Blue White Illustrated

A T T H E 2 0 2 0 N I T T A N Y L I O N S two passes for 18 yards. While not a pro- totypical tight end at 6-7, 243 pounds, he's a big target and he'll be looking to step into a larger role next fall. Strange played in Penn State's opener against Idaho this past season but sat out the rest of the year and retained his fresh- man eligibility. He'll be expected to compete with Kuntz for the second- team spot. Johnson was a late addition to Penn State's 2020 recruiting class and could turn out to be a very impactful signing. He's listed at 6-6, 245 pounds, and he's already on campus, one of 11 players in the team's most recent class to enroll early. Like Kuntz and Strange, Johnson has re- ceived a four-star rating from Rivals.com. Given that he will be going through win- ter workouts and spring practice with his new team, it wouldn't be surprising to see him challenge for significant playing time as a true freshman. QUOTABLE Freiermuth on his decision to for the top spot next fall, Joe Milton, saw even less. Michigan also needs to replace four starting offensive linemen. A sea- son-opening visit to Washington should give us a good indication of how the Wolverines' reconstruction project is coming along. IOWA Oct. 17 | The top item on Kirk Ferentz's to-do list is to find Nate Stan- ley's successor at quarterback. Spencer Petras attended the same California high school, Marin Catholic, as Jared Goff, and he backed up Stanley last year but will be challenged in the off-season, perhaps by a couple of freshman-eligi- ble players: Alex Padilla and Deuce Hogan. The defense suffered an unex- pected blow when safety Geno Stone opted to leave early for the NFL Draft. As of this writing, the Hawkeyes were still waiting to learn whether defensive end A.J. Epenesa, receiver Ihmir Smith- Marsette and offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs would be joining Stone in the draft pool. Those decisions will have a huge impact on Iowa's outlook in 2020. OHIO STATE Oct. 24 | Consensus All- Americans Chase Young, Jeffrey Okudah and J.K. Dobbins have all opted to leave early for the NFL Draft, but that kind of thing happens every year at Ohio State. The Buckeyes always seem to find a way to replenish. It'll be Master Teague's turn to take charge of the running game after gaining 789 yards as Dobbins' backup, and on the other side of the ball, defensive end Zach Harrison appears to be a superstar-in-waiting. Any team that has Justin Fields as its starting quarterback and a host of former four- and five-star prospects throughout its depth chart isn't going to fall too far. After winning their third consecutive Big Ten title and reaching the semifinals of the College Football Playoff in 2019, the Buckeyes will almost certainly be contenders again in 2020. @ INDIANA Oct. 31 | The Hoosiers were closing in on their first postseason win since 1991, but they let a 13-point lead slip away in the final 4 minutes, 21 sec- onds of the Gator Bowl, falling to Ten- nessee, 23-22. Still, Tom Allen's team put together its winningest season since 1993, finishing 8-5 in 2019. And it got a lift in January when receiver Whop Phil- yor announced that he would be return- ing for his senior season. Last year, Philyor finished with 70 catches for 1,002 yards. He'll likely team up with quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who was having a breakthrough year until a bro- ken collarbone against Northwestern ended his season in early November. But the Hoosiers will miss offensive coordi- nator Kalen DeBoer, who left to become head coach at Fresno State. @ NEBRASKA Nov. 7 | The Lions will be making only their second visit to Lin- coln since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011. The Cornhuskers struggled in Scott Frost's first two seasons, going 9- 15. That's not what anyone expected when Frost returned to his alma mater, and there will be a lot of pressure to de- liver a winning season in 2020. Could happen. Probably should happen. Adrian Martinez is back at quarterback, Wan'Dale Robinson displayed plenty of playmaking ability as a true freshman receiver, and the offensive line made steady improvement in 2019. But the Cornhuskers will need to shore up a de- fense that surrendered 27.8 points per game, fourth-most in the Big Ten. MICHIGAN STATE Nov. 14 | The Spartans have suffered some heavy graduation losses, a list headlined by quarterback Brian Lewerke and defensive standouts Kenny Willekes, Joe Bachie and Josiah Scott. Rising junior quarterback Rocky Lombardi started three games in 2018, but it would probably be premature to call him the favorite. Spartans fans are eager to see progress on both sides of the ball, but especially on offense. Since making the College Football Playoff field in 2015, Michigan State has gone 27-24, and Mark Dantonio is starting to feel some heat as he preps for his 14th season. MARYLAND Nov. 21 | After getting off to a fast start under first-year coach Mike Locksley, Maryland hit a rebar-reinforced wall in its Big Ten opener vs. Penn State, and it never recovered. The Terrapins fin- ished 3-9, and the bad news continued after the season finale, as running backs Anthony McFarland Jr. and Javon Leake both declared themselves eligible for the NFL Draft. In addition, eight Maryland players entered the transfer portal after the 2019 season ended. Locksley's rebuild is probably going to take a while. @ RUTGERS Nov. 28 | The Scarlet Knights got their man, hiring Greg Schi- ano in December after it initially ap- peared that negotiations had hit an impasse. Schiano is inheriting a huge mess; the Scarlet Knights finished last in the Big Ten in scoring offense and scor- ing defense last season. But he inherited a huge mess in his first stint with the program, and after a few difficult transi- tional years, Schiano guided the Knights to bowl games in five consecutive sea- sons. Of course, they weren't playing in the Big Ten at the time. But this program desperately needs a reason to feel opti- mistic, and who better to provide a bit of hope than the one coach in recent mem- ory who has built a consistent winner in Piscataway? ■

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