Most indispensable players: Ohio State

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

We're getting near the end of our series looking at the most indispensable players on each Big Ten team. Once again, this is not necessarily a listing of the best players on each team, but ones whose absence would be toughest to absorb because of their particular value or a lack of depth behind them. We're selecting two players from each Big Ten squad, usually one on offense and one on defense, but not always. Ohio State is on the clock: Braxton Miller, QB, Sophomore It's not just that Miller is the team's best playmaker and a seemingly perfect fit in Urban Meyer's spread offense.

Big Ten chat: today at noon ET

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Just a quick reminder that we'll be chatting about all things Big Ten football today at noon ET. Let's discuss the news coming out of the Big Ten spring meetings in Chicago, how the Big Ten fits into college football's future playoff and anything else that's on your mind. See you at noon ET.

B1G quiet on expansion, watching terrain

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

CHICAGO -- Two years ago, Big Ten expansion dominated the discussion at league's spring meetings. This week, the subject barely came up when athletic directors and others got together. The Big Ten presidents and chancellors announced in August that the league "will not be actively engaged in conference expansion at this time, or at any time in the foreseeable future, barring a significant shift in the current intercollegiate athletic landscape.

B1G quiet on expansion, watching landcape

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

CHICAGO -- Two years ago, Big Ten expansion dominated the discussion at league's spring meetings. This week, the subject barely came up when athletic directors and others got together. The Big Ten presidents and chancellors announced in August that the league "will not be actively engaged in conference expansion at this time, or at any time in the foreseeable future, barring a significant shift in the current intercollegiate athletic landscape.

Spring breakout players in the Big Ten

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Spring practice is a time when coaches install new schemes or just instill the fundamentals. The most exciting part of spring practice is potential new stars emerge, with newcomers or former reserves turning heads with their performances. Some of these guys will fade back into the shadows come fall. But others will be making major contributions on a field near you. Here's a list of some players who had breakout springs: Josh Ferguson, RB, Illinois: Redshirted last year after a hamstring injury, Ferguson blew up for 130 yards and caught six passes in the Illini spring game.

Wittgren's ascent with Purdue hasn't escaped baseball scouts' attention

Source: Journal & Courier

Nick Wittgren always hoped to play for the college team across town. As a child, that team was the Long Beach State 49ers.

Wittgren's ascent hasn't escaped scouts' attention

Source: Journal & Courier

Nick Wittgren always hoped to play for the college team across town. As a child, that team was the Long Beach State 49ers.

Purdue's Courtney voted to All-Big Ten softball team

Source: Journal & Courier

Harrison graduate Ashley Courtney is Purdue's lone selection to the All-Big Ten Conference softball teams released Wednesday. Courtney, a third-team member, made the successful transition this season to first base after two years at second base.

Baseball. Plawecki Among 12 Semifinalists for Johnny Bench Award for Second Year in a Row

Source: Purdue Official Site

For the second year in a row, Kevin Plawecki has been selected among the 12 semifinalists nationally for the Johnny Bench Award, which recognizes the top NCAA Division I catcher.

Big Ten Football: Weekly 2013 Recruiting Roundup

Source: Bleacher Report NCAAF

 

Every Wednesday here at The Big Ten Blog, we will update you on the latest commits, decommits and rumors in the recruiting world. It was a light week.

Commits

Illinois welcomed DT Kenton Gibbs to its 2013 class last week. Gibbs is from D-I factory Cass Tech in Detroit, a school that sends several prospects to the FBS every year. Gibbs isn't huge at 6'2" and 280, but he's got the potential to be a disruptive force from the 3-technique.

Gibbs is the only player to publicly verbal to a Big Ten school this week. Hey, it's May.

 

Decommits

Nobody was a straight decommit this week, but Michigan fans who felt like Ty Isaac was soon to join the vaunted 2013 class must feel like that was the closest thing to a decommit itself. Michigan's got options and this isn't the end of the world, but it's a bummer.

 

News and Rumors

Penn State has offered 2014 linebacker Dante Booker, per Tom Tolley. Gaze upon Booker's highlight reel and despair, because this kid is absolutely legit.

People, he's a 2014 recruit. These highlights are from his sophomore year. Unsurprisingly, he's listed as the top recruit in Ohio and the top linebacker in the nation in the '14 class.

Michigan's running low on spots to fill for the 2013 class—real bummer of a problem to have in May, eh?—but one position where the Wolverines are still pressing hard in recruiting is wide receiver. MGoBlog tracks four wideouts with Michigan offers, including new offer Alvin Bailey from Florida. Michigan should be able to sell early playing time and "we're Michigan in case you forgot" to these recruits.

Ever wondered whether where a player goes to school relative to home matters to his NFL future? Turns out, it matters way more than you think. Stay close to home, kids!

Read more Purdue Football news on BleacherReport.com

Video: Wrapping up the Big Ten meetings

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Adam Rittenberg wraps up the final day of the Big Ten spring meetings in Chicago

B1G launches concussion research initiative

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

CHICAGO -- The Big Ten is bringing together its brainpower to help gather more information about the effects of concussions in sports. Commissioner Jim Delany announced Wednesday that the league members will launch a research initiative about how head injuries affect athletes in all sports. The Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the Big Ten's internal academic consortium, which includes all 12 sports members and the University of Chicago, will manage the project and the research efforts.

Meyer reveals depth chart, talks leaders

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer met with the media Wednesday and unveiled a post-spring depth chart. It didn't contain a lot of surprises. Some of the most interesting items from the depth chart -- and Meyer's comments -- included: Doran Grant has risen to co-starter status with Travis Howard at cornerback. Spring game sensation Michael Thomas is listed as the backup to Devin Smith at receiver, with Corey Brown and Evan Spencer the other starters there.

B1G to tweak title game ticket sales strategy

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

CHICAGO -- When the Big Ten put 20,000 general public tickets on sale for the inaugural football title game in late July, they were gone within two hours. But many of those tickets -- bought by fans whose teams didn't qualify for the game in Indianapolis -- reappeared on websites like Stubhub.com days before the game, creating a soft secondary market. Some tickets were priced as low as $9 right before the game. Although the game sold out, there were several thousand empty seats at Lucas Oil Stadium when Wisconsin played Michigan State.

Painter Coaching Tree: Paul Lusk - Purdue [$$] (Rivals)

Source: Yahoo! NCAAB

Video: Jim Delany on spring meetings

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany recaps the league's spring meetings with Adam Rittenberg.

Big Ten, Pac-12 pact moving forward

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

CHICAGO -- Despite a few speed bumps, the Big Ten/Pac-12 scheduling partnership is "a go," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told his league's athletic directors this week. The details are still being worked out, which isn't a surprise when you have 24 major-conference programs with unique interests, scheduling philosophies and scheduling agreements. But Delany hopes to have a more specific idea of the scheduling models in the next few months. "We do want it all fit in," Delany said Wednesday.

College football national championship game could be at non-traditional sites

Source: Indy Star

CHICAGO -- Big Ten administrators could see a national championship game being played in cities that aren't necessarily traditional hosts.

B1G to discuss tie-in with Pinstripe Bowl

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

CHICAGO -- The Big Ten favors having a college football playoff within the existing bowls, which essentially pushes those games to warmer climates in the south and west. As Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said, "Let's say it is 5 degrees. Is that right for the game?" Apparently it's OK for lower-tier bowls. League commissioner Jim Delany said Wednesday that the Big Ten will have discussions with the Pinstripe Bowl, played outside in late December at New York's Yankee Stadium, about a potential future tie-in.

Baseball. Purdue Closes Regular Season Against Iowa For Third Consecutive Year

Source: Purdue Official Site

Needing one more win to claim the Big Ten title outright, No. 13 Purdue baseball travels to Iowa City for the final weekend of conference play, taking on Iowa for the final series of the regular season for the third year in a row.

100 Days until Purdue Volleyball: An Early Preview

Source: Hammer and Rails by btfu_crespo

If somehow you missed the message in the title, there are only 100 more days until Purdue Volleyball opens the season on August 24th against potential Top-15 team Northern Iowa in the Annual Mortar Board Premier. Even though the football team is looking to have a good year, the best and most exciting team at Purdue (in my humblest and biased opinion) is already getting ready to make another run to the Final Four on the Road to Louisville. Though last season ended sooner than expected with a Sweet 16 loss against eventual Final Four team Florida State, Purdue can have home court advantage all the way to the Final Four this year as Mackey Arena is set to host the West Lafayette Regional (along with Nebraska, Texas, and California-Berkley

Big Ten to discuss tie-in with Pinstripe Bowl

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

CHICAGO -- The Big Ten favors having a college football playoff within the existing bowls, which essentially pushes those games to warmer climates in the south and west. As Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said, "Let's say it is 5 degrees. Is that right for the game?" Apparently it's OK for lower-tier bowls. League commissioner Jim Delany said Wednesday that the Big Ten will have discussions with the Pinstripe Bowl, played outside in late December at New York's Yankee Stadium, about a potential future tie-in.

Softball first baseman earns All-Big Ten honors

Source: Purdue Exponent

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Junior first baseman Ashley Courtney garnered third team All-Big Ten honors when the conference doled out its postseason awards on Wednesday.

Optimism About Purdue From A Purdue Site

Source: Boiled Sports

If you've been reading/listening long enough, you know we love to have Travis from H & R come visit us on the Handsome Hour podcast and sprinkle some optimism into our negativity milkshakes. He's a guy who can find something positive about being in a line for airport security, so he always finds a scenario for Purdue that ends with Danny Hope being carried off the field by his players at the National Championship Game. (I'm only slightly kidding.)

So today he chimes in over at Off Tackle Empire in an insanely long, nearly-5000-word post that is ostensibly about Purdue football but seems to spend a fair percentage of the time talking about Ohio State's classic colors. Yeah, I don't know, either. It's a lot of words.

I'll save you some time and give you my favorite excerpt from it, which naturally comes from the lovable Travis:

I am cautiously optimistic that we might sneak into the Big Ten title game. It will take some luck, but OSU is ineligible, Penn State and Illinois just changed coaches and are in disarray, and IU is still IU. That leaves Wisconsin, whom I think is the heavy favorite in the division. If we beat Penn State at home and shock Wisconsin, who knows what will happen. We might slide into the title game at 6-2 or even 5-3 (losing to OSU, Michigan, and Iowa) with some help at that point because of OSU's issues. Sure, it might be through the crawl space instead of the back door, but I'd take it.

To the other guys in the roundtable... how did you not go after him on this? All Purdue needs to do is sneak past PSU and shock Wisconsin? It's a formula, people!

Softball. Accolades for AC

Source: Purdue Official Site

Junior first baseman Ashley Courtney garnered third team All-Big Ten honors when the conference doled out its postseason awards on Wednesday.

Michigan's Lewan maturing into a leader

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan lost some invaluable leadership on the offensive line when center David Molk graduated. A somewhat unlikely figure is volunteering to fill that void. "I definitely see myself as a leader," junior left tackle Taylor Lewan told ESPN.com. "I want to be one of the main guys that really helps through all the successes and all the bad things. I want that to be put on myself. "I'm the left tackle, the blind side. They made a movie about it.

Big Ten lunchtime links

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

The league meetings in Chicago and playoffs (cue Jim Mora clip) dominate your hump day links: The Big Ten's love of the Rose Bowl is making it act irrationally and against the league's best interests, Dan Wetzel writes. There's no guarantee on how that Rose Bowl relationship will continue. The Big Ten won't be able to use geography as an excuse for bowl performance in the future, Drew Sharp says. The league is pushing for a seven-win minimum to make a bowl game even though that may hurt some of its own teams.

Women's golf team to compete in the NCAA championships

Source: Purdue Exponent

Two players from the 2010 NCAA champion team will still be working hard on their puts and mental preparation every day before they leave for this year’s tournament.

Schreiber sends his seniors, ballpark out on high-note

Source: Purdue Exponent

On the final day at Lambert Field, coach Doug Schreiber was able to walk away from 18 years of memories with a smile on his face.

Campus sites: Did B1G give up too easily?

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

CHICAGO -- When the college football playoff push kicked off, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith planted himself in the campus-sites camp. Smith favored having the semifinals on the campuses of the higher-seeded teams. The setup would give Big Ten teams like Ohio State an advantage they've never enjoyed in the current BCS/bowl setup -- nationally significant games on Midwest soil in late December or early January. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany was among the first major college football figures to stump for campus sites this winter.

Taphorn impressed by NU visit - Purdue [$$] (Rivals)

Source: Yahoo! NCAAB

VIDEO: Parker vs. Indy Heat at Run-N-Slam - Purdue [$$] (Rivals)

Source: Yahoo! NCAAB

Purdue interested in Kentucky forward - Purdue [$$] (Rivals)

Source: Yahoo! NCAAB

Chat: Today, 1 p.m. - Purdue [$$] (Rivals)

Source: Yahoo! NCAAF

Football. NFF Honors Dinner To Have Hall Of Fame Feel

Source: Purdue Official Site

After flirting with Super Bowl champion quarterbacks and the Cradle of Astronauts the previous two years, the National Football Foundation's Joe Tiller Chapter of Northwest Indiana focuses on Hall of Fame inductions for 2012.

M. Basketball. 'Beneath The Paint' Named A Finalist For Prestigious Video Award

Source: Purdue Official Site

The video series "Beneath the Paint" has been named a finalist for the College Sports Media Awards.

Most indispensable players: Penn State

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

It's time once again for our series looking at the most indispensable players on each Big Ten squad entering the 2012 season. All together now: this is not necessarily a listing of the best players on each team, but of those whose absence would cause the most pain because of their particular value or a lack of depth at their positions. Up now: Penn State. Silas Redd, RB, Junior Although Bill Belton had a nice spring, Penn State's backfield otherwise looked very thin.

M. Basketball. `Beneath The Paint' Named A Finalist For Prestigious Video Award

Source: Purdue Official Site

The video series `Beneath the Paint' has been named a finalist for the College Sports Media Awards.

Purdue Potluck at Off Tackle Empire

Source: Hammer and Rails by BoilerTMill

Purdue Potluck at Off Tackle Empire

Purdue week continues as I contributed to the Purdue Potluck.

Video: Big Ten spring meetings

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Adam Rittenberg recaps the day at the Big Ten spring meetings, where the future postseason format and bowls were hot topics.

Big Ten chat moves to Thursday

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

I'll be covering the final day of the Big Ten spring meetings in Chicago, so my regular chat is moving from Wednesday to noon ET Thursday. Please join me then to recap the spring meetings, discuss the latest playoff developments and any other Big Ten issues that crop up. Again, noon ET Thursday. See you then.

M. Golf. Men's Golf Set For NCAA Ann Arbor Regional

Source: Purdue Official Site

The Purdue men's golf team will head north this week in search of an NCAA Championships bid when it competes at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional at University of Michigan Golf Course.

Purdue's Armstrong voted in

Source: Indy Star

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Otis Armstrong heard the whispers he was too small to play tailback at Purdue, let alone in the NFL.

Purdue's Armstrong elected to College Football Hall of Fame

Source: Journal & Courier

Otis Armstrong heard the whispers he was too small to play tailback at Purdue, let alone in the National Football League. Not only did Armstrong enjoy a glorious career as a Boilermaker, but also with the Denver Broncos.

Purdue's stunning comeback victory ends Lambert Field era

Source: Journal & Courier

Purdue's baseball team celebrated 500-plus victories in 47 years of games at Lambert Field. Few, if any, were as dramatic as Tuesday's.

Purdue baseball team rallies to beat Indiana State

Source: Journal & Courier

Purdue's baseball team sent Lambert Field out in dramatic fashion on Tuesday. Sean McHugh's two-out pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the ninth tied it, and Cameron Perkins' liner to left drove in the winning run in the No.

Baseball. Boilermakers Close Out Lambert Field With Thrilling Walk-off Win vs. Indiana State

Source: Purdue Official Site

Sean McHugh tied the game with a two-out, pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning and Cameron Perkins won it in the 10th with a line drive to left field, lifting No. 13 Purdue baseball to a 2-1 walk-off win against Indiana State Tuesday afternoon in the final game ever played at Lambert Field.