Who? Why? Hurry up, August!
How much will Illinois improve with it's influx of transfer help? Brandon Peters is immediately eligible and has two 4 star receivers from (USC), Trevon Sidney, and Josh Imatorbhebhe to throw to. A 5 star DE from (USC) Oluwole Betiku, and 4 star guard from (Ala) Richie Petibow. They also got 4 star TE Luke Ford, but he isn't eligible this year.
They return their head coach so I don't expect that much improvement.
They are 1-1 vs. Sparty dating back to 2013, so it's pretty much 50-50 they'll take down MSU.
If a bunch of 5 stars and 4 stars are transfering from a team that is 5-7 because they cannot earn playing time - then they are not 5/4 stars. More like 2/3 stars.
Because I am impatient and can't wait for things, a slight threadjack...who's the best BIG returning player? Who is going to be number 1 on this list? It is not as clear cut as it has been the last few years. I think Chase Young, Rondale Moore and AJ Epensa all have reasonable claims to the title, but I actually like Shea as the #1 returning player. I think with the unseasoned running backs, they are going to lean on him a lot more and he will be putting up some incredible numbers.
Not sure if you are asking about B1G media. They already said Shea is #21. Hence this thread.
No, my bad, I missed that. Feel free to neg away, but I still think Shea was hamstrung by the offense last year and given the necessity of how the offense is going to be forced to go through him more this year, he is poised for a break out.
I have high hopes for Shea also. Can't wait.
I love Shea, because he is our QB, but I don't think he is the #1 player in the B1G. Important, yes, best, no.
Everyone was hamstrung by that offense. Shea showed flashes of brilliance within that obviously hard to execute system. Hopefully he leads the B1G in thrown TDs this year.
Yeah, if Shea had been calling the plays he would have won the Heisman
/s
Embed for those who missed this Big Ten Network feature on the player ranked 21st on the list of the top returning Big Ten football players.
I've posted the current list of the Big Ten media's Top Returning Big Ten Players here.
I think you have the correct 3 candidates. I'd guess Moore, Young, Epsnea from 1 to 3
Jonathan Taylor.
Ah, yes you're right
1. See above post
Has to be Lewerke at MSU, just ask any sparty.
Can't see why these two are rated above Shea.
Here's the list of the Big Ten media's Top Returning Big Ten Players so far:
30 - Indiana RB Stevie Scott
29 - Rutgers RB Raheem Blackshear
28 - Minnesota LB Carter Coughlin
27 - Michigan State QB Brian Lewerke
26 - Purdue LB Markus Bailey
25 - Ohio State WR Binjamen Victor
24 - Michigan State LB Joe Bachie
23 - Penn State LB Micah Parsons
22 - Nebraska WR JD Spielman
21 - Michigan QB Shea Patterson
20 - Illinois RB Reggie Corbin
19 - Maryland RB Anthony McFarland
I hope the media is over estimating Lewerke, I'm looking forward to seeing a season of abysmal offense from MSU I'd hate for him to shatter my expectations.
I think he's going to end up being at least hard to stop on the run. He was never a super great throwing QB, but when he wasn't hurt his arm was good enough to allow him to get some space to take off and get some yards.
He's a very inconsistent QB. His decision-making can be really poor at times, but good at others, so overall average. His accuracy I'd also call average, because he can make outstanding throws but also terrible ones - this is due to abysmal and inconsistent footwork. He constantly heaves from his back foot. And I think he benefited greatly from Felton Davis back shoulder throws the last two years. They clearly practice it, and Lewerke certainly made some good throws on some, but most often it looked like a heave in his general direction that Davis brought down. Cody White will be fine on these, but not nearly as good as Davis.
It will be so interesting to see his rushing this year. At first you'd say he didn't run as much last year, but the stats don't show that: 13 games, 124 rushes, 559 yards, so 9 rush/game at 4.5 yards/carry in 2017; 11 games, 90 rushes, 184 yards, so 8 rush/game at 2.0 yards/carry. Really only one less carry per game. The above includes sacks I believe, so difficult to parse sacks/forced runs vs. intentional runs. Their OL was pretty good at pass pro both years (and will be again this year), so it probably wasn't more sacks on intended passes. A stark difference in productivity in any case. Was he hurt, his legs? Were teams corralling him given they knew what to expect after 2017? Maybe the coaches told him to take fewer chances in the open field, they didn't want him to get hurt?
The number of rushes on the stat sheet didn't end up being that different last season, but he noticeably wasn't looking to run as often as he did in 2017. He had a hurt shoulder (which was apparent long before it was announced) so I'm assuming he didn't want to run as much in an effort to limit the amount of hits his shoulder took. It didn't really matter as the line wasn't very good.
I think that's a pretty good assessment of him really. He's never had elite arm talent or decision-making even when healthy, but he's good enough with his legs to take advantage of any open space teams leave him, and his arm is good enough to hit open receivers when he sees them. Assuming his shoulder has actually healed, this year should be a major improvement over last season (can't really get worse) but he's not going to be an elite QB. He can certainly be good, but I wouldn't expect him to single-handedly win games.
As a reminder, here's a LINK to the list of players selected by the coaches and the media for the All-Big Ten football teams for 2018.
And here's a LINK to the Big Ten press release announcing the star players who'll be attending the Big Ten Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon this Thursday and Friday in Chicago.