Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1410640
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 41 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M David Bell | WR | Purdue One name on the long list of talented Big Ten wideouts is Purdue's Bell. Once a key Penn State recruiting target who gave the Nittany Lions plenty of consideration right up until the end, Bell averaged more than 92 receiv- ing yards per game in the first 18 outings of his career while scoring 15 touchdowns. The junior wideout is a huge asset for the Boilermakers and is only getting better. Jahan Dotson | WR | Penn State The unquestioned standout for the Nittany Lions on offense, Dotson fin- ished last season as the Big Ten's leader with 884 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He returns to Happy Valley for his senior season, this time with new coordinator Mike Yurcich at the helm of Penn State's offense. Should Yurcich's offense click into gear and become the up-tempo, high- flying system Penn State fans are hoping to see, Dotson's numbers could reach even greater heights. Ty Fryfogle | WR | Indiana In addition to owning one of the best names in college football, Fryfogle is an elite presence in an exciting Hoosiers offense. He produced just under 100 yards per game last season and was a true big-play threat, averaging 19.5 yards per catch while also scoring seven touchdowns. Now a senior, he teams with Michael Penix Jr. to form one of the most exciting quarterback-wideout combi- nations in the country. Tyler Goodson | RB | Iowa Few running backs were more consistent than Goodson last season. The sophomore averaged 5.4 yards per carry and found the end zone seven times, contributing at least 75 rushing yards in seven of the eight games in which he played. He's another player on this list with some statistical upside as he heads into his junior season, playing behind what should be an excellent Iowa front line. Tyler Linderbaum | OL | Iowa Any list of the Big Ten's elite talent has to include Linderbaum. He was Pro Football Focus's highest- graded center in 2020, and he will once again give Kirk Ferentz a formidable presence in the middle. Iowa always produces excellent offensive linemen, and Linderbaum is just the latest off the conveyor belt. Thayer Munford | OL | Ohio State The highest-graded offensive lineman in the Big Ten last season, Munford returns for his senior season with the Buckeyes. He is also the most expe- rienced offensive lineman in the country, having started 33 games over the past three seasons. He allowed only four pressures in 248 snaps last year and will continue to be a great anchor for the Buckeyes in the trenches. Chris Olave | WR | Ohio State One of the nation's best wide receivers is next on the list. Olave, a senior, has been a true threat for Ohio State at the wideout position for the past two seasons, finishing last year with 729 yards and seven receiving touch- downs in just seven games to help lift the Buckeyes to the national title game. Michael Penix Jr. | QB | Indiana Though his name could conjure some bad memories for Penn State fans after his controversial game-winning two-point conversion in last season's opener, Penix will be among the most exciting players in the Big Ten. The redshirt junior got off to a rough start, throwing two pick-sixes in a season- opening loss at Iowa. But last year, he passed for 1,645 yards in six games to help lead Indiana to one of its best seasons ever. C.J. Stroud | QB | Ohio State Stroud is a redshirt freshman who went into the season with fewer than 10 snaps at the collegiate level, but this pick isn't a reach. He has truly elite arm talent and could be the next excellent quarterback the Buckeyes produce. It wouldn't be prudent to present him as a sure thing, but he has everything he needs to be one of college football's best quarterbacks. Garrett Wilson | WR | Ohio State The perfect complement to Olave in Ohio State's offense, Wilson is an equally terrifying wide receiver option for op- posing secondaries to deal with. The junior has contributed from Day 1 for the Buckeyes and racked up 723 yards and six touchdowns in eight games last year. He's already one of the best offensive players in the country, but it's not unreasonable to think that he can get even better this fall. — David Eckert the Power Five leagues have felt at one time or another to broaden their foot- prints, bring in new media markets and strengthen their hand at the negotiating table. But that might not be the case this time. If there is a difference between the current expansionary wave and the ones that came before, it's that the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC may not actually be all that interested in growing. On Aug. 25, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff told the Pac-12 Net- work that while he viewed expansion as a way to grow the league's recruiting base and raise its media profile outside of the Pacific and Mountain time zones, he and his fellow administrators "were also starting to think about what could be a parallel path to achieve some of those goals without adding any teams." Two days later, the Pac-12 revealed that it was going to follow that parallel path, announcing that it would not pursue expansion "at this time." The Big Ten will very likely end up following that same path. After all, it doesn't have the geographical prob- lems that the Pac-12 has. It doesn't ask East Coast viewers to stay up till the wee hours of the morning to see its B I G T E N ' S B E S T O F F E N S I V E P L A Y E R S Penn State senior wide receiver Jahan Dotson led the Big Ten with 884 receiv- ing yards in nine games during the 2020 season. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/ PENN STATE ATHLETICS