ESPN B1G Blog: Top 25 Players

[GSG]

No. 25: Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraska, Jr., 6-foot-1, 200 pounds
2011 postseason rank: Not ranked

2011 numbers: Completed 56.2 percent of his passes for 2,089 yards, with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Also ran for 874 yards (averaging 4.6 yards per carry) with nine touchdowns.

Why he's here: Based on his 2011 numbers alone, Martinez would be a borderline call for our Top 25 player rankings. While he remained a dangerous threat with the ball in his hands, Martinez's low completion percentage and otherwise pedestrian passing numbers did not inspire much praise.

http://espn.go.com/b...taylor-martinez

 

[GSG]

Here was the post-season list:

No. 1: Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin

No. 2: Devon Still, DT, Penn State



No. 3: Russell Wilson, QB, Wisconsin



No. 4: Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois



No. 5: David Molk, C, Michigan



No. 6: Lavonte David, LB, Nebraska

No. 7: Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan State



No. 8: Marvin McNutt, WR, Iowa

No. 9: Kirk Cousins, QB, Michigan State

No. 10: Rex Burkhead, RB, Nebraska

No. 11: Mike Martin, DT, Michigan

No. 12: Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska



No. 13: Riley Reiff, LT, Iowa



No. 14: B.J. Cunningham, WR, Michigan State



No. 15: John Simon, DL, Ohio State

No. 16: Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan



No. 17: Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin



No. 18: A.J. Jenkins, WR, Illinois



No. 19: Gerald Hodges, LB, Penn State



No. 20: Kevin Zeitler, G, Wisconsin



No. 21: Marcus Coker, RB, Iowa



No. 22: Silas Redd, RB, Penn State



No. 23: Kawann Short, DT, Purdue



No. 24: Mike Taylor, LB, Wisconsin



No. 25: Fitz Toussaint, RB, Michigan

http://espn.go.com/b...o-1-montee-ball

 

[FrankWheeler]

Everybody on the postseason list above Rex is gone, except for Ball. Could make a good case for him at #2, although that would really surprise me.

 

[GSG]

The countdown

No. 25: Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraska

No. 24: MarQueis Gray, QB, Minnesota

No. 23: Ricardo Allen, CB, Purdue

No. 22: Mike Taylor, LB, Wisconsin

No. 21: Jared Abbrederis, WR/KR, Wisconsin

No. 20: Denicos Allen, LB, Michigan State

No. 19: Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State

No. 18: Johnathan Hankins, DT, Ohio State

No. 17: Le'Veon Bell, RB, Michigan State

No. 16: Michael Buchanan, DE, Illinois

No. 15: Fitzgerald Toussaint, RB, Michigan

No. 14: Max Bullough, LB, Michigan State

No. 13: James Vandenberg, QB, Iowa

No. 12: Ricky Wagner, OT, Wisconsin

No. 11: Johnny Adams, CB, Michigan State

No. 10: Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan

No. 9: Jonathan Brown, LB, Illlinois

No. 8: Chris Borland, LB, Wisconsin

No. 7: Kawann Short, DT, Purdue

No. 6: Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan

No. 5: Gerald Hodges, LB, Penn State

No. 4: William Gholston, DE, Michigan State

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/56363/big-ten-rankings-no-4-william-gholston

Update on the list. I'm guessing Rex is coming up soon.

 

[JetSetBoostio]

I'd guess Burkhead will be 2, behind Ball

 

[Sam Spade]

Maher not being on here is a shame.

 

[mrandyk]

So little star power for a team ranked nationally. The 25th, only because he is such a wild card, and 2nd best in the conference is all?

 

[hskrfan4life]

Maher not being on here is a shame.

You are right. Only Big Ten player since when to win the Big Ten kicker and punter.

 

[Blackshirts007]

Gray ahead of Martinez just proves that ESPN is dagnabit oblivious to common sense.

 

[GSG]

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/56773/big-ten-rankings-no-2-rex-burkhead

No. 2: Rex Burkhead, RB, Nebraska, senior, 5-foot-11, 210 pounds
2011 postseason rank: No. 10

2011 numbers: Ran for 1,357 yards on 284 carries, with 15 touchdowns. Also caught 21 passes for 177 yards and two scores.

Why he's here: Burkhead erased all doubt last year that he's one of the best running backs in the country. He finished third in the Big Ten in rushing and was a first-team All-Big Ten performer. More importantly, he was, and is, the heart and soul of the Huskers.

 

[NUance]

No. 5: Gerald Hodges, LB, Penn State

No. 4: William Gholston, DE, Michigan State

No. 3: John Simon, DE, Ohio State

Those are some pretty good players that Rex is ranked above. Especially Gholston and John Simon. Both might be first rounders in the NFL.

 

[H2h]

Wisconsin's Montee Ball was not touched on 19 of his 33 rushing touchdowns last season. He was contacted in the backfield by the defense on only 26 of his 307 (8.5 percent) rushes last season. On 28.0 percent of his runs, first contact was not made until 5 yards past the line of scrimmage.

Just saw these wonderfully insightful numbers on ESPN's Big 10 blog. It's why I think I think it's a dumb argument to compare RB's on different teams. I'd love to see Burkheads percentages, I imagine they'd be strikingly different.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten

 

[kchusker_chris]

Wisconsin's Montee Ball was not touched on 19 of his 33 rushing touchdowns last season. He was contacted in the backfield by the defense on only 26 of his 307 (8.5 percent) rushes last season. On 28.0 percent of his runs, first contact was not made until 5 yards past the line of scrimmage.

Just saw these wonderfully insightful numbers on ESPN's Big 10 blog. It's why I think I think it's a dumb argument to compare RB's on different teams. I'd love to see Burkheads percentages, I imagine they'd be strikingly different.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten

Someone at the OWH or LJS needs to run w/ this. I'd love to see Burkheads. I bet he was contacted 20+% of the time in the backfield, and I bet only in maybe 5% of this runs did he make it 5 yards without contact.