Big Ten Buzz *Express*- 1/28/08

Sorry about the no-post day yesterday. One of our correspondents was bogged down at work, and not much happened in the world of Big Ten football. I scrapped together the few intriguing stories going on around the B10 for an express version of 'Big Ten Buzz'.

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A few Big Ten players snagged some awards in the Senior Bowl:

Chad Henne, QB, Michigan - North Team's Offensive MVP
5/9, 64yds, 2 TDs (Only North QB without an INT)

Dan Connor, LB, Penn State - Under Armor Award (North Defensive MVP?)
9 tackles (5 solo), 1 INT (Off Colt Brennan), 4yds

Other Big Ten participants didn't fare as well..

Dorien Bryant, WR, Purdue - 1rec, 3yds, 1 kickoff return, 19yds
Charles Godfrey, CB, Iowa - 2 tackles
Tracy Porter, DB, Indiana - 4 tackles, 1 pass break-up
Cliff Avril, DL, Purdue - 2 tackles
Bryan Mattison, DL, Iowa - 2 tackles

No stats: Michigan LB Shawn Crable, Michigan DB Jamar Adams, Ohio State OL Kirk Barton, or Michigan State TE Kellen Davis.

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Indiana's Assistant Head Coach Gerald Brown is no longer Indiana's Assistant Head Coach. He's decided, instead, to head to a more stable team in the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, as a Running Backs coach.

To be fair, his last season at Indiana (where he was also a running backs coach) was a successful one:

The Hoosier rushing attack posted the most yards (2,046), yards per game (157.4), yards per carry (4.3) and rushing touchdowns (18) since the 2001 season during the 2007 campaign. Three Hoosiers rushed for over 350 yards and averaged over 4.0 yards per carry, including backs Marcus Thigpen (568, 4.1) and Bryan Payton (381, 4.2).

Best of luck to Mr. Brown in the NFL. Try to bring some football sanity back to Atlanta.

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Wisconsin has released a DVD recapping the 2007 season. Why any fan of any team in the Big Ten (besides, perhaps, Indiana) would want to see a DVD recap of this past season is beyond me.

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I've got another correspondent post (going up tomorrow) and should have yet another one going up Wednesday afternoon. See you then.

PSU's lack of recruiting prowess isn't entirely the fault of JoePa

Alright, alright, I too have jumped on the Terrelle Pryor-mania bandwagon. But as NLOID approaches, where he and all the other top recruits will be playing their college ball is all people can talk about. As your Penn State correspondent, I’ve been wondering to myself “Why on earth is Terrelle Pryor, the best prospect coming out of the state of Pennsylvania, not seriously interested in his home state’s massive state university?” Well, regardless of what some of you might think, the problem lies with more than just the Head Coach.

Sure, JoePa’s “prehistoric” playing-calling is a problem for attracting new recruits, especially one comfortable with the spread offensive like Pryor is. But with Darryl Clark’s performance in the Alamo Bowl, we have seen that the Penn State coaching staff is not adverse to a running quarterback. This is confirmed further by Penn State Offensive Coordinator Jay Paterno, the son of Head Coach Joe Paterno and most likely the 81 year old’s successor, announcing Penn State's desire to run the “Spread HD”, hoping to both pass and run for over 200 yards per game.

So, I can hear you all saying, “get to the point, Phil! What’s the other reason already!?” Well, as I was going on my college tours and other tour members were asking questions like “How many students are there?” or “What about this school made you decide to attend?” I, being the obsessed college football fan, asked “Who is your biggest rival in sports?” From Texas, I got the answer “Oklahoma, we hate them.” From Michigan: “If you have to ask that question, you don’t deserve to come to Michigan.” And from USC I got “UCLA.” And these aren't one-sided rivalries, either. Michigan, USC, and Texas are the biggest rivals of Ohio State, UCLA, and Oklahoma, respectively, as well. And if you think about it, that's what truly makes a rivalry great.

It was when I went on the tour at Penn State that I discovered that there was something lacking. When I asked my question to the Nittany Lion tour guides, they couldn’t give me a straight answer. Some said that it used to be Pitt, but we don’t play them anymore. Some said that it’s Ohio State, and some said that it is Michigan or Michigan State. But if you asked all of those schools, not one of them would say that Penn State was their main rival.

College football, to the kids that are playing it, is not about corporate sponsorships or TV contracts; it’s about winning your rivalry game and having bragging rights for an entire year. I can understand that not having a rival may be a big issue to some kids, especially when the greatest rivalry in the entire country, Ohio State-Michigan, is in the same conference as Penn State.

That being said, we can't forget the problem of JoePa’s style of offense. He has not evolved with the game, and still runs the same offense that won him two national championships…back in the ‘80s. LSU doesn’t have a major rival either, but they have coaches that have evolved with the game and know how to recruit players. JoePa simply hasn’t and doesn’t, and refuses to quit doing what he is doing, even if it means mediocrity in both the conference and the nation.

Penn State won me over with the academics and the student pride, but if I was a top football recruit, I would be looking at the Michigans and the Ohio States, not Penn State. To get Penn State back to the top, JoePa has to realize that the game has changed, and so must he. Or, he has to leave behind the program that he built, and is now in the process of destroying.

-Phil, Penn State Correspondent

Big Ten Buzz- 1/22/08

This'll be a quick one today, as not too much groundbreaking stuff has happened in the world of Big Ten football in the past 24 hours.

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Four days after his visit to Ann Arbor, DJ Woods (WR, Ohio) has committed to the University of Cincinnati:

UC today received an oral commitment from Strongsville (Ohio) High School wide receiver D.J. Woods, who picked the Bearcats over Michigan.

“They said I could make an impact right away,” Woods said. “That’s what I want to do.”

Yep, you read that right. With offers from the likes of Auburn, West Virginia, Penn State, and fresh off a visit to Ann Arbor, DJ Woods committed to Cincinnati. Because he could make an impact right away.. at Cincinnati.

Michigan just lost Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham to the draft, and just acquired a coach that loves the spread offense. West Virginia just won a BCS Bowl and is starting play in the post-Rodriguez era. Penn State is looking to make a serious dent in the Big Ten next season.

But he could make an impact right away at Cincinnati, so he decided to commit there. The team that went 4-3 in the Big East.

Cincinnati.

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That's it for tonight. If anyone is interested in any of the nine openings that are left (everyone besides Michigan and Penn State), please leave a comment or send me an e-mail at blog10football@gmail.com

Another one down

We've added yet another member to the Blog Ten Football family, as the writer simply known as Phil is going to be covering everything Nittany Lion football.

Hey Big Ten Fans. My name is Phil and I'll be the Penn State writer here.

I'm 18 years old and a senior in high school, but I will be attending Penn State in the fall. I cannot wait to be a part of the "best student section in the country" (according to Kirk Herbstreit), and all the traditions at Penn State such as the White Out and even good ol' JoePa himself that make me love being a Nittany Lion. Here at Blog10, I'll be your source for all things Penn State so I'm looking forward to the recruiting season and more importantly the 2008 football season. Fight On State!

Welcome to the family, Phil. I look forward to your 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.