The main headline in the Big Ten is Ohio State but there are a number of other good storylines to pay attention to. Michigan State is a Top 10 team, Nebraska is entering a new head coaching era and everyone is anxious to see what Jim Harbaugh can do at Michigan. There’s a lot of talent in the Big Ten and the following four new starters are players you’ll want to keep an eye on:
Corey Clement, Wisconsin Badgers
Running Back
There are a few positions in college football – not just the Big Ten – that you expect to be great just about every year. Oregon’s quarterback, Michigan State’s linebackers, Stanford’s offensive line, Alabama’s wide receivers and the list goes on. One of those positions is certainly Wisconsin’s running back. The Badgers simply crank out one great runner after another behind those farm-grown offensive linemen in a system which values and prioritizes running the ball. Last season, Melvin Gordon broke all sorts of NCAA records and showed why he deserved to be a Heisman Trophy finalist. Gordon finished second in the Heisman standings to Marcus Mariota of Oregon.
Now, Clement gets his big chance to run behind a Wisconsin offensive line. One thing to notice about the Badgers this year is that they have a chance to revamp their passing game, which was awful a year ago. Gordon ran well last season, even though the Badgers struggled to throw the ball. If Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave is on the mark this season, Clement should get a lot of carries on downs when opposing defenses aren’t entirely sitting on the run. A good passing game will make Wisconsin’s offense so much more unpredictable, and Clement is in position to benefit from that.
Braxton Miller, Ohio State Buckeyes
Wide Receiver
It is true that Braxton Miller has started before at Ohio State but he didn’t start last season due to the fact that he got injured before the season started. Moreover, Miller is not a returning starter at his former position. Ohio State made news in the offseason when head coach Urban Meyer said that Miller was going to be moved over to wide receiver from quarterback and that’s because J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones have the quarterback position in very good hands. Jones was a revelation, playing well above expectations in the College Football Playoff semifinals (against Alabama) and championship game (against Oregon). Because Jones emerged as such a complete player, OSU was overloaded at quarterback. It could afford to shift Miller to wide receiver. Given Miler’s speed and his elusiveness in the open field, he could be devastating as a wideout.
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Jake Rudock, Michigan Wolverines
Quarterback
The fact that Rudock knows the Big Ten well, having played at Iowa, should help him this season. The fact that Rudock will be coached by Jim Harbaugh, one of the elite coaches in all of college football, should help Rudock even more and be a great boon for him this year. The quarterback competition at Michigan is still on but Rudock is leading the race. He’s taken command of practices and looked like a very good leader so far. With those resources, he should enable Rudock to really step out of the shadows as a quarterback and become a far better player.
Terrell Newby, Nebraska Cornhuskers
Running Back
The arrival of new head coach Mike Riley should help Newby to replace Ameer Abdullah at Nebraska and become the latest in a long line of successful tailbacks (also called I-backs) at the school. In terms of positions that are always successful in college football over many years, Nebraska running back certainly joins Wisconsin running back as a prominent example. Newby is next in line, and his new coach – an offensive guru – should come in handy. Riley is an offensive-minded head coach that will get this offense back on track and Newby will be a key component of the attack.
