Nothing feels quite more American than fireworks and Big Ten football, so why not marry the two in honor of the 4th of July and celebrate the most explosive player on every B1G team for the 2021 season.

There are many different ways to measure explosiveness. Penn State’s coaching staff defines explosive plays as runs that go for at least 12 yards and passes that go at least 15. Other programs bump pass plays up to 20 yards in length.

For this exercise, cfbstats.com was definitely our friend in trying to identify players making plays of various length from scrimmage, but many times a player was selected for other reasons as well.

With that, sit back and prepare to enjoy the firework displays from each Big Ten team this upcoming season.

Illinois — Chase Brown, RB

Not much went right for the Big Ten’s 2nd-worst scoring offense in 2020, but Brown turned out to be a star for the Illini in his first full year in Champaign after transferring from Western Michigan following the 2018 season.

Brown rushed for 540 yards on 104 carries last season and finished tied for 10th in the conference with 4 plays of more than 30 yards in length. As one of Illinois’ kick return options, he also has the potential to increase his likelihood for an explosive play in 2021.

Indiana — Ty Fryfogle, WR

Indiana’s first All-American wide receiver since James Hardy in 2007, Fryfogle led the Hoosiers with 721 receiving yards and 7 receiving touchdowns on 19.5 yards a catch, the 3rd-highest average in the Big Ten.

In 2020 Fryfogle became the first receiver in B1G history to record back-to-back 200-yard receiving games with 200-yard and 218-yard performances against Michigan State and Ohio State, respectively. No Big Ten player had more than his 7 plays of at least 30 yards in length.

Iowa — Tyler Goodson, RB

Don’t let this man’s 5-10 frame fool you because Goodson is one of the best running backs in the conference, capable of slicing through the second level with ease. The rising junior was 1 of 2 B1G players last season to record a play of at least 80 yards in length, doing so on an 80-yard carry against Wisconsin in Iowa’s season-finale.

Goodson finished 9th in the Big Ten in 2020 in plays of at least 10 yards in length (24), and he’s also not a stiff when it comes to catching passes, averaging over 10 yards a reception on 15 catches last year.

Maryland — Rakim Jarrett, WR

Maybe it’s because I’m biased to the carnage I watched Jarrett create against Penn State last season, but from the little that we got to see of Terrapins football in 2020, Jarrett flashed some huge game-breaking potential as just a freshman.

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The former 5-star recruit carved through the Penn State secondary for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns on 5 receptions, the best receiving performance by a Terp since Stefon Diggs in 2012. He was fairly quiet in the other 3 games he played in, but it’s tough to blame a freshman for not exactly gelling into a new offense for a team that was as affected by COVID-19 as much as Maryland was. Pencil Jarrett in as must-watch television in 2021.

Michigan — Donovan Edwards, RB

Ronnie Bell is an honorable mention, but in the hopes the Michigan and Josh Gattis’ offense takes a step forward after a mediocre 2020 season, maybe the early-enrollee Edwards has the potential to put the Wolverines’ offense over the top.

The 4-star recruit and No. 4 running back in his class, Edwards won’t be the Week 1 starter, as that’s Hassan Haskin’s job for the time being, but there seems to be a fairly clear consensus that Edwards is already the most talented back in Michigan’s running back room in the last few years and will be the starter by season’s end.

Michigan State — Jalen Nailor, WR

What Michigan State may lack in actual volume of passing production, the Spartans are fairly well stocked with explosive players at the receiver position, just ask the Wolverines. Nailor was Michigan State’s top receiving option in 2020, recording 515 yards on 26 catches.

Nailor’s 19.8 yards per catch was the best in the Big Ten and 14th best in the country. Surrounded by other exciting playmakers like Ricky White and Jayden Reed, Nailor and Co. just need a better quarterback to make this one of the more explosive offenses in the nation, able to score on a huge play at any moment.

Minnesota — Mohamed Ibrahim, RB

There’s a case to be made for Chris Autman-Bell, but Ibrahim earns the slight edge as Minnesota’s Mr. Consistency. Ibrahim led the conference with 15 rushing touchdowns on a Big Ten-high 201 carries, 45 more than the next closest player, yet still averaged north of 5 yards a clip (5.35 yards per carry).

Perhaps Ibrahim is more death by a thousand papercuts than a massive explosion, but he is capable of completely bending a defense to his will, like scoring 4 touchdowns in 1 game on multiple occasions last season, including 4 in the first half against Maryland. He also recorded back-to-back 200-yard games last season against the Terps and Illinois.

Nebraska — Adrian Martinez, QB

With Wan’Dale Robinson off to Lexington, Nebraska’s most explosive player is Adrian Martinez? That speaks volumes to where the program is currently at, but it’s also the case as the veteran QB is back for his fourth season as the full-time starter.

For as average as Martinez is with his arm, he’s a fairly lethal runner. In 2020 Martinez led the Cornhuskers with 521 rushing yards and 7 rushing touchdowns, finishing the season 21 rushes of more than 10 yards, something only 4 other running backs in the Big Ten did better than. Martinez’s ability to take off at any time or execute a designed run forces defenses to stay honest, and if Nebraska can develop a deep threat in 2021, has the potential to pay dividends.

Northwestern — Brandon Joseph, CB

If we were to depart from our definition of explosive players as an athlete that can score on any given play, and instead zag to someone who can change the game any time the ball is in his general vicinity, then Joseph has to be near the top of that list.

No B1G player had more interceptions than Joseph in 2020 (6) as he starred on the conference’s top scoring defense … and he was just a redshirt freshman. The All-Big Ten First Team honoree was 4th on the team with 46 tackles and will need even more game-changing moments in 2021 after the Wildcats lost Greg Newsome II to the NFL.

Ohio State — Garrett Wilson, WR

Wilson was 1 of 2 players (Jahan Dotson) in the Big Ten last season to record 15 plays of at least 20 yards in length. Wilson finished 2nd on the team last season in both receptions and receiving touchdowns behind Chris Olave, but no Buckeye with multiple catches averaged more yards per catch than his 16.8.

Wilson also is an effective tool on sweeps, rushing for 67 yards on just 2 carries, although he has yet to hit a home run returning punts. One of the best things going for the Buckeye is that teams can’t afford to double-cover him often thanks to surrounding talent, so he’s often forced to beat just one defender.

Penn State — Jahan Dotson, WR

If the Big Ten were a firework show, Dotson would be the grand finale. The senior surprised many this winter by choosing to return to Penn State, and fans inside Beaver Stadium couldn’t be more excited for the electric playmaker, capable of turning a pedestrian bubble screen into a home-run touchdown.

In 30 career games, Dotson has 26 receptions of 20 or more yards and 5 of at least 60 yards in length, including touchdown receptions last season of 75, 70, 68 and 62 yards. He’s also a headache for opposing special teams, as last season he returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown.

Purdue — David Bell, WR

With Rondale Moore gone, the explosive player responsibility now falls squarely on the shoulders of Bell, who proved he’s capable of being a one-man show for the Boilermakers at times last year. Bell finished 2020 as Purdue’s leader in touchdowns with 8, as not even a quarterback was able to eclipse that number for Purdue.

Bell finished 11th in the Big Ten with 23 plays of at least 10 yards in length, and he also finished the season with the conference’s longest play from scrimmage, an 89-yard touchdown reception against Nebraska to round out Purdue’s 6-game season.

Rutgers — Aron Cruickshank, KR

No matter what team Cruickshank suits up for in the Big Ten, he has quickly identified himself as the conference’s top return man. The Big Ten Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten honoree returned 2 kickoffs for touchdowns last season, something only 4 players in the country managed to accomplish.

2020 wasn’t a one-hit-wonder type season for Cruickshank either, as the return specialist also returned a pair of kicks for 6 for Wisconsin in 2019.

Wisconsin — Chimere Dike, WR

The stereotype of Wisconsin football being big and slow exists for a reason, as no team created fewer plays of at least 20 yards in length last season in the conference than the Badgers did.

As a true freshman in 2020, Dike caught just 12 passes for 189 yards, but when he did make a reception, it was usually pretty effective to the tune of 10 plays of longer than 20 yards in length. People are obviously high on the development of quarterback Graham Mertz in 2021, so the potential for more explosive plays from Dike and Wisconsin’s skill players are tied hand and hand with Mertz.