2018 Devy Preview: Big Ten, Part One

Welcome to the 2018 Devy Preview series! College football is just around the corner, dynasty leagues are gearing up for the NFL season, and it’s time to get excited for football again! If you haven’t ever tried a “Devy” league, that’s okay. The goal of this series is simply to help you find the NFL stars of the future. But! If you are a fellow Devy league fanatic like me, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy jotting down some names of current college football studs to watch for and target in future drafts!

We’ll be diving into all of the “Power Five” conferences and the best players in the “Group of Five” conferences over the next several weeks as the college football season approaches. If you’re unfamiliar with “Devy” formats the concept is simple. Developmental (Devy) leagues allow owners to roster current college football players before they ever declare for the NFL Draft. They’re a ton of fun! I highly recommend the format if you haven’t given it a try. Also, if you want to check out some of the top ranked devy players you can find those here!

The B1G conference has been a dominant presence in college football here recently. They continuously provide the NFL with some of the best running back talent in existence. Let’s dive in and see what future stars we should be excited to watch on Sundays here soon!

Ohio State

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been consistently annihilating the recruiting game in the Big Ten conference for some time now. When they lose one four-star recruit, another stud is just waiting in the wings to take over. Their current roster construction in 2018 speaks to this more significantly than possibly ever before. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look.

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Yes, the Buckeyes have lost JT Barrett, Cardale Jones, and Braxton Miller in the past few years, but Dwayne Haskins is ready and waiting to lead the offense at quarterback. Haskins is a former top 100 recruit in the nation. He completed 70% of his passes with a four-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio in limited 2017 action. Expect Haskins to be in the Heisman conversation thanks to his mix of mobility, passing ability, and the plentiful offensive weapons he has at his disposal.

The Ohio State backfield may actually be the best in the country. They return both J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber, who will both eventually get drafted. Dobbins came in as a true freshman and rushed for 1,403 yards on the ground. Many have forgotten, but Mike Weber also has a 1,000-yard season to his name as well. But the most impressive thing about the backfield may just be the 2018 recruiting class.

Despite already having two amazing runners on the team, Urban Meyer was still able to bring in not one, not two, but three of the top 16 running backs in the nation (according to the 247Sports Composite).

Jaelen Gill offers speed, agility, and incredibly developed receiving chops for a true freshman. If he adds a few pounds, he could be the future of the backfield. Brian Sneed is a bruising, physical, force of a player that can make linebackers miss. And last, but not least, Master Teague brings an unbelievable mix of size, athleticism, and a balanced skill set that could also lead to a future as a feature back. Any and all of those three should make an NFL roster one day.

The wide receivers are another story though. There are several great wide receiver recruiting profiles among them, but not a ton of production. Parris Campbell will most likely be the first current Buckeye wide receiver to be drafted (as soon as 2019). He projects to be a fun weapon who could play slot or Z in the NFL moving all over the field. His burst, moves in the open field, and return game ability should land him on an NFL team with ease. Binjimen Victor projects to be a major red zone threat with surprising flexibility and body control at 6’4”. Johnnie Dixon is a fantastic deep threat who averaged over 23 yards per reception in 2017. He could be an instant boom or bust deep threat early in his NFL career. And lastly, K.J. Hill could be a slot receiver in the receiver in the right fit.

Other Notables: Austin Mack was a big-time recruit who needs to make more big-time plays. L’Christian Smith is a massive wide receiver who could end up converting to full-time tight end. Kamryn Babb was a top ten wide receiver recruit this year, but he just tore his ACL for the second time. Jeremy Ruckert could be the next big tight end in college football. He is likely the top freshman tight end in the country.

[The rest of the ten simply has significantly fewer talented players on offense, but still tons of options.]

Penn State

Trace McSorley will most definitely enter the 2018 season in the Heisman conversation. His 22-5 record over the past two seasons has been spectacular to watch. Yes, he had some running game help with Saquon Barkley, but his offensive line has been questionable at best. He’s “too short” to project well for the NFL, but could leap into early round discussion with an even more impressive 2018.

Tommy Stevens, the other quarterback in town, could be an interesting sleeper to pay attention to. At 6’4”, 225 pounds, he certainly has the more typical NFL quarterback build. He looks to possess real arm strength, downfield accuracy, and some mobility to pair with that. He could be late-career hype machine for the 2020 NFL Draft.

Miles Sanders was the number one running back in the 2016 recruiting class, but sadly had to wait behind the otherworldly talent that is Saquon Barkley. His time to shine is now or never. He could be drafted as soon as 2019 with an explosive 2018 season. There isn’t much immediate competition for him to absolutely dominate the majority of the workload. If any running back is talented enough to challenge Sanders it’s true freshman, Ricky Slade. Slade is also a five-star recruit, but he’s actually faster than Sanders. He is also quite possibly a better receiver as well. Slade may be a tad undersized right now, but he could be a future first-round draft pick.

Juwan Johnson will feature as the team’s lead wide receiver in 2018. He’s built like Andre Johnson with longer arms. With Mike Gesicki and DaeSean Hamilton gone Johnson will lead the team in touchdowns and receptions, easily. He should be a day two pick if 2018 goes as well as it could for him.

However, the most talented wide receiver on the team may just be another true freshman, Justin Shorter. He might just be the next Julio Jones. Shorter can turn on a dime in the open field, high point like a monster, and shows incredible strength and awareness. He could have an instant impact in 2018.

Other Notables: DeAndre Thompkins should be the new shifty chain mover, but probably has an uphill climb to make an NFL roster. Zack Kuntz is a highly touted freshman tight end prospect, but needs to prove himself and produce.

Michigan

If Shea Patterson ends up being the truth for Michigan the Wolverines could be a formidable Big Ten Title contender. The only knock on Patterson is maybe his arm strength to push his throws outside. Beyond that his ability to diagnose and time his throws incredibly well to find receivers is solid. He has adequate size and mobility. This former Ole Miss Rebel could end up being a round one pick one day.

The running backs at Michigan tend to get overlooked, but they’re actually incredibly talented. Karan Higdon posted one of the most impressive four-game stretches in the nation last season. How impressive, you ask? He dropped two 200-yard games whiles averaging 8.1 yards per carry and scoring eight touchdowns over that four-game span. Chris Evans also has two seasons with more than 600 yards rushing and can catch passes too. Both project to be committee backs instead of features, but that’s the future of the NFL.

Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black were two huge names in recruiting but it’s time to put up or shut up. Yes, the Michigan passing offense ran through their tight ends in a big way last year. But that’s no excuse. Peoples-Jones has all the physical tools to be a true X wide receiver in the NFL with some punt return ability. Black showed to have solid ball skills and route running in high school, but clearly needs to take the next step if he wants to be considered a top prospect.

Other Notables: All three tight ends could have an NFL future. Sean McKeon functioned as the team’s lead receiver and has prototypical NFL tight end size at 6’5”, 250 pounds. Zack Gentry is a converted quarterback to tight end with size, but needs to improve his positional fundamentals in blocking. Mustapha Muhammad is a top-five tight end recruit, but will have to wait a while to produce.

Purdue

My alma mater is improving under new coach Jeff Brohm, but doesn’t currently boast a ton of future professional studs.

Elijah Sindelar probably projects to be a better pro quarterback than David Blough regardless of who does more in 2018. Sindelar needs to continue improving his decision making, but if he continues to build on his ridiculous performance against Arizona in last year’s Foster Farms Bowl, look out. He tossed four touchdowns on an apparently torn ACL. This tough gunslinger could be making shots on Sundays soon.

Markell Jones started off hot as a true freshman with 1,114 yards from scrimmage and 11 scores. However, since then he’s fallen off some with slight health concerns and backfield competition. If he bounces back and plays in every game for 2018 expect his name to be called in the NFL Draft near the end of day three.

Other Notables: Freshman wide receiver Rondale Moore may just be 5’8”, but that apparently can’t stop him from squatting 600 pounds. This little beast of a young man is going to torch defenses out of the slot for the next 15 years. Brycen Hopkins and Cole Herdman should earn late round consideration when they both declare. They both are decent receivers by college standards.

Wisconsin

The obvious name to remember on the Badgers is Jonathan Taylor. Prior to the start of his true freshman season, Taylor’s teammates were already calling him beast mode. Now we know why. Taylor has the rare mix of talent and opportunity to possibly string together three consecutive seasons of 2,000 yards from scrimmage if he stays healthy. Wisconsin will continue to feed Taylor until he’s selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft (which is just about a lock already).

Quintez Cephus could be a lot of fun if he can stay healthy too. Wisconsin doesn’t pass a ton, but in the ten games where Cephus was healthy, he was the lead option. His thick, compact build allows for him to both play strong through contested situations and also bend out of his breaks well. Now that Troy Fumagalli (productive tight end in 2017) has gone to play for the Denver Broncos expect a significant bump in per game production from Cephus. If he carries 30% of the Wisconsin passing offense like he should expect some decent draft capital.

Other Notables: Danny Davis III accounted for just shy of 20% of Wisconsin’s receiving offense as a true freshman. He was one of less than twenty true freshmen to account for at least 15% of their team’s receiving offense. A.J. Taylor is thick enough to be a running back if he chose to convert. He could also play a physical slot role in the NFL too.

Check back soon for part two, where we cover Nebraska, Michigan State, Iowa, Northwestern, Maryland, Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, and Rutgers.

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