10-win season in 2012.
The center listed behind Vitabile on the Wildcats Rivals.com depth chart was Hayden Baker, another redshirt senior. There is no clear option to replace the two-year captain on next year's roster.
Ohio State
10 of 14
The Player
DT Michael Bennett
35 tackles (12.5 TFL), 6 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 3 QB hurries, 3 forced fumbles
Why He'll Be Missed
Michael Bennett is the big daddy up the middle of Ohio State's defense, one of the few places the Buckeyes lack depth.
Adolphus Washington (a converted end) should stick around next season, and Tommy Schutt will be a senior and likely replace Bennett in the starting lineup. But behind them there are…who? Michael Hill and Donovan Munger? The owners of seven combined tackles for their careers?
Okay, that might be embellishing a little bit. Ohio State will be fine up the middle. Ohio State will be fine pretty much everywhere. It coaches and (more importantly) recruits too well not to be.
But Bennett makes the Buckeyes more than fine at defensive tackle. He makes them one of the best interior defenses in the country.
His absence will call that into question.
Penn State
11 of 14
The Player
ILB Mike Hull
134 tackles (10.5 TFL), 2 sacks, 1 INT, 3 pass breakups, 1 QB hurry, 1 forced fumble
Why He'll Be Missed
Mike Hull was the heart and soul of a Penn State defense that met, surpassed and sped away from preseason expectations.
The Nittany Lions led the country in rushing yards allowed per game (84.75) and per carry (2.56) during the regular season and finished No. 7 in scoring defense (17.7 points per game). They even gave Ohio State all it could handle in an overtime loss in October, holding the Buckeyes to 3.86 yards per play—the lowest total of the Urban Meyer era.
Hull had 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and an interception in the defeat, playing what might have been his best game in a season full of great ones. And he did it on the Lions' biggest stage.
Linebacker U is about to lose another legend.
Purdue
12 of 14
The Player
FS Landon Feichter
2014 Stats
105 tackles (2.5 TFL), 5 INT, 3 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble
Why He'll Be Missed
Landon Feichter helped Purdue field a surprisingly decent defense and hang around with some of the best teams in the Big Ten.
Against Wisconsin, for example, he had 12 tackles, one interception, one pass breakup and one forced fumble. That fumble—which Feichter recovered—was a strip of Heisman runner-up Melvin Gordon, whom Feichter would later stuff on a 4th-and-1 and give the ball back to the Boilermakers offense once again.
Purdue is losing the heart of its stronger unit and a player whose toughness embodies what Darrell Hazell is trying to install in the program. He did, after all, play with two broken hands back in 2013.
Godspeed to one of the best players few people know about.
Rutgers
13 of 14
The Player
QB Gary Nova
2014 Stats
178-for-307, 2,667 yards, 20 TD, 12 INT
Why He'll Be Missed
Gary Nova used to be a punchline, but now he's only kinda, sorta, almost a punchline, which speaks volumes about the way he took to Ralph Friedgen's offense and played in his senior season.
The quarterback best known for beating Tom Savage in a fall competition had his bad moments (five interceptions against Penn State), but for the most part, he showed a willingness and ability to push the ball downfield and open up opposing defenses.
Freshman Chris Laviano relieved Nova for the final 21 minutes of the Wisconsin game and completed two of 12 passes for 17 yards—1.7 yards per attempt. Nova finished the regular season tied with Rakeem Cato and Dak Prescott for No. 10 in the country with 8.7 yards per attempt.
So, yeah. This could be a problem.
Wisconsin
14 of 14
The Player
ILB Derek Landisch
76 tackles (15 TFL), 8 sacks, 1 INT, 3 pass breakups, 3 QB hurries
Why He'll Be Missed
Melvin Gordon was the easy answer, and he will surely be missed. But Wisconsin has Corey Clement to succeed him in its royal line of running backs, and the hiring of former offensive coordinator Paul Chryst as head coach means its offense will stay the same.
Derek Landisch, on the other hand, does not have a natural successor as the rock in the middle of the defense. He did everything he could to mitigate the loss of Chris Borland, finishing third on the team with 76 tackles and leading the Badgers with 15 tackles for loss.
Fellow inside linebacker Marcus Trotter and backup/twin brother Michael Trotter were seniors this season as well, leaving Wisconsin stripped of both star power and depth at the position.
That could be a problem in 2015.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
