QBs

CJ Bacher exits, opening the door for 5th-year senior Mike Kafka. Backing up Kafka will likely be redshirt sophomore Dan Persa, who played on special teams in 2008.

Analysis

Kafka got penty of playing time last year when Bacher missed time, and has plenty of practice experience in the system. He’s more of a running threat than Bacher was, though perhaps not quite the passer. The backups are all inexperienced in game situations.

RBs

Redshirt junior Stephen Simmons, who has played plenty over the past couple years when the starters were injured, will be the starter. Behind him, walkon Jacob Schmidt is the only player with a carry to his name. Jeravin Matthews, one of two true freshmen to play last year, is a likely candidate to be the primary backup.

Analysis

Tyrell Sutton and Omar Conteh have been carrying this team over the past couple years, so losing them will be a big hit. Even worse is the fact that Simmons had a horrific (sub 3 YPC) average last year. Still, he’s a fast guy, and if Northwestern can get him into open space, there is big-pplay potential.

Receivers

Northwestern’s top 3 receivers from last year depart, taking with them 73% of the position group’s receptions from last year. Stepping up are two notably white (not unlike Peterman and Lane) players in true sophomore Jeremy Ebert and former quarterback 5th-year Andrew Brewer (who may be back for a 6th year if he desires to seek a medical redshirt for his sophomore season). Junior Sidney Stewart, former Michigan safety Charles’s little brother, will probably be third wideout. Tight ends Josh Rooks and Brendan Mitchell both return.

Analysis

The Wildcats will have to basically start over in the receiving corps, as the returning players accounted for very little production last year (od for a team running a spread set). The lost players were also the best in terms of average per reception, so with a new quarterback and seemingly no deep threat, there could be trouble for the Northwestern passing game.

Offensive Line

Left guard Keegan Kennedy is gone after starting all of last year, but the rest of the Wildcat OL should still be around. Redshirt sophomore (and former walkon) Doug Bartels should start at one of the guard spots, redshirt sophomore Ben Burkett will return after starting all of last year at center, redshirt sophomore Al Netter will return after playing left tackle all of last year, and 5th-year Desmond Taylor will return at right tackle. That leaves just one guard position open, and primary backup Joel Belding is no longer around to fill in. 5th-year Kurt Mattes, who is a tackle by trade, may be called upon to fill in. Mike Boyle will be the key backup at tackle, and Keegan Grant, who was hampered by an ankle injury last year, is the main backup on the interior.

Analysis

The offensive line returns almost entirely intact, and perhaps more impressively, the Wildcats started 3 redshirt freshmen last year, giving them a young but experienced group. They’ll need it, with a ton of uncertainty at the skill positions. The group allowed very few sacks last year, but were below-average in paving the way for the run. With a more mobile quarterback this year, they could be doing a lot more run blocking.

Offensive Analysis

Northwestern has a pretty experienced offensive line, but the lack of talent and depth at the skill positions is rather frightening. Unless Simmons can improve by leaps and bounds from his performance last year, and Kafka can become a more well-rounded player, the Wildcats should have a pretty anemic offense. Look for some serious steps back from this group unless the offensive line just blows teams away.

Northwestern Defense

Defensive Line

5th-year Corey Wootton is a legitimate All-American candidate at one of the defensive end positions, and redshirt sophomore Vince Browne will probably man the other spot. At defensive tackle, Corbin Bryant is expected to slide inside from defensive end and fill a starting role. Seniors Marshall Thomas and Adam Hahn will rotate at the other spot. Sophomores Jack DiNardo and Kevin Watt are reserve defensive ends.

Analysis

Outside of Wootton, this defensive line is nothing to really fear. Starting a 280-lb former DE at tackle might be a problem in terms of run defense, as Corbin Bryant may not have the strength and size required to hold the point of attack. Losing the top two performers on the defensive line (Wootton was hurt for a portion of the year) invariably is a bad thing, and I expect a step back from the Wildcats’ defense.

Linebackers

Prince Kwateng is gone, and Nate Williams and Quentin Davie are the only known commodities in the linebacking corps. An otherwise inexperienced and unheralded player will have to step up in the third spot, perhaps Ben Johnson or Bryce McNaul.

Analysis

Kwateng left with the most tackles on the team, and without him (and with NO experienced players to step in), the linebacker group will take a serious step back. An unproven player will ave to either be a pleasant surprise or a liability at the second level for Northwestern.

Defensive Backs

The entire starting secondary from last year’s team returns, with seniors Brad Phillips and Brendan Smith at the safety positions, senior Sherrick McManis at one corner position, and redshirt sophomore Jordan Mabin (a freshman All-American last year) at the other. Plenty of depth also returns, with Brian Peters, Mike Bolden, and Justan Vaughn ready to fill in if needed.

Analysis

The secondary should be a serious strength for Northwestern. Last year’s top-25 pass efficiency defense returns every starter and all the key backups. The DBs were pretty good playmakers last year, recording 10 interceptions among the starters. If they can build on that season, they may be able to be the strength of the NU defense.

Defensive Analysis

The first two levels are a little weak (primarily linebackers), but the secondary should be pretty rockin’. With good pressure on the opposing QBs from the likes of Wootton, the playmaking secondary, with all its experience, should be able to get their fair share of turnovers in 2009. The main problems with the defense look to be the rush D, with the undersized d-line, and the offense’s potential inability to stay on the field.

Special Teams

Amado Villareal and Kyle Daley both depart. Stefan Demos, a junior, will continue punting duties, and may take over placekicking resposbility as well.

Analysis

Demos was a subpar punter last year, and likely doesn’t have the strongest leg in the world. Even if an unknown player can step in and take care of field goals, this unit will probably be a weakness in 2009.

Overall Analysis

Offense: bad, defense: mediocre to good. Northwestern probably won’t be as good a team as they were last year, and they likely won’t face as easy a schedule (top 20 easiest in the nation) as they did last year. Taking that all into account, it looks like there’s probably a precipitous slide down the Big Ten standings in order for the Wildcats. Pat Fitzgerald is a pretty good coach, so hopefully for Northwestern, it will be a rebuilding year for a strong 2010.

Minnesota Offense

QBs

Adam Weber has started the past two years, and he’ll be back once more. Coming in to back him up will be freshman (redshirt freshman? I’m not sure how it works when he was ineligible last year) MarQueis Gray, an Army All-American two years ago.

Analysis

Weber has become one of the conferences top quarterbacks (whether people want to admit it or not), and Gray should come in and provide much more talented depth. It’ll be interesting to see how Gray’s skills are used in the new non-spread Gophers offense.

RBs

DeLeon Eskridge ended up leading the Gophers in 2008, but the starter this season will probably be redshirt sophomore Duane Bennett, who redshirted last year after suffering a season-ending injury in the second game. Basically everyone is back for the Gophers, and as a bonus, they were all very young last year and should continue to develop. Fullback Jon Hoese looks to get more playing time this year with the new Minnesota offense.

Analysis

As mentioned above, the Minnesota offense looks to move towards more of a power running game, so it’ll be interesting to see how that affects usage of the running backs. Hoese benefited in the bowl game, so there’ll probably be more of him this season (though the element of surprise that likely helped him in the bowl game will be gone).

Receivers

Eric Decker returns for his senior season after skipping spring practice to play on the Gophers’ baseball team. Fellow whiteboy senior Ben Kuznia was Minnesota’s second-leading wideout last year. Sophomore Brandon Green will also get some reps, though Minnesota looks to get fewer multi-wideout sets on the field this year. At tight end, Nick Tow-Arnett will step up for the departed Jack Simmons.

Analysis

It appears as though Minnesota’s move away from the spread coincides with a loss of depth at wide receiver. The players at the top are pretty good (though Decker got nearly three times as much usage as the next player), but the ball will probably have to be shared a bit more this year, unless the Gophers want Decker to get killed in ‘09.

Offensive Line

The personnel along the Minnesota offensive line is something of a mystery, as there is a lot of moving around expected, especially with a new line coach in town. Center Ryan Wynn started every game at center last year, and he’ll return as a redshirt sophomore. Redshirt senior Matt Stommes, a former defensive lineman, has impressed, and is expected to be one of the starting tackles. Notre Dame transfer Matt Carufel should play one of the guard positions, leaving the other guard position and a tackle position left. Dominic Alford has played primarily tackle in his career, but some are calling for him to be one of the starting guards, with JuCo transfer Jeff Wills starting at tackle.

Analysis

Minnesota’s line will be a mystery, what with a new offensive philosophy to go along with a fair amount of shaking up. Still, Minnesota returns more starts along the offensive line than any Big Ten school, and with a new focus on pounding the ball, they should be able to block the hell out of a lot of defenses they’ll play. However, returning starts != returning quality. The Gophers were last in the conference in rushing, and second-to-last in sacks allowed last year. Part of that is a product of the offense they ran, so look for improvement in both categories, regardless of whether the offensive line’s play actually improves.

Offensive Analysis

The Gophers are moving to a more ground-oriented attack, which coincides pretty well with the shift in their roster composition – lots of returning depth on the offensive line, not much in the receiving corps. Adam Weber will probably go from an offensive catalyst to more of a game-manager, and the Gophers should be more consistent, if not necessarily better, offensively. Weber still has the ability (along with his main man Eric Decker) to win a game for his team, and a balanced Gophers attack could be pretty strong if it all comes together.

Minnesota Defense

Defensive Line

Seniors Garrett Brown and Eric Small return at the defensive tackle positions (there’s always a little humor in a 300-pounder being named “Small”), and look to bolster the rush defense for Minnesota. Fellow seniors Derrick Onwuacki and Cedric McKinley will likely be the defensive ends, after the Gophers lose star pass-rusher Willie VanDeSteeg. Sophomore Brandon Kirksey is listed on the Minnesota roster at DE, but with a 6-2, 281-lb frame, I espect him to play more defensive tackle, along with his enormous classmate Jewhan Edwards.

Analysis

The defensive tackle quality and depth is pretty good, but there’s seemingly nobody to play defensive end outside the starters. In fact, backup DE Anthony Jacobs is also listed at 280+, so behind the starters for Minnesota, don’t expect much of a pass rush on defense. The rush D should be pretty good with a lot of size, to go along with a very large and very experienced rotation at defensive tackle.

Linebackers

Deon Hightower, Steve Davis, and Kevin Mannion leave to Gophers’ linebacking corps after getting significant reps last year. However, there are a few guys ready to step into their roles. For one thing, senior Lee Campbeel will reprise a starting role from last year, when he moved from DE to MLB. Joining him will be Simoni Lawrence, who was actually the third-leading tackler among linebackers despite not being a regular starter. Nathan Triplett will try to hold off redshirt freshman Keanon Cooper for the final starting position.

Like defensive end, this appears to be a very senior-heavy position group (Minnesota fans must be shuddering when they think about how their team will perform in 2010). Steve Davis was one of the stronger players on the Gopher defense, so losing him will be a blow, but there are a number of experienced players (to go along with one inexperienced but talented player in Cooper) to step in, and the linebacker group should be a strong one.

Defensive Backs

The Gophers would be returning their entire starting backfield from last year, save for the flunking-out of safety Tramaine Brock. Seniors Marcus Sherels and Traye Simmons started every game at corner last year, and look to do the same this year, while junior Kyle Theret returns at one of the safety positions. The other safety spot is up in the air (and it wouldn’t be ridiculous to presume that there’s a possibility of Brock coming back to Minnesota), with redshirt junior Kim Royston, a Wisconsin transfer, and true sophomore Mike Rallis looking to be the front-runners.

Analysis

Yet again, the Gophers have a lot of experience (and a fair number of seniors) at a position group. Though it bodes ill for 2010, it’s pretty good in 2009. The loss of Brock is a setback, but there are a number of Gopher players who have some game experience, and with returning starters (and upperclassmen) surrounding them, it shouldn’t be a huge liability to start a relatively fresh player.

Defensive Analysis

Minnesota’s defense looks to be a strong one in terms of returning talent. The pass rush is the main area that could be a problem (with a new safety – who went through last year expecting to have Brock back in ‘09 – might that mean pass defense issues?), and everything else is loaded with upperclassmen. The defense wasn’t particularly good overall last year, though, with a better scoring defense than yardage defense, aided by a bunch of turnovers. Since turnovers aren’t really replicable, except by pressuring the quarterback, an improved defense may not look like it at times in 2009.

Special Teams

Joel Monroe and Justin Kucek, last year’s specialists, are both gone. The Gophers will replace them with true freshman Dan Orseske at punter, junior Eric Ellestad at kicker.

Analysis

Both specialists are unknown quantities, as neither has played a single down in college. As inexperienced players, they aren’t likely to out-perform last year’s starters, especially since Ellestad was on the bench behind Monroe.

Overall Analysis

Minnesota is a pretty experienced team this year, and it might be a good thing that they rotate off Michigan’s schedule (though they didn’t give a historically bad Wolverine outfit much of a game in the Metrodome last year). The offense is something of an unknown quantity with new schemes, and uncertainty in the positions along the offensive line. Defensively, the Gophers should be better than last year, but they can’t rely on the turnover to give them a boost like they did through much of 2008. The Gophers’ roster seems to be composed completely of seniors and sophomores (with the occasional junior thrown in), so they’ll be strong in 2009, bad in 2010, and probably strong when they rotate back onto Michigan’s schedule for the 2011 season.

QBs

Terrelle Pryor supplanted Todd Boeckmann from the starting position at Ohio State by the middle of last season, and will retain the starting role in 2009. It’s the backups that are more iffy with the loss of Boeckmann. Joe Bauserman is a 500th-year redshirt sophomore who played baseball a few years before coming to Ohio State. True freshman dual-threat Kenny Guiton will provide some depth.

Analysis

If Pryor goes down, the Buckeyes are Screwed-with-a-capital-S. Bauserman can throw the ball, of course, but Ohio State is going to have to rely on the playmaking ability of Pryor without a Beanie Wells-esque back. The top of the QB chart is very high, the depth is scary bad.

RBs

Beanie Wells bolted for the NFL after a junior year that was beset by injuries. Redshirt sophomore Dan Herron and true junior Brandon Saine will take over as the principal running backs, with a few players providing depth. Jamaal Berry, an incoming freshman, is a 5-star recruit, but will start the year in the doghouse after being arrested on a felony drug charge this spring.

Analysis

Herron should probably become the featured back, as he’s the slightly bigger and tougher of the two main options. Saine, on the other hand, is the speedier guy (who may excel in spread sets more). The Buckeyes will likely go for a bit of a thunder-and-lightning setup. If Berry is able to clear up his legal issues and participate this fall, he could be the heir apparent for OSU.

Receivers

“The Brians” are gone, and Dane Sanzenbacher will be the Designated White Receiver in Hartline’s stead. Ray Small is a slot option who has been in and out of the doghouse several times during his Ohio State career, and his status is unclear at this point. Sophomore DeVier Posey will likely step up and become the other wideout starter. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s WR Taurian Washington has been a ghost in Columbus. At TE, Jake Ballard will be the key option to not use.

Analysis

Ohio State has been just fine replacing starting wide receivers en masse several times over the past few years, but the talent level in the wings this time around doesn’t appear to be quite as high as it had been in those reloadings (both Brians were NFL picks). If Small can keep his spot on the team, the receiving corps is much better, so Ohio State fans should root for him to get his ass in gear. The OSU tight end position rarely sees the ball, so expect Ballard to mostly block.

Offensive Line

Alex Boone, he of the infamous drinking exploits, is gone from the left side of the line. Also gone is guard Steve Rehring. Mike Brewster, a true sophomore, will return as the starting center. Some Guy is a redshirt junior and will play left guard. At left tackle, sophomore Mike Adams will probably replace Boone. The right side of the line is intact with redshirt junior Bryant Browning at guard and redshirt senior Jim Cordle at tackle.

Analysis

The offensive line was a constant source of headaches for Ohio state fans last year, so unless something unexpected happens (I don’t believe in “addition by subtraction”), it can only improve marginally. Some Guy was going to be Michigan’s best lineman last year, so his presence in Columbus should upgrade the interior line. This should be a minor step back for the OSU offensive line (which, considering last year’s line, may be scary), but with the progress of Pryor, and less emphasis on pounding the ball, it shouldn’t hurt them too badly.

Offensive Analysis

The Ohio State offense is likely to live and die with Terrelle Pryor. The offensive line won’t be good enough to run the ball straight ahead without the threat of Pryor bootlegging off of it, so he’ll have to make plays running and passing the football if the Ohio State offense is going to have success. Lucky for the Buckeyes, he’s a very talented player. If he gets hurt, however, this could be an ugly, ugly offense to watch. The wide receivers are good, but not as much the playmakers they have been in the recent past. The running backs are good as well, but nobody’s going to worry about them leaving college early.

Ohio State Defense

Defensive Line

The Ohio State Defensive line returns every single player from last year except starting tackle Nader Abdallah. Cameron Heyward has played both tackle and end during his time in Columbus, and will be one of the starting defensive ends. He’ll be joined on the outside by linebacker convert Thaddeus Gibson, a redshirt junior. In the middle, redshirt senior Doug Worthington will start alongside the only newbie, junior Dexter Larimore. There is plenty of depth for the Buckeyes as well, with Nathan Williams and Lawrence Wilson on the edges.

Analysis

The DL should be very good. Only losing one starter, and replacing him with an experienced backup, is every coach’s dream. The pass rush and run-stopping abilities of the defensive line should be comparable to last year, if not even better (though last year’s pass rush was only OK). Scarier still, note that only Worthington is a senior. If this line returns intact again in 2010, they should be very, very good.

Linebackers

Marcus Freeman and James Laurinaitis are gone to the NFL, leaving redshirt junior Ross Homan as the only returning starter. Redshirt senior Austin Spitler is expected to take over in the middle for Laurinaitis. Junior Jermale Hines did much of his work on special teams over the past two years, but may be able to step into a role on the defense. Brian Rolle is in a similar position. Redshirt junior Tyler Moeller is more widely expected to take a starting role than those two, however.

Analysis

There are plenty of viable options for Ohio state at linebacker, though it’s difficult to predict they’ll be as good as a pair of guys who went in the NFL draft. Still, Ohio state has shown that they can find and develop linebackers, turning out stars year after year. There’s no reason to assume that, with a strong defensive line in front of them, this year’s crop won’t be at least acceptable, though to ask them to replicate the work of Laurinaitis and Freeman might be a bit much.

Defensive Backs

Corner Malcolm Jenkins left early for the NFL draft, along with Donald Washington opposite him. Redshirt junior Chimdi Chekwa got more than enough playing time last year to get him accustomed to being a full-time starter in 2009, and the other vacant position will be filled by senior Andre Amos, who missed much of lsst year with injury. The safeties both return, and seniors Anderson Russell and Kurt Coleman are good ones.

Analysis

Despite losing a pair of drafted players, the OSU secondary looks loaded as usual. The corners look to be the relative weakness. However, there is enough top-end quality to go along with the depth to make this a position of strength for the Buckeyes.

Defensive Analysis

The only possible weak spot on the Ohio State defense looks to be the linebackers. The DL and secondary return almost entirely intact, though the secondary took a slightly bigger hit than did the front lines. Expect this to be a standard excellent OSU defense, which we’ve become accustomed to over the years. The DL didn’t excel in getting to the QB last year, so the option-action pass might be a pretty good offensive strategy to use against them.

Special Teams

Ryan Pretorious and AJ Trapasso both depart Columbus as multi-year starters. Stepping up to fill their void will likely be redshirt seniors Aaron Pettrey at kicker and Jon Thoma at punter.

Analysis

Pettrey was a part-timer at kicker last year, and showed off his leg on long-distance kicks. He should be very good. Thoma, however, didn’t excel in his playing time, limited though it may have been. At best, he’s an unknown quantity for the Buckeyes.

Overall Analysis

There’s a reason that Ohio State is near the top of the preseason Big-10 picks every year. Jim Tressel and company really know how to build a program, and routinely have tons of dpeth on defense. Despite losing a few key layers from that side of the ball, they should take a lateral step more than a large step backwards, with backups ready to step in, and a very strong defensive line. Offensively, the Buckeyes had trouble for much of last year, and without Beanie Wells (who, to be fair, they didn’t have for much of last year) and some of their offensive linemen, there could be more trouble on the way. Pryor is key to moving the ball for the Buckeye offense.

QBs

Wisconsin started last year with something of a quarterback controversy. Dustin Sherer eventually wrested the job away from Allan Evridge halfway through the year, and kept it until the end. Sherer will be a 5th-year senior in 2009, and redshirt junior Scott Tolzien will back him up. Youngsters Curt Phillips and Jon Budmayr will provide depth.

Analysis

Sherer was the (very slightly) better passer of the two main guys last year, and if he knows from the beginning that he’ll be full-time starter this year, the situation will probably improve even more. Sherer has a lot of experience in the system, and the Badgers are known for having quarterbacks who are more manager than game-changer.

RBs

PJ Hill departs from the “fat Wisconsin running back” position, only to be replaced by John Clay. Clay was the team’s second-leading rusher in 2008 as a redshirt sophomore. He’ll be backed up by junior Zach Brown, with Bradie Ewing getting a couple carries. Incoming freshman Montee Ball will get some carries.

Analysis

Though Hill was Wisconsin’s leading rusher last year, Clay is widely regarded the better runner. As long as he can keep his weight down, he can be a pretty productive back. Michigan has routinely been able to stop the fat Wisconsin backs, having more trouble with the speedy guys, so Zach Brown might be a bit more of a danger to Michigan.

Receivers

5th-year senior Garrett Graham was Wisconsin’s leading receiver in the repeated absence of Travis Beckum, who is the only departing player from the Badgers; receiving corps. Junior David Gilreath, redshirt junior Isaac Anderson, and redshirt sophomore Nick Toon will likely be the primary wide receiver targets.

Analysis

Wisconsin has used the TE pretty well in the past couple years, and they’ve gotten used to using Graham instead of the perpetually-injured Travis Beckum. He should be a big piece of the puzzle this year. Toon was one of the surprises of the spring, and he may take on a bigger role in the offense this year. He’s the tall split end that’s a complement to the shorter, speedy Gilreath and Anderson.

Offensive Line

Lots of hits here. Guard Kraig Urbik was drafted in the 3rd round of the NFL draft, and tackle Andy Kemp and guard Eric VandenHeuvel are also gone from the front. Returning will be left tackle Gabe Carimi, a redshirt junior who missed part of last year with injury, center John Moffit, another redshirt junior, and redshirt sophomore tackle Josh Oglesby, who filled in for both VandenHeuvel and Carimi when they were injured. True Sophomore Jake Current may step in to play one of the guard spots, with redshirt junior Bill Nagy likely filling the other slot.

Analysis

The Badgers lost three starters on the front line, which will hurt any team. This is especially true when all three were signed by NFL teams, and one was a third-round pick. Still, the Badgers had injuries last year forcing their youngster to get some playing time, so they won’t exactly be stepping in completely green. Considering the Badgers’ history of turning out great offensive linemen, there will definitely be a step back in 2009, though maybe not as great as it seems.

Offensive Analysis

The Badgers lose a couple important, but likely replaceable pieces. With the QB situation a little more settled, and John Clay likely to be more than able to take over as the leading rusher, the offense could be able to move the ball a bit. The offensive line lost its best player in Craig Urbik, but the Badgers always seem to be able to plug in some new guy and have serious success running the ball. As per usual, they will be a run-run-play action team.

Wisconsin Defense

Defensive Line

Wisconsin loses a few of key players from the front line, with DE Matt Shaughnessy the most talented, going in the third round of the NFL draft. DT/DE Mike Newkirk and and DT Jason Chapman are also gone. Senior DT Dan Moore will return, joined by redshirt senior Jeff Stehle. Redshirt sophomore Louis Nzegwu will be one of the defensive ends, along with 5th-year O’Brien Schofield. The depth on DL isn’t exceptional, but it’s there.

Analysis

The DL was nicked by graduation, and the depth here might struggle to start the year. If Shaughnessy’s pass rush can be replicated without him on one end, and a penetrator in the middle, the defensive line will only take a slight step back. Still, a step back is probably in order.

Linebackers

Jonathan Casillas and DeAndre Levy may not have led the Wisconsin linebacking corps in tackles, but they were certainly two of the most important pieces in this unit. Jaevery McFadden will play his 5th year alongside a pair of new starters. Culmer St. Jean and Erik Prather have the most experience, and the redshirt junior and 5th-year senior are likely the starters.

Analysis

McFadden had the most tackles on the team last year, but Levy was most definitely the team’s best linebacker. Replacing a 3rd-round pick and a free-agent signing will definitely be a significant blow to this unit. If the backups can contribute right away, don’t be shocked, as they’ve both been in the system for a while. However, they don’t have the same NFL hype that the outgoing players did.

Defensive Backs

The Badger secondary should be stacked. The team only loses Allen Langford, and though he was a good player, the experience that another year in the system and game time earned by the other players should improve their play in 2009. Redshirt junior Jay Valai returns at strong safety (with backup by 5th-year Aubrey Pleasant), and 5th-year Chris Maragos, a Western Michigan transfer, took over at free safety by the end of last year, replacing classmate Shane Carter. The corner positions will likely be manned by redshirt junior Niles Brinkley and redshirt sophomore Mario Goins.

Analysis

There is a ton of experience returning in the secondary for the Badgers, and a pretty good wealth of talent, as well. Several of the Badgers have started games at their positions, even the backups. This should be a very strong unit for the Badgers, and their pass defense, which was 24th in efficiency last year, could improve.

Defensive Analysis

The front lines for Wisconsin are weaker than the secondary, which looks like it will be obscenely good this year. If the pass rush can keep up without a few key pieces up front, opposing teams could have trouble moving the ball through the air. Fortunately for Michigan, the run game is their strength, and that should be the (relative) weakness of the Badger D.

Special Teams

Specialists Phillip Welch, a redshirt sophomore kicker, and Brad Nortman, a true sophomore punter, both return for Wisconsin.

Analysis

Welch was pretty good last year, and considering it was his freshman year, he could continue to improve. The case is the same for Nortman, though he was slightly below-average in the Big Ten in net punting last season.

Overall Analysis

The Badgers have some rebuilding to do on the front lines on both side of the ball. For a team that molds itself in the classic Big Ten model of running the ball and stopping the run, that could be a problem. However, most everywhere else looks to be a strength, with receivers on the offense and secondary on the defense being the crowning achievements. Will Wisconsin make a slight move away from the classic pounders to take advantage of team strengths? Given my opinion of Bret Bielema, I’m inclined to say no, but he can’t be that bad of a coach, right?

QBs

Curtis Painter has graduated (and how was being Mel Kiper’s top QB in the draft class of ‘09, Curtis?) and Justin Siller was kicked out of school for academic improprieties (cheating). That leaves Joey Elliott as the lone experienced QB on the Boilermaker roster. Walkon Chris Bennett was forced into action following a rash of injuries last year as well.

Analysis

Elliott was “meh” in his appearances last year, before he was knocked out for the season in the Northwestern game. He’ll have to improve if the Boilermakers want any chance of a good year in 2009.

RBs

Purdue’s leading rusher, Kory Sheets departs. However, that’s not as damaging as it looks, since he was supposed to split time with Jaycen Taylor last year, before Taylor missed the entire season with an injury. Redshirt senior Frank Halliburton will get some carries as well, along with sophomore Ralph Bolden. Incoming freshman Al-Terek McBurse enrolled in the winter semester, but did not participate in spring practice due to an academic issue.

Analysis

The dropoff at this position won’t be quite as precipitous as it seems just looking at last year’s yardage, but there still might be a step back. Taylor, despite 5 years in a college system, is still a pretty little guy, so the ball will have to be spread around a bit more. If McBurse’s academic issue is cleared up, he’s expected to contribute to the Boilermakers this year. The remaining players are mostly going to be for depth purposes, however.

Receivers

Dear lord, did the Boilermakers lose a ton of players here. Desmond Tardy and Greg Orton were the team’s most talented players last year, and both are gone. Brandon Whittington, Jerry Wasikowski, and Joe Whitest all got some legitimate playing time last year, as well. Stepping up to replace all those guys will be Keith Smith and Aaron Valentin, a junior and redshirt senior, respectively. Behind them, it’s anybody’s guess, with the players who have gotten a little action in the past likely to see increased roles this year.

Analysis

Tardy and Orton were by far the most talented Boilermakers last year, so losing them is tough.Losing so many other players may not seem like quite as big a deal to Purdue, since new coach Danny Hope is not expected to spread the field as much as Joe Tiller did in Purdue’s heyday. Smith and Valentin are both decent enough players, though I question Valentin’s yards/catch avergae with such a small sample size (he had a 57-yarder against Central Michigan, and a 79-yarder against Indiana – great plays or poor competition?).

Offensive Line

Tackle Sean Sester was supposed to be one of the stars of Purdue’s offense, but he was hurt for much of the year, and only played in 9 games. He’s now moved on, as has center Corey Benton. Garret Miller, a part-time player, has also graduated. Ken Plue, who started much of last year as a true freshman, returns at guard. Redshirt senior Zach Jones played at three different positions on the line last year, but will likely play right tackle this year. Redshirt senior Eric Hedstrom will play one of the guard positions. That leaves the tackle spot and center position vacated by Sester and Benton. True sophomore Dennis Kelly played in the last five games in 2008, and will probably start the season at offensive tackle. Junior Justin Pierce will be the other guard.

Analysis

This is a young line for the Boilermakers. They look to be starting two true sophomores, a true junior, and two redshirt seniors, one of whom is a former walkon. Unless some players can really come through as surprises, this should be a vulnerable unit for the Boilermakers. That doesn’t bode well for a team that was 85th in rushing offense and ceded 2 sacks per game last season, despite two additional senior starters.

Offensive Analysis

It’s hard to know exactly what the offensive scheme will look like under new headman Danny Hope. The conventional wisdom says he won’t spread it out quite as much. With weaknesses at QB, WR and offensive line, it could be a pretty bad year for the Purdue offense. If they still had a dual-threat QB like Siller, they might be able improvise a bit to create offense. As it is, they should be far less able to move the ball. I would say they’ll try to pound it out with a pretty good stable of backs, but a fairly weak offensive line might prevent them from doing that.

Purdue Defense

Defensive Line

The top two players along the defensive line return in junior end Ryan Kerrigan and redshirt senior tackle Mike Neal. However, end Ryan Baker and tackles Alex Magee (a third round pick in the NFL)nfl and Jermaine Guynn all have graduated from Purdue. Redshirt senior Keyon Brown will likely step up into a pass-rush role for the Boilers, with sophomores Gerald Gooden and Nickaro Golding providing some depth. Nick Mondek and Chris Cooke will likely both get time in the DT rotation.

Analysis

Since Purdue recruited so poorly towards the end of the Joe Tiller era, it’s going to be tough to replace a third-round pick on the defensive line. However, Kerrigan and Neal were the top two tacklers and sack masters on the Boilers’ defense. The question will be whether losing Magee in the middle makes the edge rush less easy to come by, especially after losing Ryan Baker as well.

Linebackers

When I originally looked at the NCAA’s stats page, Joe Holland was listed as a defensive back, which would have meant very, very few tackles for the Purdue LB corps. Even still, they didn’t have a ton of them, and nearly half are out the window with the departure of Anthony Heygood. Holland will have to step up as a leader in his sophomore year, and his classmate Chris Carlino will play an expanded role as well.

Analysis

Yikes, there are practically no bodies here for the first defense under head coach Danny Hope. Perhaps some of the freshmen who redshirted last year will step up, or perhaps a true freshman or two will earn his stripes. Either way, the pickings are super-slim in the LB corps. An injury to Holland or Carlino could be devastating.

Defensive Backs

Track athlete/football walkon Frank Duong is gone, but he’s the only departure from the Boilers’ secondary. 5th-year Torri Williams will return as a starting safety, fellow redshirt senior Brandon King will be s starting corner once more. David Pender will be the other starter at corner in his senior season. Dwight McClean will likely be the other starter at safety. Royce Adams has switched from corner to offense (I guess the coaches are confident in their corner depth), and Adam Wolf has made a similar move from safety. The depth isn’t hurting despite those position switches, especially at the safety position.

Analysis

The secondary will be the unquestioned strength of Purdue’s team, especially considering it was one of the few above-average units on last year’s team (33rd in opponents’ passing efficiency). With only one player departing, and the coaches confident enough to switch two defensive backs to wideout, expect good things from the secondary.

Defensive Analysis

The secondary should be strong. The front seven – eh, not so much. The gameplan is going to be pounding the ball, as the Boilers’ 93rd-ranked rush defense loses some pretty important pieces at the first two levels. Of course, that will not only allow teams to rack up yardage on the ground, but also open up the passing game. With less pressure on the quarterback and a starting safety gone, maybe opposing signal-callers will still be able to pass a bit.

Special Teams

Senior Chris Summers and Sophomore Carson Wiggs, who split time at both punter and kicker last year, before Summers settled into the punter role and Wiggs as the kicker, both return this fall for Purdue.

Analysis

Summers started off the year as the placekicker, and single-handedly lost the Oregon game by missing a makeable field goal at the end of regulation (he also missed on in overtime, but the Ducks scored a touchdown to render it moot). Wiggs took over and did a pretty good job, and Summers became the full-time punter. He wasn’t great at that spot either, but much better than he was as a field goal kicker.

Overall Analysis

Barring a miracle, the Danny Hope era at Purdue does not look like it will be getting off to a sterling start. The offense loses some of its biggest playmakers and a couple important linemen, and the defense’s front lines are decimated. If there’s one strong point of this team, it’s the defensive secondary. However, even they might struggle a bit with opponents able to pick their spots to pass very carefully. If teams can get an early lead on Purdue (and based on the Purdue offense, that shouldn’t be a tough task most times), they should be able to grind out wins.

Illinois Offense

QBs

Juice Williams returns for his senior year, after an up-and-down career so far. His backup, Eddie McGee, is a junior, and got extensive playing time in 2006.

Analysis

Williams has progressively gotten better over the course of his career. He was awful as a freshman, and good (when healthy) as a sophomore. As a junior, however, his inconsistency probably cost the Illini a game or two – and ultimately a trip to a bowl game. McGee has a different skill set than Williams, and is often considered the slightly better runner.

RBs

Daniel Dufrene returns as the starter for his senior campaign, and he’ll again be splitting time with sophomore Jason Ford. Fellow sophomore Mikel LeShoure will also get a number of carries. Sophomore Zach Becker will start at fullback once again.

Analysis

A year after losing Rashard Mendenhall, the Illini had a few players step up and platoon to fill the void. They didn’t match his production (6.4 ypc!), but they did move the ball on the ground. The mobile quarterback certainly helps open up running lanes for RBs, and the group should continue to progress. Aside from Dufrene, this was a very young unit, so the other players may have improved dramatically.

Receivers

Junior Arrelious Benn. Enough said. Oh, also enormous senior Jeff Cumberland, and talented senior TE Michael Hoomanawanui. Replacing Will Judson will be something of a task, but the Illini have a number of younger players ready to step up.

Analysis

The Illinois receiving corps could really start and end will Arrelious Benn. He’s so physically talented that it’s unfair. However, he only ended up catching 3 touchdown passes last year, which is at least partially due to Juice’s inconsistency. Hoomanawanui came in for some praise by television crews last year, and Cumberland is an enormous target who insists on remaining at wideout, despite his 6-5, 255-lb stature.

Offensive Line

Xavier Fulton and Ryan McDonald depart from the front lines at Illinois, and left tackle Fulton was drafted by the NFL. The aptly-named Eric Block will return for his fifth year, and he’ll man the center position. True sophomore Jeff Allen started at right tackle for most of last year, which is rather impressive if you ask me. Fellow sophomore Corey Allen also played last year as a true freshman, and he’s expected to be the starting left tackle. True senior Jon Asamoah and redshirt junior Randall Hunt will man the guard positions.

Analysis

Fulton was good enough to get drafted, so losing him will hurt, especially replacing him with a relatively-inexperienced Corey Allen. The Illini have a really young OL, as their bookends will both be true sophomores. The line should take a slight step back from last year, but the results might not show on the field if Juice’s consistency can improve.

Offensive Analysis

The key to this offense is Juice Williams. If he can perform like the guy who ripped Michigan’s defense to shreds last year, the Illini should be able to put astronomical totals on many teams. If he plays like the guy who led his team to an embarrassing defeat to Western Michigan in Ford Field, the offense might be hurting. Arrelious Benn’s health could be important as well. He was outstanding as a freshman despite a chronic shoulder injury, and was perhaps even better last year, except for the ball actually getting to him most of the time. The run game is option-based, so the young offensive line won’t be as much of a liability as it would be for some teams, but it could still hold the offense back a bit. Still with all the playmakers on this team, if they can perform to expectations, it should be a pretty good year.

Illinois Defense

Defensive Line

Will Davis and Derek Walker depart from the defensive end positions, and Davis was god enough to earn a spot in the 6th round of the NFL draft. Those two will likely be replaced by redshirt junior Clay Nurse and redshirt senior Doug Pilcher. At tackle, David Lindquist has graduated, but true junior Josh Brent will still be manning the middle. He’ll likely be joined by true sophomore Corey Liuget in the starting lineup.

Analysis

This is a position group that lost 3 of its 4 starters, one of whom was good enough to be selected in the NFL draft, and another of whom was just outside that range. A step back can be expected. The new defensive ends are not likely to be nearly as explosive as at least Davis. At tackle, David Lindquist had a bunch of tackles (rare for an interior lineman), so replacing his production might be something of a task. However, Liuget had good guru approval, and performed well in his playing time last year, so he might be able to perform comparably.

Linebackers

Brit Miller, best known for playing alongside the American Flag Tie Guy (J Leman) two years ago, has departed, and takes with him by far the most tackles on Illinois’s team. Rodney Pittman and Sam Carson also leave the corps, giving the Illini only one experienced player: Martez Wilson. Sophomore Russell Ellington and redshirt junior Dustin Jefferson were next on the team in tackles, but they were so far behind the top 4 players that their experience doesn’t give them a huge advantage over any of the other players on the roster.

Analysis

Wilson was stabbed in a bar over the winter, so his conditioning probably didn’t advance as much as he wanted over the off-season. That said, he already started out as a very physically-gifted player, so it shouldn’t be a huge hindrance. The knock on him has been undisciplined play, so as the new leader of the linebacking corps, he’s going to have to be able to bring some consistency to the second level. The rest of the players are rather inexperienced, so Wilson might need to have an All-Big Ten type of year for the Illini to succeed, unless someone is able to step up and surprise.

Defensive Backs

Corner Vontae Davis departed early for the NFL, and replacing a first-rounder at corner is going to be a tough task for the Illinois defense. Redshirt junior safety Travon Bellamy will probably be the new leader of the Illinois defense, along with true senior Donsay Hardeman, who finished with the third most tackles in the secondary, despite missing 4 full games. Junior Bo Flowers will provide depth there. At corner, Dere Hicks will become the #1 guy as a true senior. The other corner spot us up for grabs, as there are almost no experienced players on the roster. I would assume sophomore Tavon Wilson is the guy there.

Analysis

If the Illini can stay healthy, they should have a pretty good and experienced secondary, outside of the #2 corner. However, that could be an important position, as even with Vontae Davis last year the secondary was still subpar. Another year of experience should help, but the corner situation might be bordering on dire, unless one of the experienced safeties has the agility to play on the line of scrimmage.

Defensive Analysis

The Illini lost a lot on defense, and their two best players were both enough to make the NFL draft. The front seven was fairly decimated, and the secondary lost the player who was holding the whole thing together. Without a good pass rush, and without Vontae, the passing game could be a really serious achilles heel for this team. The linebacker situation also means it might not be particularly difficult to run on them, either, considering with seniors at linebacker and defensive line they were still well below average.

Special Teams

Placekicker Matt Eller was a redshirt freshman last year, and returns for another year booting field goals. Punter Anthony Santella will be a redshirt junior.

Analysis

Eller and Santella were both average last year, though Santella was probably a little less good, considering he was 8th in the Big Ten in punting. Eller actually seemed to be better on long attempts, and rounded into form over the course of the year. With another year of experience (and likely a better offense), both specialists could be in line to have better years.

Overall Analysis

Consistency is the name of the game with this Illinois team. If Juice can stay consistent, the offense will be capable of putting up some big numbers. On defense, they are likely to really struggle. The offense will have to carry this team, and give the defense some help. Regardless of any improvement in yardage totals or efficiency, the Illini could see an improvement in record, considering they had an unlucky string of games that they probably had no business losing (WMU, Minnesota, Northwestern).

QBs

Daryll Clark returns as a 5th-year senior with an additional year of prep school under his belt, so he’s been out of high school for 6 years. Dude’s experienced. His two primary backups, however, have both departed. Paul Cianciolo graduated (presumably to pursue his minor league baseball career) and Pat Devlin transferred after it was clear he would not be the Nittany Lions’ starter, even with Clark banged up late last season. In steps erstwhile Michigan commit Kevin Newsome, an early-enrolled true freshman to back up Clark.

Analysis

Clark is coming off an all-Big Ten year, and though he had a couple rough patches after being concussed in the Ohio State game, he is a heck of a QB, with a ton of experience. It’s the depth that kills PSU this year. Though Newsome enrolled early, the returns on his performances in spring practice were not so good. At this point, he can run much better than he can throw. If Clark were to go down, the Nittany Lion offense could become one-dimensional fairly quickly.

RBs

Evan Royster and Stephfon Green, junior and senior respectively, both return for Penn State. They were among the top rushers in a league that was full of them. Behind them, seemingly all the important backups return, though with the only experienced fullback departing in Dan Lawlor, there is a question about who will play the position (or if they’ll use one extensively at all).

Analysis

Both Royster and Green had exceptional years last year. Royster is the workhorse back, who gets the lion’s share of the carries, and Green is a change-of-pace speedy guy. He’s more apt to get the ball in space and make something happen for the offense. With nearly the entire OL gone, there is a question about how productive these two can continue to be.

Receivers

On top of Michael Robinson (and of course the suffocating defense), the three freshman wide receivers, Butler, Norwood, and Williams, were the stars of the surprise 2005 Orange Bowl team. They all depart, leaving Notably White junior Graham Zug as the leading returner, and likely the top WR in 2009. Joining him on the flank will be Brett Brackett. The tight end position is aespecially strong, with seniors Mickey Shuler and Andrew Quarless.

Analysis

Though the Nittany Lions surely have capable players stepping in, it’s going to be hard to replace the top 3 targets from last year, especially with the number of cretive ways the staff got the ball into Williams’s hands. If Quarless can stay out of trouble, I forsee a more TE-focused passing game in 2009, since there are two very capable players at the position, and both seniors. With the running game the likely focus of the offense, somebody like Zug or even Derek Moye will have to stretch the field and keep defenses honest. If Clark has enough time to find them downfield, their could still be some big plays in the passing game.

Offensive Line

From Penn State’s fairly awesome offensive line last year, three players were named all-Big Ten. Unfortunately, those three players are all gone. Stefen Wisniewski returns at a guard spot (though he’ll make the move to center), and right tackle Dennis Landolt is back for his senior year. The other three spots are up for grabs, with Lou Eliades penciled in at one of the guard spots. Redshirt sophomores Johhny Troutman and JB Walton will likely man the remaining tackle and guard spots, respectively.

Analysis

Losing three OL starters definitely hurts, especially when the three were named all-conference their senior year. Penn State has some serious re-working to do, with Wisniewski the only clear star on the line, though Landolt isn’t too far behind him, as a potential three-year starter. The other spots are all potential weaknesses, with youth and inexperience ruling the day.

Offensive Analysis

Losing the majority of the offensive line is going to hurt the run game, and also give Clark less time to pass it. With those considerations, Stephfon Green may take a few more carries away from Evan Royster this year, as Penn State may try to get the ball space to avoid the weak OL. With fewer playmakers on the edges (and with less time to throw it), the downfield passing game is likely to suffer somewhat. however, the tights ends could provide a nice security blanket for Clark, and Penn State will have to pick its chances to take shots downfield.

Penn State Defense

Defensive Line

Defensive ends Aaron Maybin and Maurice Evans both declared early for the NFL draft, leaving the Nittany Lions seriously hurting at DE. However, they are stacked at DT, With Jared Odrick and Abe Koroma returning as starters. Junior Ollie Ogbu provides some depth of very high quality. At ends, the holes will likely be filled by Eric Latimore, who is just a sophomore, and his classmate Jack Crawford.

Analysis

Evans’s early departure (and subsequent non-drafted status) leaves two questions: does Penn State not get hurt as badly by losing someone early if he wasn’t even good enough to be drafted? OR Was he that much better than the backups that he saw himself as an NFL player? Like most things, it’s probably somewhere in between. Jack Crawford, despite getting very little playing time last year (behind Maybin, Evans, and Josh Gaines who can blame him?), is expected to be the next superstar pass rusher for PSU. In the middle, the Nittany Lions have quality starters, as well as a good third optino in the form of Ollie Ogbu.

Linebackers

Only Tyrell Sales departs from the traditionally-stacked Penn State linebacking corps, and junior Navorro Bowman and senior Josh Hull will be the returning starters. Something tells me the Nittany Lions aren’t sweating that third LB spot, however, as Sean Lee returns from an ACL injury that caused him to miss all of 2008. All of the depth players also return for Penn State.

Analysis

The starters should be rockin’ as usual, since Lee was an All-Big Ten performer (some publications named him an All-American) as a junior, and Bowman took home some honors of his own last year. Even if somebody goes down, there are enough experienced players to fill in adequately, if not become stars themselves.

Defensive Backs

At long last, we come to a serious, serious weakness with the PSU defense. The entire starting backfield departs, along with a depth player. Safeties Anthony Scirotto and Mark Rubin are gone, likely to be replaced by sophomore Drew Astorino and junior Cedric Jeffries. Corners Tony Davis and Lydell Sargent will be replaced by AJ Wallace and Knowledge Timmons. The Nittany Lions also took a huge DB class in 2009, so don’t be surprised to see some freshmen on the field.

Analysis

Wallace and Timmons actually seemed to be on paths to stardom, playing key backup roles on a Nittany Lions defense in 2006 that seemed to have them poised to be multi-year starters. However, that never came to fruition, but it does mean they are plenty experienced coming into their senior years. At safety, Anthony Scirotto (when he wasn’t busy rounding up a posse, obvs) developed into a playmaker in the backfield, and Mark Rubin was good enough to be picked up by an NFL team. Replacing them will be something of a task, though Astorino has impressed in backup duty before.

Defensive Analysis

This will be a down-ish year for the Nittany Lions defense, especially in terms of pass defense. They lose the biggest pieces of their pass rush, along with all four defensive backs. QBs should have slightly more time to find receivers who should be slightly more open this year. At this point in the year, Michigan’s QB situation should be hammered out enough that the coaches will let whoever it is (likely Tate) throw the ball downfield a little bit. The inside rush doesn’t look to be quite as viable an offensive strategy – but then it didn’t look too good last year either, and Brandon Minor ran for 117 yards on 5.1 per carry.

Special Teams

Penn State’s all-time leading scorer departs in Kevin Kelly, and he had developed into a pretty darn good kicker by the time he graduated. Junior Colin Wagner got a couple chances to kick last year, and he’ll probably take over full-time in ‘09. Jeremy Boone returns for his senior year to punt in 2009.

Analysis

Boone showed off a pretty good leg last year, and though he’ll be getting more work this year, it probably means that he’ll be booming more, instead of trying to sit them down inside the 25. Losing Kelly hurts, as he was a 4-year starter, but at least Wagner hasn’t missed a field goal for Penn State yet, right?

Overall Analysis

Both offense and defense should take a step back (I think even bigger than a lot of experts think). The Nittany Lions have certainly emerged from the dark ages though, and will be near the top of the conference again this year, even if it’s only because the conference seems to be somewhat down. They should tear through lesser competition (read: entire non-conference schedule), and play it about even with the teams at the top of the Big Ten.

QBs

Vashon Winton was a 4-year starter for Delaware State, and among the school’s all-time leaders in total offense. Replacing him will be Anthony Glaud, a Bowling Green transfer who saw some playing time last year. BC transfer Chris Johnson will also compete with Glaud.

Analysis

Typically, you’d see “4-year starter departs” and think that the QB situation for Delaware State would be terrible coming into 2009. The situation is helped a little by the fact that Glaud was deemed worthy of 1-A scholarships coming out of high school, and also by the fact that he got some PT last year. He’ll likely be a better passer than Winton (as he was in his duty in 2008), but a far inferior runner. Johnson brings a BCS-level pedigree, but is new to the program.

RBs

The cupboard is nothing if not bare.The top 3(!) rushers for Delaware State are gone (don’t laugh too hard – it’s not impossible for this to happen to Michigan after 2009), leaving only little-used redshirt sophomore Jaashawn Jones. Fullback Jason Randall also worked at running back this spring.

Analysis

Jones is the only running back on the DSU spring roster, so Jones’s legs will get mighty tired unless there is some help from recruiting. Considering Glaud is not a running threat, Jones will have to do nearly all the lifting. At least, at 6-1 and 225 lbs, he’s a big enough boy to take the pounding.

Receivers

The hits keep coming in terms of offensive losses for Delaware State. Their top receiver, Eddie Brown, is gone, but the two players right behind him are returning, at least. Senior Larrone Moore and sophomore Darius Jackson will carry the majority of the receiving load, with Jackson coming out of the slot. Redshirt senior Erick Jones will be a big outside threat at 6-3.

Analysis

The losses to this personnel group are not as severe as under center, but they’ll certainly hurt. DSU will count on Jones and Moore to keep defenses spread wide, and Jackson will get his fair share of underneath stuff out of the slot, along with Zacharri Charles. The corps has some depth, but the quality in the starters is questionable.

Offensive Line

Lineup

The Hornets had a fairly young offensive line last year. The only seniors were starting left tackle Adrian Brown who played in 10 games, Darin Giesler who played in 3 games, and Djamal Kirby who played in 2. Senior Kellen Kemp will be the left guard, redshirt senior Nick Richmond will start at center for the fourth straight year, and senior Jermaine Morrison will play right guard. Senior Mike Maloney, who missed portions of last with injury, will start at right tackle. Redshirt junior Chris Sears is likely to fill in at left tackle.

Analysis

The DSU offensive line is pretty experienced, returning four starters. Of course, they were also subpar in rushing offense and sacks allowed last year. With a less-mobile QB and a new RB, that won’t get any easier. Expect the offensive line to struggle a bit, if only because the talent helping them isn’t that good, and they aren’t far off from their peak already.

Offensive Analysis

The offensive line should be something of a strength, though DSU won’t be able to pound the ball with their limited RB options, especially against a bigger, stronger, faster defense like they’ll face in Michigan. The QB situation could be better for the Hornets, as they at least have a number of viable options competing. Don’t be surprised if they try to move the ball through the air, with the strong line protecting the QB.

Delaware State Defense

Defensive Line

Oh. My. God. I don’t even know where to go with this. There is practically nobody left who played a single down for the Hornets along the defensive front last year. I assume redshirt senior tackle Fabian Dunn and true senior tackle Tyron Hurst will be the starters on the inside in 2009. Andre Carroll is a redshirt junior with suspicious little action last year, but for lack of better options, who should I guess will play? Brian Whitmore is a Maryland transfer and redshirt junior.

Analysis

There is nobody here. I don’t even know what to say. The best they can fill these spots with are either exceptional true freshmen, or a motley host of upperclassmen who weren’t good enough to play at all last year. Michigan’s improved offensive line should be able to shove the hornet DL around all day.

Linebackers

The hits keep coming for the DSU defense. They lost their top 2 linebackers, though the rest return. It appears as though their base set features only 2 linebackers, who will probably be seniors Josh Pope and Joe Mendes. Backing them up are Ahmad Harris and Eric Sewell.

Analysis

Only playing 2 linebackers means that DSU only has to have 2 linebackers to fill in spots. It also means that they have to replace all of their tarts at the position from last year. Fortunately, Pope and Mendes are experienced upperclassmen, but they still will have their feet to the fire for the first time in 2009.

Defensive Backs

Finally, a position at which Delaware State returns its leading tackler. Of course, then they have to go and lose 4 of the next 6. It’s hard to tell what positions these guys play, so I’ll just list them. I would guess based on his size that junior Avery Grant is a corner, but he had the most tackles on the team last year, so I assume he’s a safety or rover-type. 5th-year Jerome Strums seems to be a nice big safety, as does his classmate Mike Gable. I assume redshirt sophomore Stephon Hampton is a corner.

Analysis

Without being able to figure out which positions the Hornets are losing players from, it’s hard to pass serious judgment on how their secondary will perform in 2009. Still, they lose a ton of experience (and most of the team’s total interceptions), so I can’t predict they’ll tear the world apart, especially against guys with D-1 size (Greg Mathews), speed (Darryl Stonum) or moves (Martavious Odoms).

Defensive Analysis

Yikes. This looks like a very poor defensive team. It appears as though Grant will be the main bright spot, and a lot of young players will have to step up if the Hornets want to stop anyone, much less a team with the talent of Michigan. Running the ball and passing should both come fairly easy to the Wolverines.

Special Teams

The Hornets return senior kicker Riley Flickinger and punter Nick Lochner.

Analysis

Though both Flickinger and Lochner return, neither was particularly good last year. It looks to be tougher sledding for both this year, as Delaware State’s offense looks to have more trouble moving the ball in general, and in the redzone in particular.

Overall Analysis

Bill Martin figured it out this time. If you’re going to play a 1-AA team, you will be expected to win. It doesn’t matter if you play the best team, or the worst team. You do not get any more credit for playing a good 1-AA team and beting them than if you had played a worse team, and it doesn’t matter if you lose to the best 1-AA team, they’re still lower-division. Because of that, just find the shittiest team you can. Michigan has done that for next year. A poor 1-AA team that loses most of its key pieces should be easy victory for the boys in blue.

QBs

The Hawkeyes entered 2008 with a QB controversy of sorts between Jake Christensen and Ricky Stanzi. There shall be no such controversy this year: Stanzi is the Manzi (oh god, did I really just type that?). The bigger question is who will back up the redshirt junior. Marvin McNutt is now a wide receiver, and Christensen has transferred out of Iowa City. Redshirt Freshman John Wienke, once a Michigan commitment, is the best bet.

Analysis

The Iowa QB situation improved a ton last year with Stanzi at the helm. He should continue improving, and be among the better signal-callers in the conference this year. Behind him, there might be trouble, as there is virtually no experience with Christensen gone.

RBs

Shonn Greene was, for my money, the best running back in the country last year. Stepping up to replace him will be sophomore Jewel Hampton, who looked pretty good as Greene’s backup last year. Walkon Paki O’Meara and Jayme Murphy will also get some action.

Analysis

Jewel Hampton is not going to be Shonn Greene. End of story. I’m not going to sit here and go all “losing Shonn Greene doesn’t hurt, because Jewel Hampton is AT LEAST as good” Rittenberg-style. Hampton will fill in for the Hawkeyes, and will probably provide more speed to the RB position, but likely less power and vision. That’s to be expected from a young player, and by the end of the year, he should develop into a good option. I will bet each and every one of you infinity dollars that he will not outdo Greene’s Doak Walker-winning year. I am not stupid, you see.

Receivers

Darrell Johnson-Koulianos has been in the doghouse a bit this summer, allowing other players like former QB Marvin McNutt to get some serious reps at wide receiver. DJK will still likely be the go-to guy as a redshirt junior, and senior Trey Stross will be the Inexplicably Great White Iowa Receiver in the absence of Andy Brodell. Still, it’s the tight end that looks to drive this passing game, and if redshirt senior Tony Moeaki can stay injury-free (albeit for the first time in his Hawkeye career), he’s a really good option.

Analysis

For all his whiteness, Andy Brodell was a really awesome wide receiver, and losing him will certainly be a hit. However, if DJK can stay in the coaches’ good graces, and Stross can step up to a starting role, the wide receivers should be decent enough. If McNutt can be a good third option on the edges, that’s probably gravy for a Hawkeye passing attack that has a number of smaller contributors, and a darn good TE in Moeaki. If Tony can stay healthy, he’ll be able to stretch the middle of the field, opening things up on the outside, and even in the running game.

Offensive Line

Lineup

Center Rob Bruggeman and right guard Seth Olsen depart, but the other three starters return for the Hawkeyes. True junior Bryan Bulaga will man the left tackle spot, redshirt junior Julian Vandervelde will play left guard, and 5th-year Kyle Calloway played right tackle last year. The two spots up for grabs are likely to go to 5th-years Dan Doering at right guard and Rafael Eubanks at center. The backups for Iowa will include Reilly Reiff, Markus Zusevics, and Kyle Haganman.

Analysis

The line returns mostly intact, though Olsen was good enough to be drafted in the fourth round of the NFL draft, and Bruggeman got some looks of his own, and signed a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Still, the Hawkeyes who return aren’t without some acclaim themselves. Doering was an Army All-American whose career has been sidetracked by injuries over the years, and Rafael Eubanks will also probably make it into the NFL draft with a good senior year. The incentive for those two to prove their worth to the NFL (on top of their inherent talent, of course), along with the remaining members of the line returning from last year’s campaign, means that the Hawkeye OL will probably be about as good as last year’s, and there’s a chance it could be even better.

Offensive Analysis

Losing Shonn Greene will hurt, but a stabilized QB situation, another strong offensive line, and some weapons in the passing game will all help the Hawkeye offense improve next year. Andy Brodell, despite his injuries over the years, was an explosive weapon, so Iowa will need to either spread the wealth or find a playmaker to take his spot. If Tony Moeaki and the offensive line can stay healthy, however, the Hawkeye offense could be a well-oiled machine in 2009.

Iowa Defense

Defensive Line

Mitch King and Matt Kroul leave the middle of the Hawkeye defense, and replacing the tackles will be a tall task. I wouldn’t be surprised if junior Christian Ballard continued adding weight (he was already listed at 285 on the spring roster) and moved inside permanently, giving Broderick Binns, a redshirt sophomore a full-time role on the edge. That still leaves one defensive tackle spot, which will likely go to [hilarious adverb goes here]-named Karl Klug, though he’s a bit undersized. The most certain role on the defensive line is for Adrian Clayborn, who flashed some star power last year as a redshirt sophomore at DE.

Analysis

Sure, there are bodies available to fill the holes left by Kroul and King, but will they be as good as the two departed players? Neither was drafted, but they were excellent college DTs. Without them at the heart of the defense, the outside rushers will probably have a bit of an issue. Still, the defensive line might have some real penetrating power with a couple undersized quicksters both inside and out. Will they be easily manhandled by bigger, stronger offensive lines though?

Linebackers

Redshirt senior Pat Angerer and redshirt junior Jeremiha Hunter will be the key pieces of the Iowa linebackers corps. True senior AJ Edds completes the returning trifecta. Most of the backups, including Jacody Coleman and Jeff Tarpinian return, giving Iowa not only marquee starters, but also depth.

Analysis

The linebackers were pretty good last year, and unless the new defensive linemen can’t manage to keep them from getting blocked, there’s no real reason that they shouldn’t be even better in 2009. The entire 2-deep returns, and they should all be a year more seasoned.

Defensive Backs

Redshirt junior Amari Spievey is expected to have a breakout, star-making year at one of the corner positions. Redshirt junior (and former walkon, in case it wasn’t already apparent he was white) Brett Greenwood returns at strong safety. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Sash, similarly melanin-deficient, will probably be the other starting safety. David Cato, a true sophomore, will probably start at the vacated corner position. Shaun Prater, who got some DB reps in 2008, has moved to wideout.

Analysis

For all the ragging on Greenwood last offseason, he actually turned in an honorable-mention in the All-B10 media awards. The other pieces return mostly intact, except for Bradley Fletcher, a third-round pick in the NFL. If Cato can step up and replace Fletcher at least with some degree of adequacy, the Iowa defensive backfield should be pretty strong. Still, a step back might be in order, as the Hawkeyes lost the man who looks to be the best NFL prospect. Only Spievey, among the returners, looks to be a good candidate to make it to The League.

Defensive Analysis

Stopping the run and pressure on the quarterback are two of the biggest keys to a defense, and Iowa lost two big pieces of that puzzle in Mitch King and Matt Kroul. However, nearly everyone else of note returns, so there should be steady improvement in the Hawkeyes’ already-good (#12 in the nation) defense. They should be able to get it done. Against Michigan, the inside running of Brandon Minor, and trying to spread the field to keep experienced linebackers either on the sideline or out in space, will be the Wolverines’ best bet to score.

Special Teams

All of Iowa’s specialists return. They ran with 2 kickers last year, and that will probably continue into next season.

Analysis

Ryan Donahue is a mediocre punter, but he might get a little better next year, unless he is worn out from punting more often than last year in a sans-Greene offense. Daniel Murray was primarily the long-distance kicker in 2008, though he didn’t seem to be nearly as consistent as Mossbrucker. I don’t see why the Iowa coaches wouldn’t continue going with the platoon system as long as it’s working.

Overall Analysis

For some reason, I had been down on Iowa coming into the offseason. Mostly Shonn Greene, probably. However, I’m now basically convinced that they will at least contend for the Big Ten title. Nearly everybody comes back on defense except two tackles and a corner, and considering the trajectory of some other players (i.e. from walkon to HM All-Conference in two years), they should be able to improve at every position group, save DL. The offense will be a little weaker without Shonn Greene and Andy Brodell, but an experienced offensive line should be able to move the ball and protect the passer. As long as Iowa stays healthy, I wouldn’t be surprised if they win the Big Ten. Of course, road games at PSU, MSU, and OSU should be a hindrance, but this is a strong ans experienced team.

Michigan State Offense

QBs

The Spartans lose 2-year starter Brian Hoyer to graduation, so his backup, redshirt sophomore Kirk Cousins, will compete with fellow redshirt sophomore (and Oklahoma transfer) Keith Nichol. The loser of the QB battle will likely still see some playing time as there was no apparent separation in spring, and the Spartans also brought in Andrew Maxwell in the class of 2009.

Analysis

If I were Adam Rittenberg, I’d be saying things like “Hoyer wasn’t even that good last year, so losing him means nothing.” I am not Adam Rittenberg, and therefore have a functioning brain. This leads me to posit that, if the Spartans had a better option than Hoyer (Nichol excluded, since he wasn’t eligible in his transfer year), that better option would have, like, played. Since Nichol wasn’t head-and-shoulders better than Cousins in spring, maybe the Spartans just don’t have anyone good at QB? I’m not saying they’ll be bad, but a step back from Hoyer is likely in the cards.

RBs

Javon Ringer, one of last year’s Doak Walker finalists, is off to the NFL, with a slew of younger players left to fill the void. Redshirt sophomore Andre Anderson is a little guy, senior AJ Jimmerson is bigger, and redshirt sophomore Ashton Leggett is bigger still for the Spartans. Incoming freshmen Larry Caper and Edwin Baker are also expected to tote the rock some for MSU.

Analysis

Ringer got a ton of work last year, which led to several notable events: 1) He was vastly overrated by the season-ending awards (he was one of 3 players in the top 100 rushers with lower than 4.21 ypc, and the other two were Juice Williams and a player at the offensive trainwreck called Auburn) 2) He wore down over the course of the year 3) Nobody else on the MSU depth chart got any serious work. The next-closest Spartan only got 7% of the carries that Ringer had(!). The coaching staff will likely go slightly towards a platoon-style workload this year, unless someone proves worthy of getting all those carries. There are possible thunder-and-lightning combos in there, but I suspect steadiness might be the preferred trait following Ringer’s exit.

Receivers

The Spartans had a very young receiving corps last year, and they’ll be able to return everyone of note except Keshawn Martin. White Receiver Named White will be one of the starters in his senior year, with redshirt sophomore BJ Cunningham likely to be alongside him. Mark Dell was the breakout performer for State last year as a freshman, and he’ll probably get even more action in ‘09.

Analysis

Michigan State will be very deep at receiver, which should help out one of their young QBs. Dell became a star during last year’s run for MSU, though he was overshadowed by the exceptional year Javon Ringer had rushing the ball. Michigan State may see less spreading of the ball with a younger quarterback, but Cousins and Nichol shouldn’t be short on options for throwing the ball.

Offensive Line

Lineup

Seniors right guard Roland Martin and right tackle Jesse Miller depart, both of whom were multi-year starters. Backup left guard Mike Bacon also departs, after joining the program as a walkon. Senior Rocco Cironi will start at left tackle, redshirt sophomore Joel Foreman will play left guard, senior Joel Nitchman will play center, and the other two positions are very much up for grabs. Senior Brendan Moss will probably fill the hole at tackle, and senior John Stipek will try to hold off junior J’Michael Deane at guard.

Analysis

A very odd thing I noticed about the Spartans’ offensive linemen is that fewer of them have redshirted than you’d expect at a BCS-level school. I’m not sure if that will be a factor of any sort, just an oddity. Losing two offensive linemen off a run-centric team isn’t great, but it isn’t crippling. Of course, considering that the top run threat and QB are gone as well, and it becomes a bit more troubling. Still, neither departed player got a serious sniff in the NFL draft, so the backups should be able to fill in, especially with their seniority.

Offensive Analysis

The Spartans are due for a down year offensively. It’s simply impossible to lose the two most important players, along with 2 of the best 3 offensive linemen, and not see a step back. There are plenty of players there, of course, they just need to prove they can get it done when they’re the focus in gametime. If the QB play is adequate, the Spartans should be able to get the ball to playmakers on the edges.

Michigan State Defense

Defensive Line

The Spartans lose two of their best defensive linemen in DE Brandon Long and DT Justin Kershaw. Redshirt senior Trevor Anderson, who followed Mark Dantonio to East Lansing from Cincinnati, will continue being a huge terror off the edge for opponents, and junior Oren Wilson will play a big role at defensive tackle for the third year in a row. The other two starting positions will likely be filled by Colin Neely, a slightly undersized junior at defensive end, and mondo junior Antonio Jeremiah at tackle.

Analysis

The Spartans lose a couple important pieces up front, but return perhaps the best player in Trevor Anderson. Still, he’ll have to hope that the opposition’s offensive lines have to focus on his new linemates Neely and Jeremiah as much as they did the departed ones, or he’ll be facing plenty of double teams, and won’t be able to get into the opponents’ backfields as much as he’s accustomed to.

Linebackers

Junior Greg Jones is a freakin’ stud, and he’ll return to roam the middle for MSU. Fellow junior Eric Gordon and senior Adam Decker complete the trifecta of returning linebackers for a very strong squad in 2009. Brandon Denson will be a key backup as a senior.

Analysis

The Spartans return all three starters from a group that was pretty good to start with. This should probably be the strongest unit on the team (maybe behind receivers?), though the depth isn’t great. If more young players, including incoming freshman Chris Norman, can get involved, it should be a very good year. Will Jones have a good enough year to go early to the NFL? It’s a possibility.

Defensive Backs

Safety Otis Wiley departs, but the Spartans have a fairly strong secondary coming back. Senior Dan Fortener will return at the other safety position, junior Chris L. Rucker returns at corner, and senior Jeremy Ware returns as the other starting corner. Marcus Hyde will step into Wiley’s role as a starting safety. Ross Weaver will be the first corner off the bench.

Analysis

Wiley was good enough to get some NFL looks, so losing him is definitely going to affect MSU, especially since he was a leader in the secondary. Other than that, MSU returns their most important players, so the secondary should be a strength. Of course, some of the players have been sketchy, so they had better hope for continued improvement in the offseason.

Defensive Analysis

Mark Dantonio is known as a defensively-focused coach, and he’ll have a lot to work with this season. The defensive line will be the biggest weakness, and if the Spartans can’t get to the QB, it will hurt them in the stronger areas of the defense. The linebacking corps should be excellent, so the Spartans will be able to stop teams from both running and passing.

Special Teams

The spartans return both kicking specialists. Brett Swenson will return for placekcking duties, and Aaron Bates will take care of punting.

Analysis

Both specialists for MSU were pretty good last year, so expect more of the same this year, if not a slight improvement. Bates might get a bit more work with the offensive production likely to decrease.

Overall Analysis

The Spartans will be very green (no pun intended) on offense this year, and very experienced on defense. Considering Mark Dantonio’s background, that probably means they’ll try to grind out wins this year. The problem, of course, is that they don’t have a Javon Ringer. If they don’t have someone step up, there could be trouble on offense. Trouble on offense could lead to trouble for defense, as the Wolverines learned last year. I don’t think the Spartan offense will be quite as bad as Michigan’s was last year, though (of course). Considering MSU was mostly outplayed for much of last year, even in some of their wins, and without Ringer to rely on, they’ll take a slight step back, unless the defense just dominates.

Returning experience has been brought up as an indicator of possible team success, and Michigan is among the teams with the highest number of returning starts along the offensive line (as is Notre Dame). However, most non-Michigan fans that I’ve seen looking at Michigan so far this off-season have said something along the lines of “They might be a better OL next year, but they sucked in 2008, so how much better can they be?” That may be the case, but it’s certainly worth exploring the assumption that the Wolverine offensive line was crap in 2008.

Improvement over the Year

The Michigan offensive line may have indeed started out poorly in 2008. They rushed for fewer yards than the opponents’ average allowed in 5 of the first 8 games, even though they were playing teams with relatively easy schedules like Utah, Miami, and Wisconsin (against whom Michigan would have had an awful rushing day if not for a surprise 65-yarder by Steven Threet). However, there’s certainly evidence that, after a rough couple games to start out the year, the rushing game started to click for Michigan.

That chart can be displayed in graphical form below. Note that more of the good rush defenses they faced were towards the back end of the schedule – and they still managed to beat the average for each of those teams. Save the MSU game, the Wolverines beat the opponent’s average in each game over the second half of the season.

With many players who weren’t expected to ever contribute in meaningful gametime (Bryant Nowicki), or at least not in 2008 (David Molk), the offensive line still managed to be better than average, with strength of opponents’ defenses taken into account.

More Competition

Of course, there’s a reason that some of those players who were forced into action in 2008 were not expected to ever contribute in starting roles for the Wolverines. Add in a class of freshmen that redshirted in 2008 because they weren’t physically ready to play, despite good guru rankings (4* OG RIcky Barnum) or performance in practice (2* OT Patrick Omameh). Add in those players, and even if they don’t contribute on the field, their presence in practice pushes other players to work harder to keep their starting spots. The best player between Mark Ortman and nobody is definitely Mark Ortman. The best player between Mark Ortman and Patrick Omameh might still be the same Mark Ortman, but that’s the minimum. It’s more likely to be a better Mark Ortman from being pushed in practice, or even Omameh.

When you take into account that the Michigan offensive line faced a number of injuries last year, having more players certainly helps in this respect as well. Using the example above, if Mark Ortman goes down and there’s no backup, the team has to play someone who really has no place being a contributor. If Mark Ortman goes down and Patrick Omameh is nipping his heels on the depth chart, the dropoff is going to be much less noticeable.

Improved QB Play

The offensive line is one unit on an offensive machine that must all work in concert to achieve the maximum result. If other parts of the machine are faulty, the offensive line won’t look as good, simply because the offense isn’t producing. Quarterback play in 2008 was, to put it quite bluntly, a liability for Michigan. Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan each had moments of brilliance (games against Penn State and Minnesota, respectively), but did at least their fair share of contributing to the offensive struggles in 2008.

The quarterbacks couldn’t throw particularly well, which allowed opposing safeties to come into the box to play the run. If Michigan had been able to stretch the field deep with the pass, there would have been more open running lanes. Coupled with that idea is the fact that Michigan’s scheme requires the quarterback to be able to run. Since neither Threet nor Sheridan was particularly mobile, defenses were able to key on the running back exclusively. This contributed to poor results for Michigan.

Of course, this section of the argument centers on the idea (belief? hope?) that Michigan’s quarterback play in 2009 will be better than it was in 2008. That hope falls on the shoulders of one Robert Tate Forcier. While he may not be The Savior of Michigan Football, his high school play and rankings, along with his performance in the spring game have given Michigan fans hope.

Better in ‘09?

Outside sources whose job it is to cover the Big Ten (albeit poorly) think that the Michigan OL should be improved this year. So, as I’ve hopefully demonstrated, not only was the Michigan offensive line not the huge liability over the entire course of 2008  that it’s often made out to be (despite some of the players forced into service), but it should continue to improve in the offseason as the players who will contribute in 2009 will have a year of experience under their belts, a lot more competition in practice, and a more complete offensive picture around them. Don’t expect greatness from the offensive line in 2009, but they should certainly help the offense get back on track.

Like always, please let me know if I have anything wrong. School websites aren’t always up-to-date post-spring, and there’s usually at least one thing I’ve missed.

Indiana Offense

The Alabama Crimson Tide obviously is (are?) a good softball team. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be in the Women’s College World Series, obviously. But what exactly should we know about the Tide before tonight’s game (7PM EDT on ESPN)? For starters, they finished the year second in both the SEC and the nation to the Florida Gators in terms of win percentage, and are the #4 overall seed in the tournament. Their head coach, in his 11th season (and 11th consecutive NCAA tournament berth), is Patrick Murphy.

Pitching
Alabama’s ace, who I assume the Wolverines are likely to see tonight, is sophomore Kelsi Dunne. She is tied for 16th in the nation (with the Wolverines’ Nikki Nemitz and 3 others) with 27 wins. However, Michigan might not see her for the entire game, as she’s one of 2 players in the top 30 nationally in wins with fewer than 200 innings pitched, clocking in at 194 2/3. The Tide’s other main pitcher is junior Charlotte Morgan (we’ll learn more about her momentarily, as well), who has thrown around 140 innings. Dunne is 20th in the nation in ERA, allowing 1.37 runs per 7 innings, and 27th in the country with 8.6 strikeouts per game. Morgan is not nationally ranked in any of these categories.

Hitting
Though she’s not the Tide’s best pitcher, Morgan is certainly their best hitter. Last year, she was an All-American on the basis of her prowess at the plate. This year, she’s 33rd in the nation with a .414 batting average, and is 22nd in the country with just barely under 1 RBI per game. She’s the Tide’s main hitting weapon, as they don’t have anyone else nationally ranked (top 30) in either category. Of course, for comparison’s sake, Michigan doesn’t even have a single player ranked by those metrics – the Wolverines get it done with pitching. On top of Morgan’s hitting ability, the Crimson Tide really hurt teams with lots of stolen bases. Senior outfielder Brittany Rogers, the team’s second-best hitter, is tied for third in the country with 0.84 steals per game, and her freshman teammate Jennifer Fenton is #30 with 0.52 stolen bases in each contest. Fenton is third on the team in batting average, so being on-base more frequently allows for more stealing opportunities: it seems like Murphy really likes to get his players moving whenever they’re on the basepaths (the Tide are 1st nationally in SBs with nearly 5 per game). Put all that offense together, and you have the 5th-most prolific scoring team in the USA.

Fielding
Going back to defense, the Tide are a good fielding team as well. Their fielding percentage is .975, good for 10th in the country. They’ve committed only 40 errors on the year, so getting cheap bases will probably not happen. If you’re looking for chinks in the armor, infielders Whitney Larsen and Kelli Eubanks are the only regular starters with fielding percentages below .950 – and they also happen to be the team’s weakest hitters. Another weak fielder is extraordinarily-named Jazlyn Lunceford, who is not a starter, but has seen time in 50 of ‘Bama’s 61 games.

So, what have we learned about the Tide? They’re very strong on offense. And defense. They are very strong on offense and defense. Whereas Michigan gets it done mostly through pitching and defense (3rd in the nation in ERA, 16th in fielding percentage), Alabama gets it going on both ends, generating offense through not only hitting, but also stealing bases, all while relying on very good fielding and pitching to keep the score low for the opponents. Based on those two aspects, I would be surprised if they were anywhere other than 2nd nationally in scoring margin, though the NCAA doesn’t keep stats on that. They’re certainly a formidable first test in the WCWS, and Michigan will absolutely need to be on their game to pull out a ‘W’ tonight.

Eastern Michigan Offense

Quarterbacks

Andy Schmitt seems like he’s been around forever, probably because he’ll be entering his 4th year as a starter for the Eagles (he split with Tyler Jones his first couple years, though Jones was a wideout last year). Kyle McMahon will be Schmitt’s main backup. Williams was granted a medical redshirt last year, though he played in 3 games.

Analysis

Despite his vast experience, Schmitt isn’t particularly successful at the QB position. He’ll probably retain his position by virtue of that experience, but it seems that, as McMahon and Williams gain some experience, they might be better QBs in the future for the Eagles. Early in 2009, however, it’ll probably be Schmitt once more.

Running Backs

Terrence Blevins returns to Eastern Michigan for his senior season, and he brings all of his backups from last year with him. Priest and Welch will probably get slightly fewer carries than they did last year, as Dominique Sherer, who missed all but the first game last year with an injury, returns to the crowded EMU backfield.

Analysis

Blevins is something of a bruiser, running 6-1+ and more than 240 pounds. Priest and Welch are more of scatback-types, around 5-9 and 180 pounds each. The coaching staff will probably figure out ways to utilize their differing talents, and Blevins will get the majority of the up-the-middle beating. Of course, Michigan’s DL amnd LBs are somewhat raw, so there may be yards available in the middle of the field.

Receivers

Finally, we find a position at which the Eagles lost seom talent from 2008. Jacory Stone, the team’s leading receiver, is back, but the next two receiving options, converted QB Tyler Jones and TE Jeff DeLuc, are both gone. Marvon Sanders will continue to play a slot role for the Eagles, and Dontayo Gage will man the other outside starting position in his senior year.

Analysis

The Eagles aren’t particularly deep at the wide receiver position, as they lost 2 of their top 3 performers from last year. However, there is plenty of room for new contributors to step up. Lots of players got at least a bit of playing time last year, and they’ll play bigger roles in ‘09. The Eagles don’t have prototypical size on the outside (Stone and Gage are under 6-0), and so they probably will focus more on getting players in space than trying to go deep.

Offensive Line

Lineup

TJ Lang was the only important starter to graduate, though fellow seniors Chris Larkins and Ross Peterson also got a bit of playing time. Peterson will be back for his 5th year, and hopes to move into a more prominent role after playing in only one game last year. Sophomores Bridger Bouche and Derek Gotham are returning starters as juniors, and now-senior Eric Davis will be a returning starter as well. Darrell Davis-Budanauro and Dan DeMaster will also try to move into the starting rotation.

Analysis

The Eagles lose only one important contributor in TJ Lang, though he was a 4th-round pick (something that is very rare for a program like Eastern). The rest of the linemen return, except for spot contributor Larkins and another player who didn’t get any playing time. The Eagles had middle-of-the-pack rushing offense and sacks allowed last year, though each of those might take a small step back without the rare NFL draftee on the line in Ypsilanti.

Offensive Analysis

The Eagles are pretty experienced on offense, returning the entire backfield from last year, and some important contributors on the line and in the receiving corps. Considering that Eastern was actually in the top-25 in the nation in total offense last year, they should be able to continue improving this year. Of course, that ranking last year was achieved playing a MAC schedule, along with nearly 650 yards against 1-AA Indiana State. Still, the Eagle offense is nothing to sleep on, especially with most offensive linemen returning.

Eastern Michigan Defense

Defensive Line

Brad Ohrman was the star of the Eastern Michigan defensive line last year as a redshirt freshman, and will look to continue rushing the passer in his sophomore season. Javon Reese, the other defensive end for Eastern,  had some success last year and will likely keep his starting job. Redshirt Sophomore Brandon Slater will continue his starting role as a defensive tackle, and Ryan Kuhlman may step into the other starting spot, if Tyler Palsrok can’t do it.

Analysis

The Eagles have a decent amount of experience on defensive line, despite losing starter Josh Hunt. The one thing that they don’t have is size. If you’re starting a 6-5, 265-pound defensive tackle, and defensive ends who are probably better suited to be linebackers, you might have trouble stopping the run. Fortunately for the Wolverines, with an experienced offensive line and Brandon Minor, there is reason to expect to good power running game . The lighter D-Ends may be better at chasing down Tate Forcier on the QB keepers that he’s likely to run, but pounding up the middle with Minor should be a fairly effective gameplan.

Linebackers

4-year-starter and star Daniel Holtzclaw, who was the heart of the EMU defense for what seem like forever, is gone. Fortunately for Eastern, they return just about everyone else of note, and will have players slide over to cover the gap he leaves. Senior Andre Hatchett will be the anchor of the unit, and he’ll be joined by fellow senior Brandon Downs (unless his spring move to defensive end is permanent) and one of Tim Fort and Herb Waits. If Downs is now a defensive lineman, expect both of those two to start.

Analysis

The loss of Holtzclaw is big, but the fact that the Eagles return everyone of note, and perhaps are strong enough at linebacker to be moving players down to the defensive line, means that this unit shouldn’t be hurting too badly. Fort is a little-ish linebacker, with more of safety size. Of course, that means Waits, at 5-10 and 180 pounds, is more like corner-sized. Like DL, this unit should be susceptible to Michigan’s power run game.

Defensive Backs

The Eagles lose 3 of their top 4 defensive backs, so they’ll be filling some major needs here with unproven players. Taking into account that the lone returning starter, Jermaine Jenkins, may be moving to linebacker, and Eastern is likely looking at a pretty tough year in the defensive secondary. Ryan Downard will man one safety spot, and Kevin Long will probably be the other. Nate Wilson will probably be a starting corner, along with senior Chris May.

Analysis

As Mentioned above, the Eagles have few proven players, and should struggle in the secondary this year. The one thing they have going is that most of their interceptions from last year came from returning players. Of course, interceptions are somewhat random, but there is a playmaking aspect to the secondary.

Defensive Analysis

The EMU defense wasn’t good last year (this should be obvious, considering the top-25 offense and 3-9 season). They were bad against the rush and awful against the pass. Considering the personnel uncertainties at this point in the year, they should be in for another tough year. Michigan should mostly grind this one out on the ground, but take advantage of opportunities through the air and in the short passing game.

Special Teams

Placekicker Joe Carithers, a JuCo transfer last year, will return to kick in ‘09. Zach Johnson and Patrick Treppa split punting duties last year. Johnson will be back for his 5th year, and Treppa will be a junior this fall. Lots of kicking options for the Eagles.

Analysis

The kicking game and punting game were both around average last year, with the punts not being quite as good. Returning all three kicking specialists, the Eagles should be able to improve in all respects this year.

Overall Analysis

Eastern was pretty good on offense last year, and awful on defense. That trend should continue this year, as they return most key offensive contributors, and lose some important pieces on defense. Eastern should be one of the weaker oponents all around that Michigan plays this fall.

Notre Dame Offense

QBs
It’s unclear whether Evan Sharpley will return for his redshirt senior year, since he’s bigger into the baseball than football, in my recollection. Fear not though, incoming freshman Dayne Crist is expected to be the new 5-year Heisman winner for the Irish, and he might end up being the backup over Sharpley.

Statistics

Analysis
Clausen took a big leap forward last year (partially a product of a functional-ish offense), and if he continues that, he might finally live up to about a third of the hype he got coming out of high school. If he gets hurt, however, it’ll be either a true freshman (Crist) or a guy who has never participated in spring practice because he’s busy playing baseball (Sharpley) backing his up.

RBs
Like many positions on this team, the Irish return everyone of note at the running back position. Expect Gray to get a little more action this year, as he’ll no longer be a true freshman. Allen and Hughes will likely still carry the load, however.

Statistics

Analysis
This is a definite position of strength for the Irish – at least as much as it can be, since they’ve run the ball pretty inconsistently ever since Weis has been around, and much more so in the past couple years. How much of that is offensive line play, and how much should be on the backs? We’ll see.

Receivers
Golden Tate was a star-in-the-making last year, and he’ll certainly start all of 2009. His best fit might be at the slot in 3-wide (or 4-wide) sets, giving other players a chance to step up on the outside as well. Floyd is a big reeiver in the Braylon mold, and Rudolph will try to bring some playmaking back to the tight end position, which the Irish haven’t had consistently since Anthony Fasano left.

Statistics

Analysis
Tate is a great deep threat, as Michigan fans are all too aware. The other guys were good last year, but not particularly exciting. Caveat: This was a very young unit last year, and with another year of experience under their belts, they should be able to do more in the offense.

Offensive Line

Lineup
Paul Duncan, a fifth-year senior, is expected to start at left tackle, after taking an injury redshirt last year. He should be backed up by highly-touted and very-ugly junior Matt Romine. At left guard, 5th-year senior Eric Olsen will start, with redshirt sophomore Andrew Nuss behind him. At center, redshirt junior Dan Wenger will be backed up by Braxton Cave. Chris Stewart, a redshirt junior, will be right guard, with Mike & Mike spawn Mike GOlic Jr. moving from center to back him up. At right tackle, junior Sam Young, who has been awful in each of his previous campaigns, despite lofty #1-overall-recruit status, will be spelled by Lane Clelland.

Analysis
The Irish offensive line has been crap for the past couple years. They were slightly better last year, and Notre ame has canned the offensive line coach in an attempt to make things at least adequate. They return several starters, and there is no excuse (not that there was last year, and there was only a limited one the previous year) for yet another terrible performance. Paul Duncan struggled at LT before being replaced (an injury expedited this move) last year.

Offensive Analysis
The Notre Dame offense finally has some experience after the past couple years oscillating between terrible and mediocre. Still, you have to wonder exactly how shrewd Weis is, since he’s supposedly an offensive genius, and his teams have mostly been utter crap the past two years. Spare me the “Willingham’s last two classes sucked” mantra as well. Weis’s 3-8 year was with players from HIS recruiting classes that would have been juniors at the time. Sounds like his first 2-3 recruiting classes must not have been all that great either. For someone whose motto is “no excuses,” making excuses seems to be all that Weis does. If Clausen can make another step forward in ‘09 (and, sadly, Weis’s track record implies that he will), the Irish offense should be able to move the ball fairly well.

Notre Dame Defense

Defensive Line
This all depends on whether the Irish make up their mind with regards to the 4-3 v. 3-4 debate. With Tenuta likely gaining clout within the staff (and with good reason – he’s a bigname coordinator), I would expect the 3-4. Pat Kuntz and Justin Brown are both gone, and Ethan Johnson will step up to fill one of the DE spots full-time. He’s put on a ton of weight (Michigan wanted him as a 4-3 DE coming out of high school , when he weighed around 240), and Irish fans are hoping he’ll be able to occupy a couple gaps. Ian Williams and Morrice Richardson should be the other starters. Behind them, there is scary little depth.

Statistics

Analysis
If the starters can’t step up into full-time roles, the Irish DL could be in trouble. This is especially troubling in the 3-4 defense, where the DL is absolutely vital to keeping the playmaking linebackers unblocked. Still, the starters should be adequate, if not better. Johnson excelled at getting to the QB last year, so it’ll be interesting to see how he is utilized in ‘09.

Linebackers
Maurice Crum is gone, but the Irish had plenty of linebackers get some experience and playing time last year. Brian Smith and Darius Fleming will play big roles for the defense, along with Kerry Neal. Toryan Smith and Steve Quinn should compete to be the 4th linebacker starting for the Irish. Incoming freshman Manti Te’o is the most exciting player (at least based on guru ratings), so expect him to play as well.

Statistics

Analysis
Crum wasn’t so much a star as a guy put in position to make plays and making them. None of the replacement players are flashy either, but they should be able to step in and make the plays that Crum did. That said, they won’t do anything that makes you say “wow,” either. They’ll just be a group getting the job done. Te’o brings the flair some, and he may leave on a Mormon mission, so don’t be surprised if the Irish play him early, to get as much as they can out of the guy.

Defensive Backs
The Irish lose Davis Bruton, who was a pretty good player at one of the safety positions. Harrison Smith will replace him, and Kyle McCarthy will return at the other safety spot. Raeshon McNeil will return at one corner position, and Robert Blanton was a pseudo-starter at the other spot by the end of the year, so he’ll probably man the other position. Terrail Lambert, the player he is replacing, was oft-maligned by Irish fans, so I don’t think they’ll lament his departure, except in terms of depth.

Statistics

Analysis
McCarthy is a safety in the “hey look we have a white safety” Tom Zbikowski mold, and he’s similarly… adequate. Losing Bruton could be a pretty big hit for the Irish, as he was their best ballhawk, in addition to being the guy who made a lot of plays for the Irish. Harrison Smith was more of a designated blitzer than a true safty often last year (think Brandon Harrison), so he might struggle to make a transition to playing deep. The corners should be decent, but the depth there is not great.

Defensive Analysis
The 3-4, assuming the Irish plan to use it as their identity full-time now, really relies on defensive linemen to occupy the offensive line, leaving the linebackers free to make plays. In that light, losing 2 defensive linemen is a pretty huge question mark, especially when the leading tackler at linebacker is gone. Another interesting note is that the linebacking corps didn’t make a ton of plays behind the line of scrimmage, which is one thing that the 3-4 defense is designed to allow them to do. Is that a scheme matter or just a lack of good enough bodies? If they switch back the the 4-3 fulltime, they still are very weak along the defensive line, but the linebackers are less of an issue. The secondary should be pretty good, though without a ton of depth. It seems as though Michigan’s run-game strength should be able to run the ball fairly well against the Irish. Will it be enough?

Special Teams

Punter Eric Maust returns, as does kicker Brandon Walker.

Statistics

Analysis
Walker was money on extra points last year, but boy, is that field goal percentage scary. He doesn’t have a great excuse either, as it was his second year as the starter (he went 6/12 as a freshman). He has the leg, nailing a 48-yarder last year, he’s just frighteningly inconsistent. In fact, that led, in part, to the Irish’s demise against GERG last year, as he missed 3(!) of his 6(!) field goal attempts.

Overall Analysis

The Irish return enough talented players to take a huge leap forward in 2009 – though we were saying the same thing last year. This is a definite make-or-break year for Weis, and if he can’t win with this team, it just shows that he isn’t cut out to be a head coach at the college level. The Irish will be strong on offense, which should really drive this team. The question remains: which was the real Irish offense, the one we saw against BC or the one we saw against Hawaii? I’d lean more towards BC, since the Warriors had a pitiful defense last year.

For the first time in the MCLA Tournament, Michigan’s offense didn’t allow the opposing team to get an early lead. Trevor Yealy got on board within a minute and a half of the game’s start, and Clark McIntyre added a tally of his own within another minute. The teams traded goals before Michigan finally got a little bit of space, taking an 8-4 lead into the halftime break. After the half, it was all Michigan. The Wolverines put 9 more goals on the board, while only allowing 3 more tallies by Colorado (2 of which came within a minute of the end of the game, when the outcome was no longer in question). In net, Mark Stone played the first half, while Andrew Fowler played a strong second half for the Wolverines. Though he didn’t tally a point for the Wolverines, David Reinhard was one of the most important pieces in the game, winning almost 70% of his faceoffs and helping the Wolverines keep possession as much as possible. Offensively, Riley Kearns led the way with 3 goals (one of which was quite the highlight: a jump shot from a very tight angle coming around the back of the net) and assists on goals by Jordan Kirshner and Svet Tintchev. David Rogers, Trevor Yealy, and Clark McIntyre also scored multiple goals for Michigan.

MFlowBlue Recap – Official Recap

Chapman Preview

Another round, another past opponent for the Wolverines. They’ll face Chapman at 7PM Mountain (9 Eastern) on the stadium field at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

At A Glance. Chapman enters the contest with a 16-2 record. The Panthers’ only losses on the year came at the hands of Michigan and BYU, so they’re attempting to work the revenge tour in reverse order during the MCLA tournament. They went 5-0 in the Southwest Lacrosse Conference, and won the conference tournament by downing Arizona and San Diego State by lopsided counts.

Common Opponents. Michigan and Chapman, on top of playing each other (more on that later), faced several of the same teams over the course of the year. The Wolverines and Panthers both played the University of Arizona at neutral site, and each came away with a lopsided win (Chapman won 17-3, Michigan won 14-3). Chapman beat Texas 14-4 at a neutral site in Southern California (Michigan beat the Longhorns 11-5 on Tuesday in Denver). The Panthers took down Colorado State 15-5 at home and 9-8 in Denver (Michigan took down the Rams 16-3 in Oosterbaan). Michigan’s rival BYU Cougars were the only other team to beat Chapman, winning 10-7 in Provo, but losing in the MCLA Tournament yesterday in a 10-9 overtime thriller (Michigan beat BYU 14-11 in their only meeting this year). Michigan and Chapman both beat UC-Santa Barbara by identical 7-5 scores.

Stars. Chapman’s attack is led by the SLC Offensive Player of the Year in Connor Martin, who notched 46 goals and 29 assists for the Panthers this year. He was joined on the All-SLC first team by fellow attack Marcus Wooden, who scored 34 goals and dished 16 assists. At midfield on the all-conference team, Derek Mills and Mike Clayton, who scored 41 and 27 points, respectively, represent the Panthers. Andrew Salcido represented the team on defense. David Reinhard should have quite the challenge at the “X,” as Chapman’s faceoff specialist, Chris Small, also landed on the first team. Neither of Chapman’s goalies, Daniel Kirkpatrick and Jason Kho, landed on the top 3 all-conference teams.

When Last We Met. In a game televised nationally on ESPNU (albeit on tape delay of a couple months), Michigan took down the Panthers at Chapman Stadium. The Wolverines trailed 8-4 minutes before halftime, but Riley Kearns brought the score within 3 just before the half expired. Michigan took over in the second half, outscoring Chapman 8-2. Faceoff specialist David Reinhard can be credited with helping the Wolverines maintain momentum, winning faceoff after faceoff in the second half, and giving his team a “make-it, take-it” advantage. Against SLC 1st-teamer Christopher Small, he won 62.5% of the time, an outstanding success rate. Trevor Yealy (5), Kevin Zorovich and Anthony Hrusovsky all notched hat tricks for Michigan in the game, with all of Hrusovsky’s goals coming in the second half. Marcus Wilson scored 5 goals and Connor Martin scored 2 for the Panthers.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, 7MDT/9EDT. The crowd at last night’s game was a little sparse, so I encourage any Michigan alumni or fans in the Denver area to head out and support the team tonight. If you can’t watch in person, the game will be televise once again on Fox College Sports Atlantic, or streaming on the FCS website. I plan to host another CoverItLive chat here.

Michigan 11-5 Texas
Has has been the case several times this season, the Wolverines got off to a slow offensive start when they faced the Longhorns. However, the defense was similarly slow-starting on this day, allowing Texas to take a 3-1 lead before the Michigan team started humming. Michigan scored the next 5 goals and never looked back. In the second half, Michigan got off to another slow start offensively, but they didn’t allow Texas to score and were able to work through the offensive slump, scoring 3 in the quarter. Though Trevor Yealy led the team (and the nation) in scoring this season, it was senior Peter Vasher who was the offensive star on this day, scoring 5 goals for Michigan. It’s a shame he was hurt for much of the year, because the Michigan offense could have benefitted from another bigtime scorer. Mark Stone played the first 3 quarters in net for Michigan, and Andrew Fowler played the fourth.

MFlowBlue recap – Official recap

Michigan 22-6 Sonoma State
Perhaps inspired by their own lackadaisical first half effort against Texas, Michigan was determined not to have a slow start in round 2 against the Seawolves of Sonoma State. As the sun set on Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Michigan led 3-1 just 5 minutes into the game, on their way to a stunning 17-4 lead… at halftime. Michigan’s defense was operating as efficiently as its offense, and to quote @UMichLacrosse “Eylachar: One man clearing machine.” Trevor Yealy scored 5 for the Wolverines, Riley Kearns and Wes McGowan each completed hat tricks, Kevin Zorovich had 4 points for Michigan, and 11 different Michigan players scored in all. Mark Stone and Andrew Fowler split time in net, with Stone getting the starting nod. Michigan scored their second-highest output of the year, trailing only their 33-8 pounding of Eastern Michigan on March 20th, by putting 22 goals on the Seawolves. Of course, they probably could have scored many more, given the uneven distribution of goals over the halves.

MFlowBlue recap – Official recap

Colorado
As we enter the third round of the tournament, Michigan will finally face an opponent that they’ve already seen before in the Colorado Buffaloes. The game will take place tomorrow night at 8PM Mountain time (10Pm Eastern) in the stadium at Dick’s Sporting Good Park.

Colorado finished the season 15-6, with a 5-0 record in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference, with a nailbiter 11-10 loss to BYU in the conference final. Their body of work over the season earned them an at-large bid to the MCLA Tournament, and the national #5 seed. An 11-3 decision over UCSB got them through the first round, and they took down #4 Minnesota-Duluth in round 2 for the right to face Michigan.

Michigan thrashed the then-#4 Buffs 13-4 in the home opener at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse. Michigan led 9-2 at halftime, adding a 4-2 second-half advantage as well. Trevor Yealy, Aaron Hodari, and Riley Kearns had 5, 3, and 2 goals for Michigan, respectively. 4 different Colorado players scored. In addition to facing each other earlier this year, Michigan and Colorado also had several opponents in common. CU lost 11-3 to Michigan State (Michigan pounded the Spartans 21-9), beat BYU 10-8 in Provo and lost 11-0 at a neutral site (Michigan prevailed 14-11 in Ann Arbor over the Cougs), lost a home game 8-7 to Sonoma State (Michigan beat them on a neutral field yesterday by a rather lopsided score – see above), and beat Colorado State 11-4 (Michigan won 16-3 against the Rams).

James Blackburn led Colorado in scoring on the year, notching 36 goals and 14 assists. Behind him were Darren Hulick and Joel Packer with 33 and 31 goals, respectively. Josh Albrecht and Tyler Snyder each had 23 point for Colorado. In net, senior Kevin Moriarty played the majority of the year, but 3 freshmen also saw duty for the Buffaloes. Against Michigan, Blackburn, Hulick, Snyder, and Michael Emerson each scored a goal. Moriarty played almost the entire game, before taking a penalty with just over a minute to go, and Will Brown was placed between the pipes.

Who’s Left?
One of the advantages of playing a tough schedule over the course of the year is that Michigan has already faced every team left in the bracket. Aside from Colorado, who they’ll play tomorrow, (2) BYU and (3) Chapman will square off in the other semifinal game. Michigan beat Chapman 13-10 in Orange, CA, and took down BYU 14-11 at Oosterbaan. Neither team will be a mystery to Michigan, nor are they a mystery to each other. They played in Provo at the end of the regular season, and Chapman walked away victims of a 10-7 defeat at the hands of the Cougars. BYU and Michigan are the only two teams Chapman lost to this year.

More comprehensive recap (of each of the past 2 games), along with a Colorado preview, coming tomorrow.

Update: Pritchard redshirted his (first) junior season in 2007. He has 1 year of eligibility remaining.

Western Michigan Offense

QBs
5th-year senior Tim Hiller returns to helm the Western Michigan offense for the third consecutive year. He also got spot time as a freshman, but redshirted his sophomore year after an injury caused him to miss the entire season. Backup Drew Burdi is a more mobile option at QB, but has received only limited playing time so far in his career with the Broncos. Robert Arnheim has 1 collegiate pass to his name.

Statistics

Analysis
At first glance, the Broncos seem to have two options that both strike fear into the hearts of Michigan fans: an experienced, 5th-year QB who is a 2-time returning starter; a scrambler with passing ability that can gash a team through the air or on the ground. In all honesty, Wolverine fans should be scared about the ability of Hiller, as well as Burdi’s complementary skill set as a backup.

RBs
Brandon West is another 2-year starter coming back for his third go-round in the Bronco backfield for his senior year. The primary backup will be sophomore Aaron Winchester, who did the majority of his work last year towards the end of the season when West was injured. Glenis Thompson is a senior who got a pair of starts last year, but didn’t register more than 7 carries in any game. DeShazor is a walkon who will likely only contribute in garbage time.

Statistics

Analysis
West is actually a very capable running back, averaging 4.6 yards per carry in 2007, and over 5 yards per carry last year. He is also the biggest of the Bronco stable (pun entirely intended), checking in at a mere 5-10, 188 lbs. The rest of Western’s backs fall primarily in the “speedy little bastard” category, though most of them don’t have particularly great speed of note. With several returning producers at RB, they may lean a little more on the running game this year – so we might see the depth of the RB group when they visit Michigan Stadium

Receivers
The top 2 players depart for Western, along with their top tight end. Juan Nunez is a 6-footer who actually averaged the best yards per catch out of any of the players with an appreciable sample size. He’ll have to make the transition from 3rd option to the man that the defense will key on. Will he be able to maintain that big play ability? Though the top TE departs, then next two returning players after Nunez are tight ends. Senior Matt Stevens and junior Anthony Williams might be a good security blanket for Hiller, who will be looking for new players to fill the roles vacated by the departing players. The Broncos will really need some unexpected players to step up on the edges. Sophomore Deshon Lawrence might be that guy, for lack of other options. Caleb Clark was only a junior last year, but is not listed on the 2009 Bronco roster.

Statistics

Analysis
The Broncos are seriously thin at receiver, which might prevent them from adequately taking advantage of their senior QB. With tight ends looking to be the strongest position, and a good running back group returning, play action passing might be a good option for the Broncos. They don’t have a big group of receivers to return to, so it seems as though teams may be able to key in on what few guys they do have in order to slow down the passing game.

Offensive Line
Lineup
The offensive line for the Broncos should be quite strong this year, with a number of returning starters. The tackle positions should be mostly locked down, with redshirt sophomore Anthony Parker, who started every game last year and was named all-MAC freshman, and Redshirt Junior Phillip Swanson, who made 13 starts last year, bookending the line. Redshirt senior Paul Wasikowski, redshirt junior Nick Clemens, and redshirt junior Nick Mitchell Manning the inside spots. The positions are a little flexible, obviously. Adding depth are redshirt sophomores Jonathan Jack and Lee Pathan. The only player the Broncos lost to graduation was Steve Ellingson.

Analysis
The OL should be strong for Western, with a lot of game and starting experience coming back. They may not be the biggest line Michigan will face, nor the most talented, but they certainly make up for it in experience. They should be able to run the ball well and protect the passer adequately.

Offensive Analysis
The Western offense returns some key pieces, mostly every important QB and almost every important RB. The receiving corps will be a serious question, and as mentioned above, I expect the tight ends to be some of the main receivers, especially early in the year before new wideouts are able to step up and prove themselves as playmakers. With a presumed strong running game and tight ends, play action is a likely bet for the Broncos scheme.

Western Michigan Defense

Defensive Line
Defensive end Zach Davidson and tackle Nick Varcadipane led the line in stops last year, but they’ll both be gone in 2009. Senior tackle Cody Cielinski will become the main man in the middle. He will likely accompanied by sophomore Drew Nowak or Chris Pyant, whoever os bigger. The other, who had previously been a tackle, may slide outside to take on a strongside responsibility, and junior Weston Peiffer, who had very limited playing time last year, will be expected to step up as a pass-rushing option.

Statistics

Analysis
This is a super-weak group, with almost no depth at (actually, no depth beyond the starters). They’ll rely on guys who haven’t played a down of college football yet to be the backups. With Michigan’s offensive strength looking to be the running game, with 5 returning offensive linemen and Brandon Minor, they should be able to exploit this group.

Linebackers
Like the line, the Bronco linebacking corps loses its top two tacklers. Senior Justin Braska will have to take a huge leap forward for the Broncos, becoming the cornerstone of the position group. Sophomore Mitch Zajac will be expected to contribute as a starter for Western, and there is NOTHING other than those guys, based on the current roster. Porter and Krasinski both had eligibility remaining after last year, but neither is listed on the current roster.

Statistics