Big Ten Football: Who Are the Non-Conference Defensive MVPs?
Defense is a little bit more difficult to assess than offense, where it regards value to a team.
After all, one could simply say the top five tacklers in the conference are the five best defensive players. On the other hand, two of the top five tacklers are Michigan Wolverines, and let's face it, the Wolverines don't have a particularly good defense.
Much like the offensive line, many of the most valuable defensive players don't show up on the stat sheet.
For example, a linebacker may accumulate so many tackles. Nevertheless, that doesn't account for the lineman that is taking out two and three blockers at a time, thereby giving the linebacker in question the opportunity to make clean tackles.
In another instance, a cornerback may not have any interceptions or passes defended. Yet, the reason for this is because opposing quarterbacks have been told to avoid his side of the field. Meanwhile, due to said cornerback's presence on the field, the other cornerback is making plays, and the line is picking up what amount to coverage sacks.
With four, and in the case of Illinois and Indiana, three games behind us, the following list will name the Big Ten defensive MVP's this far into the season.
There are some players that are not on this list that many would have figured to be locks at the beginning of the season. Furthermore, there are some sleepers and surprises, and some that are only surprising to those that haven't been paying attention.
Nevertheless, there is still a lot of football left to be played. However, the following players have already established themselves as forces on the Midwest gridirons.
Honorable Mentions
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Chimdi Chekwa came into the season surrounded by a number of questions. He was OSU's incumbent cornerback, but he was inconsistent last year.
Despite starting all 13 games, he only accumulated one interception. He occasionally seemed to get lost in coverage, and while he was solid, opposing quarterbacks knew they could pick on him.
As this year began, he, and the entire Ohio State secondary, was looked at as a somewhat weak link in a typically strong OSU defense.
However, that secondary, and particularly Chekwa, have made their presence felt.
After four games, Ohio State is fourth in the Big Ten in pass defense. Even more tellingly, they have the best pass defense efficiency in the conference. They also have the second most interceptions with seven, two of which were by Chekwa.
Meanwhile, in Iowa City, senior Jeff Tarpinian has patiently waited his turn to shine behind any number of linebackers. In his four years on campus, he has backed up all three of the linebacker positions, as well as served as the Hawks' hybrid safety/linebacker in their 3-3-5 scheme. Now, he is finally the starter at the middle linebacker position.
In only three games—he missed the first game due to injury—Tarp has accumulated 32 tackles, which is good enough for sixth in the conference. Moreover, he is averaging 10.7 tackles-per-game. That is almost two more than the nearest player.
Throw in a tackle-for-loss, a sack, and a forced fumble, and you've got an impressive first three games. Even more so, when you consider how much garbage time he has sat out.
Lastly, there is J.J. Watt, Wisconsin's defensive end. Watt's numbers really aren't overwhelming. He is tied for sixth in the conference with 4.5 tackles-for-loss. He is also tied for eighth with four passes defended. He is the only lineman in that group. He has yet to get a sack this season.
Nonetheless, anybody that has watched Wisconsin play this season, has taken notice of No. 99. While the entire Badger defensive unit has, at times, been underwhelming, none of that can be pinned on Watt.
He has played above himself, playing all over the field, and really providing a spark when his team needs it.
Mike Daniels: Defensive Tackle, Iowa
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Mike Daniels might be the biggest defensive surprise on the season thus far. This is as much due to his linemates as him.
Daniels plays on a line with preseason All-Americans Adrian Clayborn and Karl Klug. His other linemates are preseason All-Big Ten candidates Christian Ballard and Broderick Binns. Together, the four of them might have been the most destructive line in the Big Ten last year. Furthermore, they were one of the most heralded front fours coming into this season.
Yet, it has been the junior Daniels that has done the most damage and earned the most headlines.
Diesel, as his teammates call him, has been praised up and down by his coaches. Heading into the season, Kirk Ferentz even called him his "fifth starter" on the line. At this point, it is apparent that he is indeed as much a starter as Clayborn, Ballard, Klug, or Binns.
After four games, Daniels has accumulated 18 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss, and three sacks. This is good for second in the conference in TFL and third in the conference in sacks.
He was unstoppable in the Hawks' most recent game against Ball State. The Cardinals even opted to double-team him on a few plays instead of Clayborn.
As teams will not be able to double team both him and Clayborn on every play, expect Daniels' emergence to open things up even more for the Iowa pass rush.
Ryan Kerrigan: Defensive End, Purdue
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The senior defensive end currently leads the Big Ten in both sacks and tackles-for-loss with 4.5 and 12. He is also tied for third in the conference in tackles with 34, and he easily has the most tackles of any defensive lineman in the Big Ten.
In the end, if MVP awards—real or hypothetical, like this list—were given out based strictly on statistics and tangible output, Kerrigan would win, and there wouldn't be any contest.
However, the reality is that despite Kerrigan's statistics, his team is 2-2 with losses to a bad Notre Dame team and an average Toledo team.
Even more relevant to Kerrigan, Purdue is ranked ninth in the conference in scoring defense, ninth in rushing defense, seventh in pass defense, and eighth in total defense.
No matter what Kerrigan's personal numbers, he must ultimately put responsibility for the team's output on his own back.
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Ross Homan: Linebacker, Ohio State
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Where does Ohio State find them?
In 2005, it was A.J. Hawk. Then, when he graduated, James Lauranaitis stepped in. He graduated in 2008, and Ross Homan proceeded to take his place.
Last season, Homan was second team All-Big Ten. This season, most preseason publications project him to be a first-teamer.
He has begun the year well, accumulating 26 tackes for 6.5 per game. He also has .5 tackle-for-loss, one interception, and one forced fumble.
When you further consider that three of the Bucks' games this year came with substantial garbage time, it is easy to see how much Homan might have done.
Needless to say, he'll have plenty of chances when the Big Ten season gets under way.
Quentin Davie: Linebacker, Northwestern
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Quentin Davie is something of an under-the-radar player in the Big Ten. That's the way it goes when you play linebacker for Northwestern. You tend to take a backseat to linebackers from Penn State, Ohio State, Iowa, and Michigan State, among others.
This is despite the fact that last year, Davie had an impressive 90 tackle campaign.
This year, he has returned for his senior year, and he has started strong.
He has accumulated 22 tackles, which amounts to 5.5 per game. He also has 2.5 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and he is leading the conference with three interceptions.
As NU is hardly setting the world on fire with their run defense, he will have to assume a larger role in that capacity. However, for now, hopefully people will start to pay attention to the linebacker out of Evanston.
Greg Jones: Linebacker, Michigan State
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No surprise here.
Last year's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year just keeps getting better.
He is fifth in the conference in tackles with 33. He is also eighth in the conference in tackles-per-game with 8.2.
On top of that, he has one sack, two tackles-for-loss, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions.
In short, there is little else to say. At the middle linebacker position he is virtually impossible to run away from. He is a solid, fundamental tackler, a perfectly timed blitzer, and he is excellent in coverage.
He is probably the best Big Ten linebacker since A.J. Hawk graduated in 2005. Given the linebackers that have prowled the gridirons of the Shoe, Beaver Stadium, and Kinnick over the past five seasons, that is saying quite a lot.
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