As Big Ten teams work through the offseason and get set for spring practice, returning production will come into focus as teams look to the 2022 season.

Bill Connelly of ESPN+, and known for the SP+ projections, compiled the top returning production by team and ranked teams based on who’s coming back.

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As always, the projections stem from three primary questions: How good has your team been recently? How well has it recruited? And perhaps most importantly,: Who returns from last year’s roster? … For decades, we have used returning starters as a proxy for measuring experience, mainly because we haven’t had anything better to use. But for a few years now, I’ve been attempting to expand how we measure returning production. The formula I have created shifts with each new year of data, but it’s based on what has the greatest impact on year-to-year improvement and regression.

Most notably, Connelly adjusts the formula each season. Here is this year’s formula:

  • Percent of returning WR/TE receiving yards: 37% of the overall number
  • Percent of returning QB passing yards: 29%
  • Percent of returning OL snaps: 28%
  • Percent of returning RB rushing yards: 6%
  • Percent of returning tackles: 59%
  • Percent of returning passes defensed: 28%
  • Percent of returning tackles for loss: 8%
  • Percent of returning sacks: 5%

Here are the rankings for all of the B1G teams:

14. Indiana
25. Ohio State
28. Iowa
41. Maryland
43. Michigan State
48. Purdue
51. Minnesota
55. Rutgers
67. Michigan
69. Northwestern
72. Penn State
85. Wisconsin
103. Nebraska
122. Illinois