Interesting, to say the least, and not just about Rutgers.
http://www.philsteele.com/All_Conference/2015/2015 Preseason/BigTen.html
http://www.philsteele.com/All_Conference/2015/2015 Preseason/BigTen.html
Phil Steele's 2015 Preseason All-B1G Team
- Thread starter RutgersRaRa
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Interesting that Steele has Longa on the first team at LB, and also like seeing Darius on second team at DT. Turay on third team DE is understandable, but that will change very quickly. Teams will put one guy on him and he is unblockable with one guy, so they'll have to put two on him (probably a tackle and a blocking back), which open things up of everyone else. I like the way our defense is shaping up.
I also am encouraged by our offense, primarily because of our Hicks and Martin and James, as well as our receiving corps (Carroo a first-team guy, and Ags will find his way into the limelight). Janarion Grant as first-team KR is exciting, too. There is hope for this season, and the over/under of 5 is right where we like it--too low.
Also looks like Steele is high on our LB corps, as he not only has Longa as a first-teamer, but he's also got Gause as a fourth-teamer, giving us (in Steele's opinion) two of the top 16 LBs in the conference.
I also am encouraged by our offense, primarily because of our Hicks and Martin and James, as well as our receiving corps (Carroo a first-team guy, and Ags will find his way into the limelight). Janarion Grant as first-team KR is exciting, too. There is hope for this season, and the over/under of 5 is right where we like it--too low.
Also looks like Steele is high on our LB corps, as he not only has Longa as a first-teamer, but he's also got Gause as a fourth-teamer, giving us (in Steele's opinion) two of the top 16 LBs in the conference.
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Why didn't any of our RB's make the list? One of them should be 3rd or 4th team.
Pretty fair representation IMO. No one knows how our RB situation will transpire - 1 guy or committee so that's understandable as well. I thought Turay would be 2nd team, but given how dominant the 1st DL is, it is no knock to make 2nd or 3rd team DL on that list. Peppers 4th team is a bit of knock and I think, in general, everyone undervalues OSU DB's until they actually play (they always have stud DBs).
Just looked at the LBs he has listed:
Ohio State: 3
RU, Wisky, MSU, Michigan, Illinois: 2
TTFP, Minn, Neb: 1
So, of the 16 total LBs listed... 10 are from the East, and 11 are on our schedule.
All positions:
Defense:
LB: 10/16 in East, 11/16 on our schedule
DE: 4/8 in East, 3/8 on our schedule
DT: 6/8 in East, 7/8 on our schedule (and the last is on our team)
CB: 7/16 in East, 10/16 on our schedule (OSU has 3/4 CBs on the lists)
Offense:
RB: 4/8 in East, 6/8 on our schedule
QB: 4/4 in East, 4/4 on our schedule
WR: 7/12 in East, 9/12 on our schedule
TE: 3/4 in East, 3/4 on our schedule
OL: 12/20 in East, 13/20 on our schedule
So, of the 48 offensive players listed, 30/48 are in the East (63%) and 35/48 are on our schedule (73%). Of the 48 defensive players listed, 27/48 are in the East (56%), and 31/48 (65%) are on our schedule. Overall, 57/96 are in the East (59%).
96 total players listed on Offense/Defense. 7 of those are ours, leaving 89 we could possibly face during the season. We see 66/89 (74%) next season, or an average of 8.3 per opponent. The other 6 conference teams we don't face have an average of 4.6 per team.
Rutgers: 7 (3 offense, 4 defense)
Our opponents:
OSU: 16 (8 offense, 8 defense)
MSU: 12 (6 offense, 6 defense)
TTFP: 9 (5 offense, 4 defense)
Wisc: 8 (5 offense, 3 defense)
Neb: 7 (3 offense, 4 defense)
Mich: 5 (2 offense, 3 defense)
MD: 5 (2 offense, 3 defense)
Indiana: 4 (4 offense, 0 defense)
Other conference teams:
Illinois: 6 (3 offense, 3 defense)
Iowa: 6 (3 offense, 3 defense)
Minn: 5 (1 offense, 4 defense)
NW: 4 (2 offense, 2 defense)
Purdue: 2 (1 offense, 1 defense)
Not that Steele's preseason all Big Ten list means anything at all - just interesting to look at the breakdowns.
IIRC Peppers was injured a good part of last year, so he probably made the list on potential, not production.
As for our RBs not having made the list, James was injured and Hicks and Martin didn't take over for Peoples and Goodwin until the seventh game (or thereabout), so their bodies of work were minimal--no way you make a list in the B1G at RB having played only half the season. Another name I expect to see if we get decent QB play is Agudosi.
We have an embarrassment of riches at RB, which is nice. If we get decent QB play and decent blocking (doesn't have to be great), the RBs and WRs we have in our stable are going to make things hard on defenses.
Most of the top LBs from 2014 are gone in the conference. Longa actually comes in with the 4th most tackles of returning LBs from last season. Lots of young guys this year.
That's all well and good, but there's no guarantee of whom it will be, and leaving a NC-winning QB off a preseason conference team is strange. I'd be tempted to just list all three guys second with an asterisk below.
This isn't unreasonable, as he is one helluva back when he's healthy. IIRC, two years ago he was leading the nation after three weeks, then got injured the next game. And with Martin and Hicks, things will be exciting on offense. I hope we have good production from our tight end.
8 guys from our roster on phil's teams, not too shabby Kyle. i hope janarion gets more touches on special teams this year, i know teams kick away from him so its tough, but I'm just thinking of little things he does on special teams, second half kickoff vs maryland, the kickoff right before half vs indiana (although we missed the fg), he can really change a game around in a matter of seconds. fun to watch.
I think our RB core is good, but I worry that a lot of their success was due to the quality and experience of the O line, the fullback and TE. All of which are going to be much less experienced this season. And I worry that Fridge's coaching also had a lot to do with our running success last season.
If James can defy the odds and remain healthy, I think he's the one that's demonstrated the best ability to create holes where none appear to exist. Martin and Hicks are, IMO, a step below James in that regard (although still very good and certainly less injury prone).
