Big Ten Q&A: Who's the B1G's Most Dominant Wide Receiver?
The dead period of the college football offseason is well upon us, but the Big Ten shouldn't stay quiet for long.
With the start of June less than a week away, teams across the conference—and now, country—are getting set to embark on their respective satellite camp tours, with Michigan's latest count of camps up to 36.
So before Jim Harbaugh starts touring the world—literally—let's get to our Big Ten Q&A. This week, we'll tackle—less literally—the conference's top returning wideout, the league's breakout player, predicting the Big Ten's leading rusher and Ohio State's confusing over/under.
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As always, you can send me your questions each week on Twitter @BenAxelrod.
Let's get started.
This is a good question, considering the amount of talent the Big Ten lost to the NFL after the 2015 season.
Last year, you could've made the argument for Aaron Burbridge, Michael Thomas, Leonte Carroo, Braxton Miller or Alex Erickson as the conference's top wideout, depending on your criteria and/or definition of "dominance." This year, however, no one seems to stand out as that surefire All-Big Ten selection the way Thomas and Carroo did at this point in the 2015 preseason.
While their names may not garner the same attention, it is worth noting that two of the three Big Ten receivers to top 1,000 yards last season will be back on the field this fall, Penn State's Chris Godwin and Indiana's Simmie Cobbs Jr. If this question were about overall production from a wideout, Godwin would likely have been my answer after last season's 69-catch, 1,101-yard, five-touchdown season.
But to me, "dominance" means something different—a player capable of taking over a game on his own, usually by winding up in the end zone on multiple occasions. In that case, I'll go with Michigan's Jehu Chesson, who was arguably the conference's best—and most dominant—wideout in the second half of the 2015 season.
After getting off to a relatively slow start while Jake Rudock struggled to adjust to being Michigan's starting quarterback, Chesson came on strong at the end of his junior campaign, catching a total of 27 balls for 505 yards and six touchdowns in the Wolverines' final four games. That stretch included a 10-catch, 207-yard, four-touchdown performance in Michigan's too-close-for-comfort win over Indiana, which went a long way toward Chesson's being named a first-team All-Big Ten selection and Michigan's MVP at season's end.
At 6'3" and 200 pounds, Chesson is as equally capable of serving as a possession receiver as he is a deep threat. With Rudock having moved on to the NFL, the St. Louis native will once again have to adjust to playing alongside another quarterback in the Wolverines offense.
But if the end of last season is any indication, Michigan's new starter should be just fine, thanks in large part to the presence of one of the Big Ten's most dynamic wide receivers.
This is another tough one (side note: Good job this week, readers), considering that criteria on what constitutes a "breakout" player varies.
Is it a player who's played before but is about to take the next step toward becoming a star? Is it a first-year starter who bursts onto the scene? Is it an incoming freshman with hype he actually lives up to?
In my mind, the definition is less strict. To me, the breakout player of the year is a player who wasn't a star before and is by season's end, regardless of his prior playing experience or class.
Since this is my Q&A, we'll go with my definition, and in that case, my answer is Penn State's Garrett Sickels.
In a way, this answer is kind of a copout, since Carl Nassib was last year's breakout star in the Big Ten, and Sickels, a fellow Nittany Lions defensive end, would just be following in his footsteps by earning the same accolades. But Penn State coach James Franklin hasn't been shy in comparing Sickels to the new Cleveland Brown, at least as far as their respective career paths are concerned.
"You could make some arguments [that] he's at a similar point that Carl was last year, having gone back and studied the stats," Franklin said toward the end of the 2015 campaign. "He works, his motor—those are the things that have always kind of stood out about [Sickels]."
For what it's worth, Sickels finished with three sacks and 5.5 tackles for a loss in 2015, while Nassib tallied just one sack and 3.5 tackles for a loss in his junior campaign before jumping to 15.5 sacks, 19.5 tackles for a loss and All-American status in 2015.
Obviously, those are lofty expectations to meet, but it's a story we've seen play out before in State College.
Other breakout players to keep an eye on include Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard, Illinois defensive end Dawuane Smoot, Indiana running back Devine Redding, Wisconsin quarterback Bart Houston and Michigan State running back L.J. Scott. And in case only freshmen fit your own criteria, I like Michigan's Rashan Gary and Ohio State's Nick Bosa to make instant impacts in the coming year as well.
Answering your second question first: Not necessarily—but yeah, probably.
Only it might not be the Buckeye or Badger you'd necessarily expect who leads the Big Ten in rushing.
While it certainly wouldn't surprise me if Corey Clement bounced back from his nearly nonexistent 2015 and became the Big Ten's leading rusher, I think too many options in Wisconsin's backfield emerged in his absence and will vulture carries from the Badgers back, who rushed for 949 yards and nine touchdowns as Melvin Gordon III's backup in 2014.
Similarly, I'd expect Ohio State to rely on a true running-back-by-committee to replace Ezekiel Elliott, with Mike Weber, Bri'onte Dunn and Curtis Samuel each possessing the potential to be the Buckeyes' lead back by season's end.
One factor that won't change in Ohio State's offense, however, is how much Urban Meyer will rely on J.T. Barrett. That's right: I'm choosing a signal-caller to lead the Big Ten in rushing, even with talented running backs like Penn State's Saquon Barkley and Northwestern's Justin Jackson returning to the conference.
The rationale? Despite his limited role in the first half of the season, Barrett still finished with 682 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in 2015, the highest totals in both categories of any quarterback in the Big Ten.
While Meyer has stated a desire to run a more balanced offense in 2016, I actually think that could work in Barrett's favor, as he could find himself the Buckeyes' most reliable running option.
It's somewhat of a long shot, but Meyer has shown a propensity for leaning on his QBs in the run game in the past. And based on what he did a year ago with not even a full season's worth of a work, Barrett certainly has the ability to lead the Big Ten in rushing in 2016, despite the position he plays.
Yeah, Ohio State over 8.5 wins would seem like easy money—if you can still get it. According to at least one Las Vegas patron, the number that the Golden Nugget Casino Sports Book (via Covers.com) initially posted as the Buckeyes over/under win total has already inched up to nine.
And for good reason. After all, in each of his first four seasons at Ohio State, Meyer has averaged 11.5 wins in the regular season and has never won fewer than 11 games.
But to a degree, I understand the oddsmakers' logic.
I just don't necessarily agree with it.
The Buckeyes do have a tough out-of-conference road test with Oklahoma and face Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State on the road, and Michigan is only seemingly getting better.
Still, 8.5 or even nine is such a relatively low bar for the Buckeyes that you're counting on them to lose four games in order to lose your money. And for an Urban Meyer team, that just doesn't happen often, especially given how well he's recruited in Columbus.
At this point, the over on Ohio State certainly makes sense to me. Then again, if my one trip to Las Vegas taught me anything, it's that there's no such thing as "easy money."
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. Recruit rankings and info courtesy of 247Sports.
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