Many legends have come out of programs in the Big Ten in the past decade or so. Many had stellar college careers, and many then went on to have fabulous professional careers.
This ranking will be looking at the best Big Ten team at each position since 2015, based purely on performance in college and not taking into account professional careers. The recent addition of UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington will include all of those teams since 2015 despite not being in the conference for the majority of that time.
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Quarterbacks: Ohio State (J.T. Barrett, Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, C.J. Stroud, Kyle McCord, Will Howard)
There’s a pretty clear winner at the quarterback position in the Big Ten. Although USC quarterback Caleb Williams is the only one to actually win a Heisman Trophy out of Big Ten quarterbacks, the Buckeyes have had numerous in that conversation. And almost as telling is the team’s success in the past decade, often attributed to having strong quarterback play.
Honorable mention: Oregon (Justin Herbert, Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel) USC (Caleb Williams, Sam Darnold, Miller Moss, Jayden Maiava) Penn State (Trace McSorley, Sean Clifford, Drew Allar)
Running backs: Wisconsin (Jonathan Taylor, Braelon Allen, Corey Clement, Dare Ogunbowale, Nakia Watson, Chez Mellusi)
The running back debate is much closer. Although Wisconsin hasn’t matched the same team success as Michigan and Ohio State, its running backs have a long history that continued past 2015. Although the careers of Montee Ball, Melvin Gordon and James White all fell just before 2015, the remaining players still maintained that success — primarily with Jonathan Taylor.
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Honorable mention: Michigan (Blake Corum, Hassan Haskins, Karan Higdon, Donovan Edwards, Kalel Mullings) Ohio State (Ezekiel Elliott, J.K. Dobbins, Master Teague, TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins) Penn State (Saquon Barkley, Miles Sanders, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen)
Wide receivers: Ohio State (Terry McLaurin, Parris Campbell, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Jeremiah Smith)
Another close battle between first and second. It’s hard to separate both programs from the wild success they’ve had at this position in the NFL. But looking just at college careers, the Buckeyes have the slight edge due to the amount of growth some of the Trojans’ receivers made in the league.
Honorable mention: USC (JuJu Smith-Schuster, Michael Pittman Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown, Drake London, Jordan Addison) Washington (John Ross, Dante Pettis, Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillan) Penn State (Chris Godwin, Jahan Dotson, Parker Washington)
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Tight ends: Iowa (George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, Noah Fant, Sam LaPorta, Luke Lachey)
It’s hard denying the fact that Iowa has consistently produced NFL tight ends under Kirk Ferentz, including five drafted since 2015. While his career encompasses more than since 2015, the two first round picks in the same draft — T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant — were in 2019, which alone might give them the recognition as Tight end U.
Honorable mention: Michigan (Jake Butt, Erick All, Luke Schoonmaker, Colston Loveland) Penn State (Mike Gesicki, Pat Freiermuth, Brenton Strange, Tyler Warren) Wisconsin (Troy Fumagalli, Jake Ferguson, Hayden Rucci)
Offensive line: Michigan (Ben Bredeson, Mason Cole, Olu Oluwatimi, Trevor Keegan, Zak Zinter)
In the 11-year history of the Joe Moore Award, the Big Ten has won it five times. Two of which have gone to Michigan and two to Iowa, but the Wolverines’ dominant run in the early 2020s was often marked by their strong offensive line and ground game.
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Honorable mention: Iowa (Sean Welsh, Logan Jones, Tyler Linderbaum) Ohio State (Taylor Decker, Billy Price, Paris Johnson Jr.) Washington (Troy Fautanu, Kaleb McGary, Jaxson Kirkland)
Defensive line: Michigan (Rashan Gary, Chase Winovich, Kwity Paye, Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, Kris Jenkins, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant)
In just the last five seasons alone, Michigan has produced some of the best defensive line talent in the entire country. Year after year, the Wolverines restocked with All-American-caliber defensive lineman to keep the defense intact through the past decade.
Honorable mention: Ohio State (Nick Bosa, Chase Young, Zach Harrison, Tyleik Williams, Jack Sawyer) Oregon (DeForest Buckner, Jalen Jelks, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Brandon Dorlus) Penn State (Carl Nassib, Yetur Gross-Matos, Chop Robinson)
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Linebackers: Penn State (Abdul Carter, Micah Parsons, Brandon Bell, Jason Cabinda)
Whether you want to put Abdul Carter on the defensive line or in the linebacker room, Penn State would still lead the way at linebacker. Micah Parsons alone could lead this room to the top of the rankings, but the supporting cast truly pushes it over the edge, and especially with Carter.
Honorable mention: Michigan (Devin Bush Jr., Khaleke Hudson, Michael Barrett, Junior Colson) Wisconsin (T.J. Edwards, Ryan Connelly, Chris Orr) Iowa (Jack Campbell, Josey Jewell, Jay Higgins)
Secondary: Michigan (Lavert Hill, David Long, Daxton Hill, Mike Sainristil, Rod Moore, Will Johnson)
Another incredibly close battle between Michigan and Ohio State, similar to the defensive line. Although the Buckeyes might have some of the higher prospects on this list, the Wolverines’ consistency from year to year since 2015 is what sets them apart.
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Honorable mention: Ohio State (Malik Hooker, Jeff Okudah, Denzel Burke, Caleb Downs) Penn State (Jaquan Brisker, Joey Porter Jr., Ji’Ayir Brown, Kalen King) Iowa (Desmond King, Riley Moss, Cooper DeJean, Joshua Jackson)
