Report: Adrian Clayborn Signs With Buccaneers; First First Rounder to Sign

Adrian Clayborn was the Bucs First Round Pick

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN (sense the pattern), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have agreed to a deal with first round pick Adrian Clayborn, who becomes the first first round pick to sign after two of his other teammates had already done so in Tampa.

Clayborn was selected out of Iowa in the first round by the Bucs, and is expected to contribute immediately to a very talented young defensive line. He underachieved in his senior season, but was still an All American performer.

He is a playmaker in every sense of the word, and is a four down player who can immediately impact this Bucs defense.

John Clay joins the Pittsburgh Steelers

John Clay has been one of the Big Ten’s best running backs over the past few seasons, and would have been a pick in the first two rounds had his season been as successful as predicted.

John Clay is the newest Pittsburgh Steeler

Of course, the Wisconsin Badgers had a three-headed monster at running back last year, so a dip in production by Clay would have been understandable.  Clay was hurt more by being essentially the third option in the backfield towards the latter part of the season.

Former Indiana Qb is now a Washington Redskin

Indiana QB Ben Chappell is now a Washington Redskin

Ben Chappell was one of the few bright spots at Indiana last season, and I, like many was surprised to not hear his name called on draft day.  However, once the lockout ended, the Washington Redskins came calling.

Chappell will enter a confusing situation at quarterback for the Redskins, so he could wind up with the starting job this fall if he can impress the coaches early on.  McNabb is almost certainly to be cut, and I have a hard time seeing Rex Grossman hold on to the job for an entire year. 

Legends Division: The Question Mark

Michigan is the clear choice as the question mark in the Legends Division.  Heck, they might even have the most question marks in the NCAA this year.

To start, reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Denard Robinson will be adjusting to a pro style offense,  a far cry from Rich Rodriguez’s spread offense last season.  How he adjusts to getting the ball from under center will have a huge effect on the offense.  If he adjusts seamlessly, Michigan will have a dynamic offense again this year, if he struggles, it will be up to the defense to win games.

Legends Division: The Cellar Dwellar

The Legends division appears to be a tough division to win this season as there is no clear-cut favorite.  However, there is a cellar dwellar in the division, and that is Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers had a tough go of it last season, as they limped to a 3-9 record.  While they decided to go in a new direction and named Jerry Kill as their head coach, they still have a lot of rebuilding to do.

Legends Division: The Favorite

The favorite to reach the Big Ten championship game from the Legends division has to be Nebraska.  Even though they are the newest member of the Big Ten, they may have the best defense to go along with a dominate rushing attack.

While the Big Ten did Nebraska no favors with the schedule, it is looking much more manageable than it once did.  Ohio State will have a new quarterback and a new head coach, and there is a lot of uncertainty with the other Legends division teams this fall.  The biggest game on the schedule appears to be their Big Ten opener at Wisconsin.

Legends Division: The Sleeper

The legends division promises to be wide open this season as the teams are all relatively equally matched, save for Minnesota.  However, the team that I feel is a sleeper has to be Northwestern due to the fact that they won 7 games last fall, and probably would have won more if star quarterback Dan Persa did not go down with an injury during the Iowa game, causing him to miss the finalthree games.

2012 Recruiting Update: Michigan Wolverines

New Michigan head coach Brady Hoke got off to a fast start on the recruiting trail in January and was able to salvage his first class.  So far, the momentum has carried over for the 2012 recruiting class as Michigan has 16 commitments to date.

The 16 players that Hoke has recruited also are highly rated, as he has 7 4-star players with verbals.  While only 2 of the recruits are in the ESPNU top 150, many others are fringe 150 players and that will go a long way in rebuilding an ailing program.

Hoke and his staff had a clear vision on how they wanted to build their first class, and that is by restocking the depth on defense.  They have commits from 3 DB’s, 4 LB’s, and 4 defensive lineman.

The Replacements: Ohio State Quarterback Braxton Miller has Big Shoes to Fill in Columbus

Braxton Miller has big shoes to fill in Columbus. He is more than capable of making the Buckeye faithful forget Terrelle Pryor

Ohio State has been surrounded with loads of controversy and negative publicity over the last couple of months, but let’s get back to the gridiron. The Buckeyes are going to have big holes to fill offensively, especially at the quarterback position where the departed Terrelle Pryor has left a giant void at the most important position on the field. The Buckeyes will also have to find a replacement number one receiver (and number two with Dane Sanzenbacher graduated), and a replacement couple of running backs. Not to mention, the key to the offense, the engine that makes it run–former head coach Jim Tressel–is going to have to be replaced.

A giant help (literally) is going to be having two All-Americans on the offensive line, though only for the second half of the season. Right now, the Buckeyes are a hot mess, and they will enter the season with a roster full of question marks and a lot of uncertainty.

How can they overcome it all?

Well, Ohio State is going to need a lot of help from their version of “The Replacements” and this series will take a look at some of the guys expected to take over starting positions for B1G teams.

Big Ten to go to Nine Game Conference Slate?

One of the major points being discussed around the Big Ten right now with the addition of Nebraska is: should the Big Ten go to a nine game conference slate?  While there are strong arguments on both sides, eventually the Big Ten will have to come to a decision.

On one hand you have the athletic directors, who say a nine game conference slate is becoming a necessity for two reasons.  The first being that it is becoming harder and harder to schedule out of conference games, and the second being that the price of those out of conference games is skyrocketing.

On the other hand you have the coaches.  The coaches argue that adding an extra Big Ten team to their already rigorous conference schedule would have disastrous results.  The reason for this is that some Big Ten teams rely on the non conference games in order to become bowl eligible.

 

I believe the coaches have a very solid case and that the Big Ten should stay at eight conference games, at least for the forseeable future.