Big Ten University

Ohio State Football: Who Is Acting Head Coach Ryan Day?

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Ohio State’s offseason is going very differently than expected. The Buckeyes have one of the most talented teams in the conference and were picked as the big favorite to come away with the Big Ten title at the end of the year. However, things aren’t so stable on the coaching side of things. Head coach Urban Meyer has been placed on administrative leave, which isn’t the easiest thing for a head coach to come back from.

Why is Ohio State’s Urban Meyer being investigated?

The suspension is because Meyer allegedly knew about domestic violence allegations against former Buckeyes receivers coach Zach Smith and didn’t report them, and while the matter is still under investigation, things don’t exactly look good for Meyer. Which means that Ryan Day could very well spend the 2018 season as the head coach.

Who is Day, who was named the acting head coach on August 1st? Well, Ohio State fans are already familiar with him as the quarterbacks coach and one of the co-offensive coordinators. That was his position since January of last year, and as quarterbacks coach, Day was able to get the most out of J.T. Barrett last year. Additionally, the offense that he contributed to tied Penn State for the highest points per game average in the conference.

Day has never been a head coach in his career, and is only 39, but has considerable experience working on coaching staffs. He was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, and and began his coaching career at UNH before making stops in Boston College and Florida as a graduate assistant. Interestingly, the year that Day was a GA at Florida was the first one that Urban Meyer was the head coach there, 2005.

His stint at Boston College, which lasted from 2007 to 2011, convinced Temple to bring him on as their offensive coordinator in 2012. It was his second stop at Temple, as he had already spent one year with the Owls as a wide receiver coach after moving on from Florida. It only lasted for one year before Day made his third and final stop at Boston College, spending two years as an offensive coordinator before joining Chip Kelly’s staff as the NFL.

Neither Day or Kelly could survive Philadelphia, though, and he followed his head coach to San Francisco in 2016 before joining Ohio State after Kelly was fired from the 49ers. He became co-offensive coordinators with Kevin Wilson and also became the team’s offensive playcaller in January, 2018.

Little did anyone know back when the decision was made, however, that Day could enter the season as the head coach. It’s not the best situation for Ohio State, who is relying on someone who only has very limited experience as a coordinator at a big school. There’s a big difference between Boston College and OSU, but since the season is only a month away, the Buckeyes can’t be choosy and have a head coaching search.

Still, Ohio State fans shouldn’t completely write this season off as being lost just yet. Teams have rallied under new or interim head coaches in the past, with Clay Helton of USC being a notable recent example. We’re only one month out from the season, so either way, we’ll find out soon just how competent Day is.

Rutgers Enters The Season With Options At Quarterback – Giovanni Rescigno?

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It’s going to be a tough year for Rutgers football. It’s not anyone in specific’s fault, but Rutgers is still in a long rebuilding phase, and after going 3-6 in the conference, they have some ways to go in that process. Head coach Chris Ash managed to double the team’s wins last year by reaching a total of four, but even if it’s an improvement, four wins is four wins.

And the quarterback position reflects the overall status of the team. Rutgers didn’t have an ace QB last year. The player that put up the most yards at the position was Kyle Bolin, who only managed 711 yards and 3 touchdowns. Bolin is no longer on the team after graduating, and the most experienced player returning for 2018 is Giovanni Rescigno, the QB that replaced Bolin last season following a bad start.

How did Giovanni Rescigno perform in 2018?

Rescigno didn’t have the most impressive numbers and threw for 517 yards with two touchdowns. His best game of the season was at Maryland, where he finished with 107 yards, two overall touchdowns, and a 47% completion percentage on 17 attempts. One of those touchdowns was through the air, and the other one came on the ground as Rescigno kept the ball on an option run and made a mad dash around the edge.

With a full season to work with, Rescigno would certainly put up better numbers. Additionally, the returning QB has the entire offseason to work on getting better, something that Rescigno acknowledged earlier this year. “I have a good amount of film to watch of myself and just how I need to progress whether it’s fundamentally or where my eyes are on certain plays. All that stuff you can always get better at. That’s what film is for.”

But Rescigno isn’t the only quarterback that Rutgers can use this season. Jonathan Lewis was only given 38 passing attempts but had the same amount of touchdowns through the air as Rescigno, with two. On the ground, Lewis showed flashes of potential. He rushed for four touchdowns against Morgan State, and against Indiana, he rushed six times with an average of six yards per rush.

Against Michigan State, Lewis threw for the only touchdown that the Scarlet Knights recorded in the 40-7 loss. The 42 yard TD was a good play, but possibly overshadowed by the two interceptions that Lewis threw in that game. The first of those interceptions was quite the ugly one, with Lewis throwing off of his back foot and into an area that was covered by three Michigan State players.

Despite getting the touchdown, Lewis didn’t look that good against MSU. And that’s understandable, given the Spartans’ defense. However, it shows some of the things that he needs to work on. Decision making with the ball and accuracy are two of them, with the former being especially important.

There’s another player in the competition, though, and that’s one that wasn’t here last season. Despite his freshman status, Artur Sitkowski is in the running to start after having a good spring, and media outlets that follow the Scarlet Knigths have picked Sitkowski to be the number one QB come the season opener.

His three touchdown passes in the Rutgers spring game helped to confirm that even though he’s a freshman, Sitkowski’s talent is for real. He’s not the typical recruit that you expect Rutgers to pull in, either. Sitkowski flipped from Miami during his recruitment, and the fact that he was ever committed to Miami means that a more talented and successful program had enough interest in him to give him the offer.

So who will be the starter? It’s hard to tell until there’s more practices and more information about the performances of the quarterback group reaches the press. But from the looks of things, Sitkowski is either going to be the starter or will be waiting in the wings as an option to receive playing time if the more experienced Rescigno slips up when the season gets here.

You can’t quite pencil in Sitkowski as the immediate starter right now. He just doesn’t have the experience, but that doesn’t mean he won’t end up on the field by one way or another.

Big Ten Media Days: What Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh Had To Say

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New York Jets, Jim Harbaugh

Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh is one of the figures that everyone was looking forward to hearing from during Big Ten Media Days, but after speaking on the first day, Harbaugh left fans without any of the controversial or bold statements that the coach has become known for.

Still, Harbaugh shined some insight on the state of the Wolverines program headed into the last month and a half or so before the season starts, speaking about his team’s offense as well as other matters such as the coaching staff this year and whether or not college football should expand further to an eight team playoff system.

“I always think of Karan [Higdon] and Chris Evans as both being really great players. Both have come into leadership roles on our team as the way it’s developed over the last nine months,” Harbaugh said about the team’s running backs. “You see them working with the younger backs, we’ve got some talented younger backs. Chris Evans in particular, grabs guys and goes over pass protections with them.”

Going into the season, though, it’s the quarterback situation that Michigan fans are more concerned with. Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson is the clear cut favorite to be the started when the season rolls around, but Harbaugh didn’t commit to Patterson one way or another and pointed out that the team’s other quarterbacks were improving.

“He went through all of spring practice with our team and got great work in there, played really well,” he said about Patterson. But he also had good things to say about the rest of the quarterbacks in the starting competition. “Brandon Peters was also improved this spring. Dylan McCaffrey probably made the most improvement of any quarterback on our roster.”

Brandon Peters’ improvement is the most intriguing, as Peters was the favorite to win the starting job before Patterson arrived on the scene and was ruled eligible to play this season by the NCAA.

When asked about what the team needed to be successful, Harbaugh chose not to go into details and instead went for a more simple explanation, one that he would repeat almost word for word when asked about the lack of success against Michigan’s biggest rivals.

“We need to improve. That’ll lead to success and that’ll lead to championships. It’s that simple.”

Big Ten: Shea Patterson Leads The Way For Michigan Quarterbacks

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Michigan could compete for the conference if they had a real quarterback. That statement was believed by a lot of people in the past couple of years, ranging from Michigan detractors to the disappointed fans of the Wolverines. It was a statement that made sense, too.

While Michigan invested in a big time addition at head coach, they couldn’t change the fact that John O’Korn and Wilton Speight were their quarterbacks. Even 2015’s quarterback, Jake Rudock, wasn’t the kind of player that you expect to win the conference with. But now, the situation is different for Michigan.

The Role of Shea Patterson:

Entering the scene this season is Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson, who will be eligible to play and is the favorite to take the starting job. It’s not that the other quarterbacks on Michigan’s roster are terrible. Brandon Peters is believed to be somewhat promising, after attempting 108 passes last season and completing 52% of them, throwing four touchdowns and two interceptions in the process.

But Patterson is already tested in the SEC, and looked good for an Ole Miss team that was trending downwards last year because of off the field reasons. Patterson isn’t just a good quarterback because of not blowing games, either. He’s the type who can take the game into his own hands by creating a big moment using his arm and legs.

Patterson has been compared to Johnny Manziel for his elusiveness, but Patterson has a better arm than Manziel and a very slight height advantage. Even in the game where Ole Miss was destroyed 66-3 by Alabama, Patterson had some of their brighter moments and was able to avoid getting sacked before fitting the ball into tight areas and getting surprising completions.

Against some of the better teams in the conference, Patterson might need to work on his discipline a bit. Teams like Ohio State and Penn State aren’t very forgiving when it comes to bad decisions in the passing game. Against the middling teams, however, it looks like Patterson should put up huge numbers with his mix of elusive pocket presence and arm strength that allows him to connect with his receivers deep down the field.

His best games versus power five opponents last season were against California, Auburn, and Vanderbilt. He threw three interceptions while only getting two touchdowns against the Golden Bears, but his performances against the other two teams featured no turnovers. Patterson threw for a combined 697 yards and six touchdowns against Auburn and Vandy, and also had a rushing touchdown in the latter game.

So what does this mean for Michigan? It means that while the other quarterbacks aren’t complete pushovers, Patterson brings something that they just don’t have. His versatility makes him a better weapon than Brandon Peters, and Patterson is more tested than any of the quarterbacks on Michigan’s roster.

He’s the clear cut starter. The big question for Michigan fans isn’t who will start, but whether or not Patterson will adapt to the different offense quickly enough to lead the Wolverines out of the extremely tough Big Ten East and into their first conference championship game appearance under coach Jim Harbaugh.

Big Ten Media Days: A Time To Evaluate The Middle Of The Pack

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Big Ten Media Days are just around the corner, and all eyes will be on the star coaches and players of the conference. Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh will draw attention as usual. In line with his personality, Penn State’s James Franklin might steal the spotlight in a more subtle way.

Just about everyone will be interested in what Paul Chryst has to say about Wisconsin turning the corner this year, something that they’ve came so close to doing in past years. It’s not just the top teams in the conference that are worth paying attention to, however.

The teams like Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan are being picked to contend for the title for good reason: they have more talent than they do question marks. When you dive a little bit deeper, and look into the Nebraskas and the Purdues of the world, things get a bit more interesting.

All of the coaches at Media Days will be asked about the problems facing their teams, but for the schools in the middle and bottom thirds of the conference, there’s more to be gained from solving each problem correctly. Ohio State wins a lot of games, and they just did what was expected of them. Anything less than a national title will be considered a failure by a decent number of fans.

The schools below them, though? The way that their coaches prepare for the season can potentially have a huge impact, even if they don’t win the conference or the national championship. Nobody will be surprised if Trace McSorley leads Penn State to the conference title game.

But if Nebraska fixes their defense and wins a major bowl game? Or if Purdue finds their star at QB and sneaks into a bowl that exceeds their expectations coming into the season? It’s huge news. So when Media Days come around this Monday, don’t just pay attention to the big dogs.

They’re at the top for a reason, but when it comes to answering the questions that we have going into the season, the Minnesotas and Northwesterns can be just as interesting as the Michigans and Ohio States.

Big Ten: The Illinois Quarterback Job Falls On Cam Thomas

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In the last Big Ten quarterbacks article, we looked at the Northwestern Wildcats and their QB situation. It’s only fair that in the next article, we look elsewhere in the state and check out the Illinois Fighting Illini. Unlike the other Big Ten team in the state, Illini fans can hardly be content with their team’s results.

Their two wins came against Ball State and Western Kentucky, in the first two games of the season. Every game outside of those two went down as a loss, and as you would expect from a team with a two win record, Illinois experimented with quarterbacks.

Jeff George Jr. had the most snaps and attempted 181 passes, throwing for 1,273 yards and seven touchdowns all season. However, Chayce Crouch also attempted 91 passes, ending the season with 443 yards and a single touchdown. Freshman Cam Thomas also had a bit of playing time, with 66 attempts and 375 yards. It seems like Illinois should have options going into next season.

But they really don’t.

A bad turn of events hit the Illini, and now the pressure falls on one player. After announcing in January that he was going to transfer, Jeff George Jr. picked Michigan as the school where he’ll spend his last two years of eligibility. At least Illinois has Chayce Crouch, right? Well, Crouch decided to walk away from football despite being a junior last season and having one year left during his college career.

“I don’t think there is anything left to give. I have decided to hang up the cleats and end my career as a Fighting Illini. At this point in my life, this is what is best for me and I hope you all respect my decision,” Crouch wrote. With his retirement, only one of the Illini quarterbacks to attempt a pass last season is still on the team.

Cam Thomas played in four games last season, his pass attempts increasing game by game as the season came to a close. The numbers weren’t good. 42% completion percentage, no passing touchdowns, and five interceptions. But with the team as a whole going winless in the conference, you can’t blame all of it on Thomas.

The Illini just weren’t a very good football team last season, and there was no realistic way that a freshman quarterback like Thomas would make them look better after entering so late into the season. Still, Thomas has the potential to progress his game entering his second season. The starting job will fall to him as the only experienced quarterback on the roster, and against Northwestern, he had one of the only bright moments of the game for Illinois and showed what he can do while tucking and running.

In the Illinois spring game, he showed his progress in the passing game and threw a 71 yard touchdown to Caleb Reams. “He can do everything. He’s so smart, he puts us in a great position to make good plays,” said teammate Reggie Corbin, about Thomas. During spring ball, head coach Lovie Smith emphasized that while Thomas isn’t completely ready, he’s shown potential and is moving in the right direction.

Whether or not Thomas will be starting material by the time the season rolls around remains to be seen. They really need him to be. The team has enough problems to deal with next season without worrying about whether or not the quarterback will blow games.

Big Ten: A Look At Northwestern Quarterback Clayton Thorson

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Quarterback is arguably the most important position in football. As such, this is the first in a series of articles looking at the starting quarterbacks of the Big Ten this year, as well as the ongoing quarterback competitions. To start off, we’ll look at a quarterback playing in one of the conference’s largest markets, but for a team that hasn’t turned the corner.

Looking into Ben Ten QB, Clayton Thorson:

This is, of course, Big Ten Northwestern QB Clayton Thorson. Let’s look at the basics. At 6’4 and 224 pounds, Thorson doesn’t immediately look like an NFL pro style quarterback but isn’t small either. He’s a senior this season, and he played 13 games in all three of his past years.

He only made 295 passing attempts in 2015 as a freshman, but was given more chances in the resulting years and threw 478 and 434 attempts in 2016 and 2017 respectively. His sophomore season was undoubtedly his best one. In addition to having the most attempts this year, he threw for 3,182 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Thorson was still productive last season, getting 2,844 yards through the air, but he had seven less touchdowns than he did in the 2016 season. However, to realize what’s behind the dropoff, one needs to look at the percentages of each play type for the Wildcats last season. They ran the ball more and threw it less, making the drop in touchdowns and yards less alarming.

What is alarming, however, is the ACL injury that struck Thorson at the end of last season. He was injured in the Music City Bowl in what should have been a routine trick play, and missed out on spring football because of the injury. Which Thorson will we see, next season? The one that’s smooth in the pocket, able to evade pressure before placing the ball exactly where he wants it? Or a slower one that’s a shadow of his normal self?

It’s impossible to know completely at this point, but from early reports, things are going well. Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald also revealed that the team will make a decision two weeks out on who their August 30th starter is. Thorson, of course, is the option that everyone wants. But if he’s not fully healthy by then, the Wildcats might have to use a starter with little experience, which is not ideal for the Big Ten.

TJ Green, for example, is a junior but only has two pass attempts in his career. Northwestern’s other options are freshmen, redshirt freshmen, or sophomores. The Wildcats have the pieces to pull off some upsets this year, but that hinges on the quarterback not losing games for them. And really, they don’t have any depth at that spot at all.

Will it hurt them this season? Well, we’ll find that out a couple of weeks out from the Purdue game, when we find out whether or not Clayton Thorson will be Northwestern’s quarterback for the entire season.

Michigan State Showing Interest In Underrated Texas QB Prospect

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The Michigan State Spartans are known for getting the best out of unheralded players, and that trend might continue if they land three star 2019 quarterback Sam Saxton. MSU is by far the best team that’s recruiting him at the moment, with the main competition being Ivy League schools and lower ranked FBS schools such as Rutgers, Memphis, New Mexico, and Southern Miss.

What do the Spartans see in Saxton, then? Despite the lack of interest from other major FBS schools, Saxton is ranked as the 20th best pro style quarterback for the 2019 class, according to 247Sports. He fits the mold of one, too. His 6’5 frame is something that pro style college teams and, at the next level, NFL teams love.

“I think they’re very interested in me,” is what Saxton had to say about Michigan State. “They think I have all the ability and components that can make a great Michigan State quarterback.”

The team still hasn’t given him an offer, but they have kept up the interest that Saxton mentioned. He’ll visit MSU on July 31st, and 247Sports gives him a 100% chance of joining the Spartans. It’s not surprising, given the gap in quality between the Spartans and most of the other schools that have shown interest in Saxton so far.

But what has he actually done on the field? Well, he threw for a little over 2,000 yards and finished with 30 touchdowns last season, compared to only three interceptions. His numbers aren’t too far off from some of the better quarterbacks in his class, despite his lower ranking compared to them. Additionally, Saxton comes from a football family, with his grandfather and father playing for the University of Texas.

Texas, however, isn’t recruiting him and Michigan State may end up being the next best thing for Saxton. An interesting tidbit is that Saxton started his career at Westlake before transferring. Westlake is, notably, the high school team of former Spartans quarterback Nick Foles.

Will Saxton’s career turn out the same, if he joins MSU? There’s no guarantee. But if things do work out between Michigan State and Saxton, it wouldn’t be the first time a quarterback from his former school has found success with the green and white.

Big Ten: Who Has The Best 2019 Recruiting Class Right Now?

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It’s the offseason, but college football is one of those sports that never really stops. Recruiting is something that happens year round, and when there’s no games to be played, it takes the spotlight. Incoming freshmen classes can be the difference maker in deciding which teams are winners and which are losers, but who is doing the best in recruiting right now?

For the Big Ten, the race to the top is between the same teams that have led the conference for the past couple of years, but in a different order. In 2018, Ohio State and Penn State were the kings of the Big Ten when it came to recruiting, with Michigan beating out Nebraska for third place and finishing just above the bottom of the national top 25.

But for 2019, Michigan is on pace to take the throne. They’ll have to keep up the pace, but they’ve already brought in players in volume and are dead even with OSU and PSU in their number of five star recruits, with one. Their defensive line will gain big additions next year with Chris Hinton and Stephen Herron Jr, who play at strong and weak side defensive end respectively and are ranked as the second and fifth best recruits at their position.

Joining that group of defensive linemen is Mazi Smith, a local recruit from Grand Rapids, the seventh ranked defensive tackle in the 2019 class and the third ranked player from Michigan. Michigan’s 2019 class is the fifth best in the nation, their eleven three star recruits giving them an edge over their rivals from Ohio State, who have ten four stars but only two three stars.

Ohio State shouldn’t be slept on, however. Their sole five star recruit is better than Michigan’s, as Garrett Wilson sits at number 12 in the national rankings and is ten spots above Chris Hinton. Wilson, an explosive receiver with shifty feet, is also the top recruit in the highly competitive state of Texas. They’re also adding Harry Miller and Doug Nester, the second ranked center and the third ranked guard in the country.

According to 247Sports, the Buckeyes also have the best chance to win the commitments of defensive end Zach Harrison and offensive tackle Darnell Wright, who are ranked at four and five nationally. The top two teams in the Big Ten aren’t that far ahead from the third placed team in the conference recruiting rankings, however.

Penn State’s class doesn’t have as much volume, but they do have quality. Their top commit is Brandon Smith, a five star inside linebacker who will help keep their Linebacker U reputation alive. Smith is the 32nd best recruit nationally, but the top one from the state of Virginia.

They’re also predicted to win over another one of their top targets, number three safety Lewis Cine. They aren’t predicted to beat Ohio State out in five stars, and they aren’t projected to get the commitment of any other five star recruits, but their existing commitments and their competitiveness in recruiting four star players should help them keep the pace and easily secure at least the third best class in the conference.

Below these three teams, the disparity in recruiting becomes clear. Michigan State has one five star player, but only one four star and thirteen three stars. Purdue and Minnesota are immediately below MSU in the national top 25, at spots 21 and 23. Both of them have 16 three star recruits, and less than three four stars.

The battle for the top class in the Big Ten will be fought entirely in the Big Ten East, just as it has been in the years since Penn State’s national resurgence. It’s interesting not just because of the recruiting battle, but because it will increase talk of the Big Ten East being the toughest division in college football.

Who will win in the end? That depends on what the remaining recruits do, but it’s clear that the race for the top spot is between two of the most familiar brands in the conference and college football as a whole: the Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Big Ten Bold Prediction: Which Team Will Suffer The First Early Season Upset?

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We’re less than ten weeks away from the return of college football, and it’s time to look into one of the game’s most exciting subjects: upsets. An early upset can be a turning point for the winner and can derail a season for the loser, but it’s hard to predict exactly when they’ll happen.

However, it’s possible to look at offseason roster changes and results from last year and make a decent guess. Based on that, here’s a game that might just be the first Big Ten upset of the season. This isn’t a prediction saying that it will definitely happen, but that’s the point of a bold prediction.

This is a case for why the unlikely outcome might play out early in the season for one of the Big Ten’s better teams.

Iowa Hawkeyes vs Northern Illinois Huskies

The month of September will begin with a slew of college football games, including one where the Northern Illinois Huskies travel to Kinnick Stadium. Iowa fans might be sleeping on Northern Illinois, which is a small school with a “directional” name, but the Huskies are worth taking a second look at.

NIU finished 8-5 last year, but they did lose their quarterback early on. It took them awhile to figure out their quarterback situation and that cost them games, but the QB position isn’t the focal point of their team. If anything, it’s the defense that’s carrying the quarterback.

The Huskies had the MAC’s top defense in 2017 and defensive end Sutton Smith, who is returning, was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year. His 14 sacks was a conference topping number, and while the defense loses key players, the offensive line retains a number of players including their star tackles, Max Sharping and Jordan Steckler. Both players made All-Conference teams, with Sharping on the first team and Steckler on the third team.

Marcus Childers stabilized the QB position once the job landed at his feet, throwing for 1,674 yards as a freshman. Even if NIU isn’t the type of team that wins behind their quarterback, Childers should allow them to not lose games because of the position. As he was a freshman last year, we also haven’t seen him at his full potential, nor have we seen what he can do without being thrust into the starting job midway into the season.

Iowa also has a quarterback with only one year of starting experience under his belt. It will be interesting to see how Nate Stanley matches up with the NIU defense, and how Iowa’s defense replaces cornerback Josh Jackson and linebacker Josey Jewell.  Just like NIU, Iowa is replacing defensive talents and lost a lot at the linebacker position with graduations.

So can NIU get the upset win? This is a bold prediction for a reason. Iowa will be favored by a safe margin, and the odds are against the Huskies. But NIU may have the best defense in the MAC again, and should have on of the better offensive lines in the conference. That offensive line will face a weakened Iowa linebacker corps and a defense that, as a whole, is trying to make up for losing some very skilled players.

It’s quite possible that if anyone beats the Hawkeyes during their non-conference slate, it will be NIU.  They have a solid chance to contend for the MAC this year, and they’re not good enough to warrant extra attention from Iowa but they also aren’t bad enough to write off. Those types of teams can be the most dangerous when it comes to upsets, and if the Hawkeyes overlook NIU and look ahead to their rivalry game with Iowa State, they can expect to have a bad time.