sd'sker Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 the top 8 best be pretty darn impressive. Ranking the Big 12's best: No. 9 June, 23, 2010 By David Ubben Today is Day 17 of our countdown of the Big 12's 25 best players entering the 2010 season. The full results are locked in a vault in an undisclosed location, but we'll be revealing one player per day until we reach the top of the list. We're inside the top 10 now, and I kind of expect discussion on this to get pretty heated. I feel pretty good about where I've slotted guys, but we'll see if we need to do a mega-mailbag at the end of all this so I can defend my order. You'll notice the list is weighted somewhat toward more important positions. That's intentional and you won't see any more defensive linemen on this list. Plenty more running backs and linebackers that have impact on bigger portions of the field. Remember, this isn't a list of the top-25 NFL prospects in the league. It's heavily weighted toward players' actual accomplishments in their college careers, as well as their likely impact on their teams in the 2010 season. No. 9: Jared Crick, DT, Nebraska 2009 numbers: Recorded 9.5 sacks to rank sixth in the conference and finished with 12.5 tackles for loss. Also made 73 tackles. Most recent ranking: Crick was unranked in the past offseason's ranking of the conference's top 40 players. Making the case for Crick: The Big Question Crick won't be able to escape until perhaps conference play is how he'll perform without Ndamukong Suh next to him. He grabbed the conference's attention with a five-sack performance against Baylor and was one of the best defenders on the best defense in college football. This year, he'll be expected to lead and continue -- if not exceed -- his production. I expect him to do it. I've got a lot of faith in the Pelini Bros. to develop talent on defense, and you don't need to look much further than Big Suh to see why. Before they arrived, he was still a fairly pedestrian player. He left a legend. I don't expect Crick to reach those heights, but if he's anywhere close, he'll earn his spot on this list as the best defensive lineman in the conference. The rest of the list: No. 10: Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor No. 11: Jeremy Beal, DE, Oklahoma No. 12: Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri No. 13: Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska No. 14: Alexander Robinson, RB, Iowa State No. 15: Sam Acho, DE, Texas No. 16: Roy Helu, Jr., RB, Nebraska No. 17: Curtis Brown, CB, Texas No. 18: Aldon Smith, DE, Missouri No. 19: Kendall Hunter, RB, Oklahoma State No. 20: Jeff Fuller, WR, Texas A&M No. 21: Tim Barnes, C, Missouri No. 22: Brian Duncan, LB, Texas Tech No. 23: Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma No. 24: Tanner Hawkinson, OT, Kansas No. 25: Blake Gideon, S, Texas link Quote Link to comment
Danny Bateman Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Very underrated, IMHO. Anyone who can get 5 sacks in a game, regardless of whether Suh was there or not, should probably land in the top 5 in the conference. Quote Link to comment
GSG Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Way too low. Ubben has been giving NU the cold shoulder since we announced our move. I can't blame him, we almost cost him his job! Quote Link to comment
GMoose Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 I can see them having Aaron Williams from Texas ahead of Prince, but also having him ahead of Crick? For shame. Quote Link to comment
Lil' Red Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Wow way low on both Crick and Amukamara. Also the guy hasn't figured out how good Burkhead is going to be. He should be on that top 25 list and in my mind is better than Helu. Quote Link to comment
GSG Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Maybe he is factoring in the loss of Suh a little too much Quote Link to comment
GMoose Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Maybe he is factoring in the loss of Suh a little too much Ubben said on a mailbag question (that I asked ) that this list is not a pro prospect board, but based mostly on merit. If it's based on merit and accomplishments from 2009, Crick should be top 3 at very worst. Quote Link to comment
deedsker15 Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Maybe he is factoring in the loss of Suh a little too much Ubben said on a mailbag question (that I asked ) that this list is not a pro prospect board, but based mostly on merit. If it's based on merit and accomplishments from 2009, Crick should be top 3 at very worst. yep...just like suh was the best player last year and happened to be the highest rated draft prospect... crick and prince both should be higher Quote Link to comment
Rep The 402 Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Everyone is factoring the loss of Suh too much. Almost everyone, that I have read or heard, say that Suh was our defense and we will take a huge step back. Obviously those are the people that never watched husker football Quote Link to comment
sd'sker Posted June 24, 2010 Author Share Posted June 24, 2010 Everyone is factoring the loss of Suh too much. Almost everyone, that I have read or heard, say that Suh was our defense and we will take a huge step back. Obviously those are the people that never watched husker football i see that a lot, as well. defenses are much different than offenses. on offense, one guy can make the team (e.g. Crouch). but on defense, it is much more of a team effort and about assignments. SUH was excellent, no question, but it does not hurt when he can rely on an excellent secondary. although we may never see another player like SUH, our front four can be just as good because the sum is greater than the parts. and just like Ubben mentioned, a lot of the reason SUH was so good was because of the coaching staff. if they can coach up crick a little more (he was just a sophomore last year) he will be able to make the players around him better. he may never have the technique SUH did (which allowed SUH to get sack all on his own), but he will have the power and coaching to give himself and others opportunities. my point being, it is just crazy to think that our defense will crumble without SUH. the great thing about our defense is that we were always getting pressure, either because we were blitzing or because the coverage was so good. BO is a schemer. Quote Link to comment
HuskerJosh Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Dude has the biggest man crush on DeMarco Murray as I've ever seen. Just go back through his blogs and and chats and he always talks about how he's easily the most talented back in the Big 12 and should put up huge numbers this year even though he hasn't proven he can stay healthy. Quote Link to comment
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