Yet another slot filled..

The position of Illinois correspondent has officially been filled.

A regular on the Illinois Loyalty boards, Mas is about as big as an Illini fan as one can get, and as he explains, has been bleeding orange for quite some time:

Growing up less than a mile from beautiful Memorial Stadium, Illinois sports and especially football became became my life.

Through the rocky years of Lou Tepper and Ron Turner the Fighting Illini experienced everything from Rose Bowl appearances to one win seasons, but after years of mediocrity and worse, fans began accepting the idea that they were "second tier". Ron Zook brought a new mentality in 2005, and despite a discouraging first two years, Illinois started bringing in nationally ranked talent, and players across the country began to take pride in playing for Illinois.

In one year the Illini went from a two win team to a Rose Bowl Participant, and with the pieces currently set up the Illini should be a top team in the Big Ten and look to go back to Pasadena--and maybe more.

We're glad to have you on the team, Mas. I look forward to your future contributions.

Big Ten Buzz- 1/21/08

Big Ten Buzz is going to be a feature on Blog Ten Football that'll show up every once in a while. Could be a few times a week, could be every few weeks. Whenever I feel like it, I guess. It'll basically just go over the goings-on within the Big Ten. Here's the first installment:

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Joe-Pa's contract is due to expire after the 2008 season, however:

"The 42-year coaching veteran has said recently he could coach at least a couple more years, and perhaps has many as five...

... When asked if the topic of Paterno coaching beyond next year had come up yet, [Penn State President Graham] Spanier only said that he hadn't had a chance to speak to the coach yet."

JoePa's quote provoked a collective sigh from Penn State fans, as they already have to endure another season of his prehistoric play calling. Another five years just might land Penn State in the cellar of a conference that is slowly but surely moving into the 21st century. Illinois is there already, Ohio State was there with Troy Smith (and could easily return if they land Terrelle Pryor), and Michigan is certainly headed there with Rich Rodriguez, the inventor of the spread.

If JoePa is concerned with what is good for the future of Penn State Football, he would get out of Happy Valley, ASAP. I'm not opposed to him finishing up his contract, but anything in terms of an extension would be borderline selfish.

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According to FoxSports, the 2009 NFL Draft will have nine of it's 32 first round picks come from the Big Ten (five from Ohio State).

3. Chris "Beanie" Wells, RB Ohio State (Jr.)
5. James Laurinaitis, LB Ohio State
7. Malcolm Jenkins, CB Ohio State
16. Greg Middleton, DE Indiana (Jr.)
19. Marcus Freeman, LB Ohio State
20. Alex Boone, OT Ohio State
21. Sean Lee, LB Penn State
26. Travis Beckum, TE Wisconsin
27. Vontae Davis, CB Illinois (Jr.)

There would be even more on this list had the likes of Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham (WRs, Michigan), Vernon Gholston (DE, Ohio State), James Hardy (WR, Indiana), Jack Ikegwuonu (CB, Wisconsin), Justin King (CB, Penn State), Rashard Mendenhall (RB, Illinois), and Devin Thomas (WR, Michigan State) not declared early this season.

The five out of Ohio State might seem like a bit of a stretch, but if you look at them on their own, they could all easily be first round picks if they have monster seasons next year. I mean monster seasons.

The only surprise on that list isn't the surplus of Buckeyes, but the lack of (see: zero) Wolverines. Not because there should be three or four of them on the list, but because Michigan is as used to churning out NFL candidates as obtaining West Virginia's coaches. It'll certainly be a rebuilding year for the Wolverines next season.

(See article for brief reasoning on the picks.)

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That'll be it for tonight. Look for further updates constantly, and feel free to leave me some love.