Anthony Wilson
Last weeks NFL Draft was a little light on Big Ten talent; the conference finished third behind the SEC (59) and Pac-12 (43) with 42 selections over the weekend. This, of course, takes into account last season’s conference construction, where USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington — schools that joined the Big Ten in 2024 — were still members of the Pac-12.
Perhaps most glaring was the lack of Big Ten players selected in the first round. Only Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy were selected in the top 10, while just four Big Ten players were selected Thursday overall (Penn State’s Olu Fashanu, 11 and Chop Robinson, with 21).
When broken down by team, Michigan led the nation with a school-record 13 draft picks, but Penn State was the only other Big Ten school of the 15 to have at least five players drafted. This is a good thing. In fact, it’s a sign of talent returning to the conference and those joining it this summer.
Ohio State only had four players drafted this year (the same number as Illinois and Iowa), not because the Buckeyes didn’t have NFL talent, rather because they kept most of it. Washington, Oregon and USC combined to have 25 players selected, including five first-round picks (one of the two players selected by UCLA was also a first-round pick).
Then there’s Michigan. The Wolverines had 13 players from last year’s championship team drafted, but you could argue they have better players returning who will be called up early next season. Much to the chagrin of Texas fans who spent the last month telling me they were going to Austin, Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham remain in maize and blue, as does Will Johnson. All three could be first-round picks next season.
We recently compiled the “very early” 2025 NFL mock drafts for an episode of the Cover 3 Podcast. Seven of the top 32 players will play in the Big Ten next season. The first three “picks” of the second round would also be Big Ten players.
If we break it down by top 50, this is what it looks like by conference.
True, this is an imperfect science. At this point in the process, most mock drafts will be filled with recognizable names from power conference schools, but it’s still an excellent indication of where the Big Ten will be next season from a talent standpoint.
As the numbers show, the narrative that the Big Ten and the SEC are pulling away from the rest of the country is simply not a narrative. Of the top 50 players on the consensus board, 74% play in the Big Ten or SEC. The results are evident in the NFL Draft and on the field.
Speaking of the NFL Draft…
Although Ohio State only had four players selected in this year’s draft, it is still the Big Ten leader in names selected. See how schools stack up against total picks in the last 10 NFL Drafts. As you can see, the four newcomers to the league have been very successful in landing and developing NFL talent.
This league isn’t about to get any easier by any stretch of the imagination.
Connecting the dots
Iowa needs a quarterback. Anyone who watched the Hawkeyes offense could tell you that, but they really I need a quarterback. Cade McNamara is not fully healthy and has limited practice. He won’t be ready to go until the summer at the earliest. Regardless, he has suffered season-ending injuries the past two seasons.
Deacon Hill, who started most of last season and performed less than spectacularly in McNamara’s absence, is in the transfer portal.
That leaves Marco Lainez as the only quarterback taking snaps at the moment. His entire college career thus far has consisted of him completing 2 of 7 passes for 4 yards. OK, fine, he also ran for 51 yards, but you get the idea. In need of useful bodies at the QB position, the Hawkeyes are certainly in the market for a QB transfer.
If I had to bet on a likely outcome, I would look at Brendan Sullivan. Sullivan was viewed as the likely favorite to win Northwestern’s starting QB job this fall, but made a surprising decision upon entering the portal. Sullivan is from Michigan, and when he was still a three-star prospect in the recruiting process, one of the schools he offered was Western Michigan. Western Michigan’s head coach at the time? Current Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester.
Ten Great Odds and Ends
- Although I’m surprised, the Rutgers team feels confident enough in Athan Kaliakmanis to name him starting QB so soon, I respect Greg Schiano and his team for finalizing a decision so early instead of dragging it out. This allows last year’s starter, Gavin Wimsatt, to enter the transfer portal if he wants to find a spot elsewhere. Coaches often know who their starter is, but delay the process to prevent players from reaching the portal. It’s understandable why you always want depth, but some players get messed up in the process. Brian Dohn of 247Sports had a good inside story on what happened Schiano’s decision to be transparent with his defenders before the portal deadline.
- Former Nebraska QB Jeff Sims was transferred to the state of Arizona. I’ll admit that when it was announced that Sims had transferred to Nebraska last season and earned the starting job, I wasn’t very optimistic. For all of Sims’ talent, I thought he was very error-prone while at Georgia Tech. That trend continued in Lincoln, where he lost the job to Heinrich Haarberg and then saw the Huskers bring in five-star prospect Dylan Raiola.
- Deion Sanders has been heavily criticized for the way he has changed Colorado’s roster since taking over last year. Still, while the methods may differ, Colorado is not the only program changing its listing on the portal. Have you seen what Jonathan Smith’s first offseason at Michigan State was like? According to to the 247Sports database, the Spartans have seen 39 players enter the portal since Smith took over, and the Spartans have added 15 through the portal. At times, spring practice probably felt more like freshman orientation than football.
