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.

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.