Returning Big Ten Players Who Could Play in the NFL Right Now
Ohio State might have beaten Alabama on the field, but the Big Ten will never get the same respect as the SEC until it starts churning out NFL prospects. Professional promise, after all, is one of many reasons the SEC dominates recruiting.
Fortunately, the B1G has some NFL-caliber players returning in 2015. It will make its mark in the upcoming draft, and it will do so without leaving the cupboard bare. Enough players who could have made an NFL roster will instead return for another year of school.
The list that follows did not include players who have yet to declare their intentions. It only counts confirmed returnees.
Michigan State defensive end Shilique Calhoun and left tackle Jack Conklin, for example, would have made the list if they said they planned to return. But neither has made a public decision, so they were omitted.
The deadline to declare early for the draft is Jan. 15, at which point we will come back and update this. Calhoun and Conklin each have first-round potential, but their fates are up in the air.
Here are eight NFL-ready players we know will be back in 2015.
Sound off below and let us know whom else you'd add.
DE Joey Bosa, Ohio State
1 of 8
Measurables
6'5", 278 lbs
53 tackles, 20.0 TFL, 13.5 sacks, 1 pass breakup, 4 QB hurries, 4 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 TD
What is left to say about Joey Bosa?
The sophomore All-American does a little bit of everything, collapsing the pocket on passing plays, setting a hard edge and making tackles against the run. He has ideal size for an NFL 7-technique and the athleticism to execute a standing backflip.
"First-rounder when he comes out," said an NFL scouting director of Bosa, per NFL Media insider Albert Breer. "A Patrick Kearney-type player, and [he] will probably surpass that next year."
*Prior to CFP Championship Game.
WR Leonte Carroo, Rutgers
2 of 8
Measurables
6'1", 205 lbs
2014 Stats
55 receptions, 1,086 yards, 10 TD
Leonte Carroo made Gary Nova look like one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten. Is that enough to rest his case on?
Actually, Carroo has been playing with Nova since high school; in 2015, he'll have his first new quarterback in eight years. But whoever wins the job under center, Carroo's combination of modest size, great speed and improving technique will help ease the transition.
He didn't get a glowing endorsement from the NFL Draft Advisory Board, telling Dan Duggan of NJ.com that he was advised to stay in school. But he knows that doesn't mean he couldn't cut it.
"This year they do it a little differently, so they try to get juniors to stay in school more," Carroo told Duggan. "... That doesn’t mean that I couldn’t have went third or fourth round. ... I just feel like next year is going to be a better year, and one more year won’t hurt."
DT Maliek Collins, Nebraska
3 of 8
Measurables
6'2", 300 lbs
45 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 10 QB hurries
Maliek Collins made teams pay for double-blocking Randy Gregory, eating up space and wreaking havoc behind the line.
Steven Muench and Kevin Weidl of ESPN.com (subscription required) ranked him the No. 5 non-draft-eligible prospect in the country, calling him "a disruptive run-defender who has the explosive first step and violent hands to shoot gaps and bring down backs in the backfield."
Collins needs to add some strength and likely isn't ready to start in the NFL. But he's already ready to play in a rotation. They don't make 300-pounders this quick and nimble, no matter how young and raw.
He would figure things out as a pro.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
QB Connor Cook, Michigan State
4 of 8
Measurables
6'4", 218 lbs
2014 Stats
212-of-365, 3,214 yards, 24 TD, 8 INT; 51 carries, 80 yards, 2 TD
Connor Cook is not a finished product—he still needs to work on his footwork, his accuracy, his all-around consistency etc.—but he has the size, arm strength, mobility and moxie to compete for an NFL job. You can't tell me he's not better than Zach Mettenberger.
Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com (subscription required) wrote in early December that Cook "has a legit chance to go in Round 1 [of the 2015 NFL draft]," but he forewent the opportunity to return for his senior year.
If he makes a similar leap this offseason to the one he made last offseason, the risk should pay off, and he could end up getting drafted in the top 10 in 2016. Even if he doesn't, though, he already brings enough to the table that any team would be lucky to have him.
They just have to smooth out the rough edges.
K Brad Craddock, Maryland
5 of 8
Measurables
6'0", 185 lbs
2014 Stats
18-of-19 field goals; 44-of-44 extra points
Kicking translates from college to the NFL better than any other skill in football—or at least it should. The goalposts have the same dimensions, and a yard is still exactly three feet long.
Brad Craddock was the best kicker in college football this season, winning the Lou Groza Award after not missing a kick until the regular-season finale against Rutgers.
He proved he could handle pressure with a game-winning kick as time expired at Penn State, so it's not like the jump in competition would scare him, and he was money on 18 of his 19 attempts.
Ipso facto, he could probably find a home in the league.
OT Taylor Decker, Ohio State
6 of 8
Measurables
6'7", 315 lbs
Taylor Decker doesn't always get mentioned alongside J.T. Barrett, Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa and all of the other key pieces of Ohio State's magical season, but make no mistake: He's up there.
The hulking left tackle was the only returning starter from last year's offensive line, and although the group struggled in the first two games of 2014, Decker led the charge as it improved week in and week out. He is fluid for a man of his size and always plays with a mean streak.
"I’m of the opinion Decker will slide into the late part of Round 1 if he enters," wrote Tony Pauline of TFY Draft Insider on Jan. 3, two days before Decker announced he would return for his senior year.
Another huge coup for the Buckeyes.
CB/KR William Likely, Maryland
7 of 8Measurables
5'7", 175 lbs
2014 Stats
83 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 1.0 sacks, 6 INT, 9 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, 2 TD; 19 PR, 210 yards, 1 TD; 16 KR, 496 yards, 1 TD
William Likely is not ready to play cornerback in the NFL—although, to be honest, he's not so far off.
Regardless, he makes this list as a special teamer more than a defender. Specifically, he makes it as the best kick and punt returner in the Big Ten (if not the country). He finished No. 4 in the nation with an average of 31.0 yards per kick return and No. 13 with 11.1 yards per punt return.
Likely has done all of this despite his diminutive stature, proving doubters wrong every step of the way. He could probably step in and hold his own as a dime cornerback at the next level, and he could definitely step in and become a useful returner.
DL Anthony Zettel, Penn State
8 of 8
Measurables
6'4", 274 lbs
2014 Stats
42 tackles, 17.0 TFL, 8.0 sacks, 3 INT, 1 TD
Anthony Zettel moved from defensive end to tackle in 2014, and he proved too quick for almost every interior lineman he faced.
A jump up to the NFL would force him, in all likelihood, to move back to end, but he's carried his added weight so well that he could probably hold his own as an every-down 5-technique. And now that he has proven himself on the interior, teams would have no qualms about sliding him to 3-technique on passing downs.
Even after another year in Happy Valley, Zettel might not cut the mold of a future NFL Pro Bowler. But he does cut the mold of a future NFL veteran. Big, tough, instinctive linemen with quickness will never be out of a job, sort of like rebounding specialists in basketball.
Zettel could be some team's Reggie Evans.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
