Creating the B1G super team for 2019
Anybody can come up with a preseason All-B1G team.
Well, actually, let me rephrase that.
Anybody could* come up with a preseason All-B1G team. Unfortunately, there’s no All-B1G team that the media comes up with. So I did something like that, but not really.
I decided to create the B1G super team for 2019. The rules are simple. You have to take an entire position group. It’s not just one defensive lineman here or one linebacker there. You have to take the entire unit.
So here’s what a B1G super team for 2019 would look like:
Quarterbacks: Michigan
Cliché? Sure. Shea Patterson is the B1G’s top returning quarterback heading into the season. Either he or Adrian Martinez owns that title, depending on who you ask. Peterson has the experience over Martinez and Justin Fields so I’ll give him the edge. But in terms of backups, Dylan McCaffrey is entering his third year in Ann Arbor, and according to Jim Harbaugh, he’ll see significant reps this year.
Whether that’s playing the game associated with the transfer portal or not, it’s a sign that McCaffrey is ready to become a starter. The sample size is obviously extremely small (15 attempts, 2 TD passes), but there are few backup situations left in the transfer portal era with someone like McCaffrey waiting.
That’s with a couple of 4-star signal-callers with 4 years of eligibility left in Joe Milton and Cade McNamara.
No B1G team has that much talent in the quarterback room.
Running backs: Wisconsin
Jonathan Taylor takes the cake here, in part because he’s clearly the best back in the conference. With all due respect to J.K. Dobbins, Taylor is the most proven of the bunch. But beyond Taylor, it’s not like Wisconsin is a complete mess.
Bradrick Shaw is someone we’ve been waiting on to break out, but injuries prevented that. If he’s healthy, he’s shown flashes of being a weapon in this offense. Shaw is coming off an ACL injury that sidelined him for all of 2018. And hey, if we’re including fullbacks, you can do a whole lot worse than the powerful Garrett Groshek, who averaged 6.5 yards per carry last year and is an absolute unit.
Rumbling…Bumbling…Stumbling…
Garrett Groshek getting in on the fun with a 43-yard touchdown catch and run! #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/gEzs8yGbUp
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) September 1, 2018
You could make a strong case that Ohio State deserves consideration right now. But Ryan Day even came out and admitted that OSU doesn’t have a backup running back right now. Are there talented options like Demario McCall and Master Teague? Sure, but McCall had 8 carries last year and he’s seen his work load decrease every season he’s been in Columbus.
For now, Wisconsin gets the nod.
Receivers: Ohio State
K.J. Hill leads an experienced group of pass-catchers in Binjimen Victor and Austin Mack. Hill’s return was monumental for an Ohio State team that lost the likes of Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon to the NFL. There’s a decent chance that Hill ends up with Ohio State’s all-time lead for catches by the time 2019 ends.
Ohio State also added 5-star freshman Garrett Wilson, who tore up the spring game and has been getting rave reviews since arriving in Columbus.
Rondale Moore is far and away the best receiver in the conference. Few are better than the second-year player nationally, which is why he’s been getting preseason All-America love.
Purdue fans are excited to see if 4-star true freshman David Bell can be the perfect compliment to Moore. The U.S. Army All-American hasn’t practiced yet, so there could be a bit of a late learning curve. Still, he’s poised to make an immediate impact with so much attention on Moore. But it’s still just Moore and everyone else for now until Bell establishes himself.
Penn State is an interesting candidate here because of K.J. Hamler and former 5-star recruit Justin Shorter has some major expectations after saving his redshirt last year.
Nobody has as much depth as Ohio State, though.
Tight ends: Penn State
If I did this column last year, I probably would’ve picked Iowa because of Noah Fant with perhaps a note on T.J. Hockenson. This year, it’s Pat Freiermuth who enters the year as the B1G’s top tight end. Will he have a backup who ends up winning the Mackey Award and becoming a top-10 NFL draft pick? Probably not.
But hey, why can’t he? Nick Bowers is crazy athletic and the 6-7 Zack Kuntz was the No. 4 tight end in the 2018 class.
As for the honorable mentions, Jack Stoll will be an emerging target for Adrian Martinez (he also has the best mullet in the B1G) and Austin Allen is someone that the Nebraska coaching staff is excited about.
I almost just penciled in Iowa by default even though both Fant and Hockenson are gone, but Iowa is Tight End U, so I probably should’ve just done so anyway.
Offensive line: Michigan
I’ve been saying forever that in order for Michigan to finally get over the hump, it needs to get better in the trenches. Life gets a lot easier when you can impose your will at the line of scrimmage. With the group that returns, I believe Michigan finally has that.
Between Cesar Ruiz, Ben Bredeson, Jon Runyan and Michael Onwenu, the Wolverines are loaded with upperclassmen experience up front. All 4 of those guys are on preseason watch lists, which isn’t everything, but it matters for a group that averaged over 200 rushing yards per game last year. Granted, that was in a different offense. Time will tell how this group performs with Josh Gattis’ run-pass option based system.
Strange it is to not have Wisconsin or Ohio State at No. 1 here. But both of them are replacing 4 starters up front.
Defensive line: Michigan State
If we were talking individual defensive linemen in the conference, I might actually go with A.J. Epenesa or Chase Young. But because we’re talking units here — see what I did there? — I’ll go with Michigan State easily.
Why easily? You’ve got the top-ranked run defense in America, which returns a wealth of talent, most notably Kenny Willekes. As long as he’s healthy, he’s as dangerous of a defensive playmaker as there is in college football.
Congratulations to @MSU_Football’s Kenny Willekes!
He’s been named the B1G Defensive Lineman of the Year. pic.twitter.com/eqA14oACNC
— Michigan St. on BTN (@MichiganStOnBTN) November 27, 2018
The combination of he and Raequan Williams is all sorts of scary for B1G offenses. You’ve also got Mike and Jacob Panasiuk, who combined for 10 tackles for loss last year.
This group could stand to improve at getting to the quarterback, but it’s the run-stopping ability that’s going to make MSU a force up front.
Penn State also has a strong case. Yetur Gross-Matos was a first-team All-B1G selection last year after putting up monster numbers as a sophomore, and with Robert Windsor on the interior, there aren’t many 1-2 punches better among defensive lines in college football. That’s not even including the likes of Shaka Toney or up-and-comers Shane Simmons and Antonio Shelton. A group that ranked No. 77 against the run should be much better at that this year.
Linebackers: Michigan State
MSU didn’t just get love because it has the best linebacker in the conference in Joe Bachie, though that certainly helped. Antjuan Simmons has a lot of experience for a third-year guy and should step in seamlessly to the outside linebacker position after a standout spring. There’s also Tyriq Thompson, a returning starter and fifth-year senior who has 35 games of experience.
The Spartans returning 9 starters from a group that was a top-10 defense are naturally going to have the advantage up front, though they do need to do a better job of getting after the quarterback.
Again, Penn State is the other group that has a case to be made. Micah Parsons has major upside entering Year 2, but as of today, I’ll take the more experienced Bachie. Jan Johnson and Cam Brown return from a group that’s got a lot of talent, especially with former 5-star recruit Brandon Smith joining the mix.
Defensive backs: Michigan
So I guess the entire state of Michigan represents the B1G defensive super team? Sure, why not.
Getting first-team All-B1G cornerback Lavert Hill back for his senior year was a big part of that. Having a true lockdown corner heading into a season is a major advantage for any defense. But Michigan earned this nod because in addition to getting Hill back, ball-hawking safety Josh Metellus also returned for his senior year.
For people questioning how Michigan is going to keep up defensively with losing Chase Winovich, Devin Bush and Rashan Gary, Hill and Metellus are probably in the first sentence of that answer. Beyond that duo, Ambry Thomas has been a bit banged up in fall camp so far, but if healthy, he’s ready to become what David Long was last year. And if 5-star freshman Daxton Hill can rise up the depth chart, he could help make this secondary one of the nation’s best.
Michigan State and Ohio State are the two obvious choices that come to mind for honorable mention. MSU with a healthy Josiah Scott and Ohio State with Jeffrey Okudah could make up the first-team All-B1G cornerback slots by season’s end.
But if Michigan boasts this much position-by-position dominance across the conference, maybe it will be the Wolverines’ year. Finally.