Showing posts with label big ten. Show all posts
Showing posts with label big ten. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Devon Still: Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year
In this tumultuous, inconsistent 9-3 season for Penn State, one player stood out above the rest and consistently performed at an elite level. That player was senior defensive tackle Devon Still, a man who was arguably the best player on the field in every single game the Nittany Lions played until the season finale at Wisconsin.
Those efforts have not gone unnoticed. First, Still was named as a finalist for the Nagursky Trophy and Bednarik Award, given to the nation's top defensive player, and the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's best lineman. And now, he's been named the 2011 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, bringing home the Smith-Brown Award named after Penn State's Courtney Brown and Michigan State's Bubba Smith.
Still absolutely dominated this season and was without question the driving force behind Penn State's dominant defense. There is no question he was the team's best player, and his development into one of the nation's best defensive players puts another notch in Larry Johnson Sr.'s impressive coaching belt.
Every year, Johnson seems to have someone (or someones) who emerges to take the Big Ten by storm. This year it was Still, who joins Courtney Brown, Jimmy Kennedy, Tamba Hali and Jared Odrick as Penn Staters coached up by LJ to win Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, and that's not even mentioning players like Anthony Adams, Michael Haynes, Jay Alford, Ed Johnson and Ollie Ogbu, to name a few. Larry Johnson Sr. is a treasure, and if anyone on this coaching staff can survive and stick around, I hope it's him.
Congrats to Still, who was an absolute stud this year.
Gerald Hodges was also named First Team All Big Ten by the coaches, while Silas Redd, Jack Crawford, Nick Sukay and Anthony Fera were named second team.
Those efforts have not gone unnoticed. First, Still was named as a finalist for the Nagursky Trophy and Bednarik Award, given to the nation's top defensive player, and the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's best lineman. And now, he's been named the 2011 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, bringing home the Smith-Brown Award named after Penn State's Courtney Brown and Michigan State's Bubba Smith.
Still absolutely dominated this season and was without question the driving force behind Penn State's dominant defense. There is no question he was the team's best player, and his development into one of the nation's best defensive players puts another notch in Larry Johnson Sr.'s impressive coaching belt.
Every year, Johnson seems to have someone (or someones) who emerges to take the Big Ten by storm. This year it was Still, who joins Courtney Brown, Jimmy Kennedy, Tamba Hali and Jared Odrick as Penn Staters coached up by LJ to win Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, and that's not even mentioning players like Anthony Adams, Michael Haynes, Jay Alford, Ed Johnson and Ollie Ogbu, to name a few. Larry Johnson Sr. is a treasure, and if anyone on this coaching staff can survive and stick around, I hope it's him.
Congrats to Still, who was an absolute stud this year.
Gerald Hodges was also named First Team All Big Ten by the coaches, while Silas Redd, Jack Crawford, Nick Sukay and Anthony Fera were named second team.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
About the All-Big Ten Honors
You see this guy?
His name is Denard Robinson, as I'm sure you are all well aware of. He was one of the most dynamic, electric players in college football this year, becoming the first quarterback in NCAA history to run and throw for more than 1,500 yards in one season. He led the Big Ten with 136.9 rushing yards per game, good for 4th in the nation, shattered Antwaan Randle El's previous rushing record by a Big Ten quarterback of 1,270 by finishing with 1,643 yards. He was in the top 20 in the country with a pass efficiency rating of 152.9, completing 62 percent of his passes for 2,316 yard. And he scored 30 total touchdowns, running for 14 and passes for another 16. Rightfully, Denard Robinson was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.
That's not the news here. No, the news is that despite being by far the best offensive player in the conference and one of the most terrorizing quarterbacks in the nation, despite being named the Offensive Player of the Year, Denard Robinson was somehow not named the First or Second Team All-Conference QB. What? How is that even possible? How can you be the best offensive player in the conference, and play quarterback, but not be the best quarterback in the conference? It makes no sense. None at all. But take a look at the All-Conference First and Second Teams. Denard Robinson, the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, is nowhere to be found. Northwestern's Dan Persa was named the first team QB, with Wisconsin's Scott Tolzien as the second team signal caller.
Don't get me wrong, Persa had a great year for the Wildcats, and Tolzien helped lead the Badgers to a share of the Big Ten title, but there isn't a chance in hell anyone in the Big Ten would rather have either one of those guys as their quarterback over Denard Robinson. Denard should have been named first team QB, with Persa as second team. No question about it. It doesn't make a lick of sense that the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year only gets Honorable Mention on the All-Conference team, especially when he was far and away the most dangerous quarterback in the conference.
I really need someone to explain this to me. Then again, I could use an explanation on the Penn Staters that were named to the team.
For starters, I have a really, really hard time believing that Stefen Wisniewski was one of the two best guards in the Big Ten this season.
Two years ago, sure. He was awesome as a sophomore. He really was. Then last season he moved to center out of necessity and struggled early on, becoming adequate as the year progressed. This year, back at guard from the very beginning, he was as much a part of the problems Penn State had on its offensive line as anyone. He was missing blocks, slow on pulling, overall struggling like the rest of the line. Yes, he stabilized as the season wore on, and he's by no means a terrible player, but if Stefen Wisniewski was named Stefen Jones, there's no way in hell he'd be named First Team All-Big Ten. None. He's just not at that level. He had some truly horrid games this season, some really good ones, but lacked the consistency needed, in my opinion, to make first team. Honestly, I would have him at Honorable Mention at best. Because his last name invokes memories of his All-Pro uncle, he gets more praise than he deserves. Like I said, I don't think Wisniewski is a bad player, but I do think he's perhaps the most overrated Penn State offensive lineman of my lifetime.
As for the Penn Staters named to the second team, with all due respect to Evan Royster and Ollie Ogbu, I don't think either player deserved it. Royster had such a slow start to his season that it's hard for me to take him making the all-conference team seriously. I guess it's more of a lifetime achievement award, being so tremendous for four seasons and becoming the all-time leading rusher in Penn State history. I don't have a huge problem with Royster being named to the second team, because he did get stronger as the year wore on and showed he could still have a huge impact, but his whole year was fairly underwhelming.
As for Ogbu, I just don't think he consistently made enough of an impact to warrant selection, though that may not have been his fault. Ogbu was definitely Penn State's best defensive tackle, and he received very little help from his linemates all season. Devon Still had some good games, but didn't have a season to write home about. Jack Crawford was MIA. Ditto any other defensive end not named Pete Massaro. So Ogbu was left to do it by his lonesome much of the time, and was forced to play a lot of snaps. I like the guy and think he's a great player. I was just surprised he was named to the second team.
The funny thing to me is that while Wisniewski was named first team and Royster named second team, Penn State's best and most consistent offensive player all year didn't make the cut. That would be Derek Moye, who had an absolutely tremendous season as the Nittany Lions' leading receiver, finishing among the Big Ten leaders in receiving yards, yards per catch and touchdowns.
If any Penn Stater deserved to be named to the All-Big Ten team, it was Moye. It's a shame the voters didn't feel the same way. Second team seems much more appropriate for Moye than Honorable Mention. Though I will admit, it would be tough to remove the four receivers selected: Tandon Doss of Indiana, Dane Sanzenbacher of Ohio State, and Marvn McNutt and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos of Iowa.
Also, Quinn Barham and Chris Colasanti don't deserve to be anywhere near honorable mention. D'Anton Lynn, who also was named, certainly belongs there.
As for the other big winners, Mark Dantonio was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, and you will hear no arguments from me there. No one expected Michigan State to contend with Ohio State and Wisconsin, yet here they are as co-Big Ten Champs with those two schools.
Ryan Kerrigan of Purdue was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year because he was the Big Ten's best defensive player, much like Jared Odrick was last season. And Wisconsin had the Offensive Lineman of the Year in Gabe Carimi, who is the biggest beast on that beastly Wisconsin o-line, and the Freshman of the Year in running back James White, who was tremendous spelling John Clay. Can't argue with any of those either.
Interestingly, Terrelle Pryor, the man Ohio State fans keep touting as a Heisman candidate before every season despite never really putting up Heisman numbers, was also left off of the first and second teams, joining list of honorable mentions.
His name is Denard Robinson, as I'm sure you are all well aware of. He was one of the most dynamic, electric players in college football this year, becoming the first quarterback in NCAA history to run and throw for more than 1,500 yards in one season. He led the Big Ten with 136.9 rushing yards per game, good for 4th in the nation, shattered Antwaan Randle El's previous rushing record by a Big Ten quarterback of 1,270 by finishing with 1,643 yards. He was in the top 20 in the country with a pass efficiency rating of 152.9, completing 62 percent of his passes for 2,316 yard. And he scored 30 total touchdowns, running for 14 and passes for another 16. Rightfully, Denard Robinson was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.
That's not the news here. No, the news is that despite being by far the best offensive player in the conference and one of the most terrorizing quarterbacks in the nation, despite being named the Offensive Player of the Year, Denard Robinson was somehow not named the First or Second Team All-Conference QB. What? How is that even possible? How can you be the best offensive player in the conference, and play quarterback, but not be the best quarterback in the conference? It makes no sense. None at all. But take a look at the All-Conference First and Second Teams. Denard Robinson, the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, is nowhere to be found. Northwestern's Dan Persa was named the first team QB, with Wisconsin's Scott Tolzien as the second team signal caller.
Don't get me wrong, Persa had a great year for the Wildcats, and Tolzien helped lead the Badgers to a share of the Big Ten title, but there isn't a chance in hell anyone in the Big Ten would rather have either one of those guys as their quarterback over Denard Robinson. Denard should have been named first team QB, with Persa as second team. No question about it. It doesn't make a lick of sense that the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year only gets Honorable Mention on the All-Conference team, especially when he was far and away the most dangerous quarterback in the conference.
I really need someone to explain this to me. Then again, I could use an explanation on the Penn Staters that were named to the team.
For starters, I have a really, really hard time believing that Stefen Wisniewski was one of the two best guards in the Big Ten this season.
Two years ago, sure. He was awesome as a sophomore. He really was. Then last season he moved to center out of necessity and struggled early on, becoming adequate as the year progressed. This year, back at guard from the very beginning, he was as much a part of the problems Penn State had on its offensive line as anyone. He was missing blocks, slow on pulling, overall struggling like the rest of the line. Yes, he stabilized as the season wore on, and he's by no means a terrible player, but if Stefen Wisniewski was named Stefen Jones, there's no way in hell he'd be named First Team All-Big Ten. None. He's just not at that level. He had some truly horrid games this season, some really good ones, but lacked the consistency needed, in my opinion, to make first team. Honestly, I would have him at Honorable Mention at best. Because his last name invokes memories of his All-Pro uncle, he gets more praise than he deserves. Like I said, I don't think Wisniewski is a bad player, but I do think he's perhaps the most overrated Penn State offensive lineman of my lifetime.
As for the Penn Staters named to the second team, with all due respect to Evan Royster and Ollie Ogbu, I don't think either player deserved it. Royster had such a slow start to his season that it's hard for me to take him making the all-conference team seriously. I guess it's more of a lifetime achievement award, being so tremendous for four seasons and becoming the all-time leading rusher in Penn State history. I don't have a huge problem with Royster being named to the second team, because he did get stronger as the year wore on and showed he could still have a huge impact, but his whole year was fairly underwhelming.
As for Ogbu, I just don't think he consistently made enough of an impact to warrant selection, though that may not have been his fault. Ogbu was definitely Penn State's best defensive tackle, and he received very little help from his linemates all season. Devon Still had some good games, but didn't have a season to write home about. Jack Crawford was MIA. Ditto any other defensive end not named Pete Massaro. So Ogbu was left to do it by his lonesome much of the time, and was forced to play a lot of snaps. I like the guy and think he's a great player. I was just surprised he was named to the second team.
The funny thing to me is that while Wisniewski was named first team and Royster named second team, Penn State's best and most consistent offensive player all year didn't make the cut. That would be Derek Moye, who had an absolutely tremendous season as the Nittany Lions' leading receiver, finishing among the Big Ten leaders in receiving yards, yards per catch and touchdowns.
If any Penn Stater deserved to be named to the All-Big Ten team, it was Moye. It's a shame the voters didn't feel the same way. Second team seems much more appropriate for Moye than Honorable Mention. Though I will admit, it would be tough to remove the four receivers selected: Tandon Doss of Indiana, Dane Sanzenbacher of Ohio State, and Marvn McNutt and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos of Iowa.
Also, Quinn Barham and Chris Colasanti don't deserve to be anywhere near honorable mention. D'Anton Lynn, who also was named, certainly belongs there.
As for the other big winners, Mark Dantonio was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, and you will hear no arguments from me there. No one expected Michigan State to contend with Ohio State and Wisconsin, yet here they are as co-Big Ten Champs with those two schools.
Ryan Kerrigan of Purdue was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year because he was the Big Ten's best defensive player, much like Jared Odrick was last season. And Wisconsin had the Offensive Lineman of the Year in Gabe Carimi, who is the biggest beast on that beastly Wisconsin o-line, and the Freshman of the Year in running back James White, who was tremendous spelling John Clay. Can't argue with any of those either.
Interestingly, Terrelle Pryor, the man Ohio State fans keep touting as a Heisman candidate before every season despite never really putting up Heisman numbers, was also left off of the first and second teams, joining list of honorable mentions.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
History in the Making: Robert Bolden, Starting Quarterback
While I was at the bar last night, I received a text at 7:18 from Lavar's Love Child that true freshman Robert Bolden was named the starting quarterback for Penn State's opener against Youngstown State on Saturday.
This is a monumental occasion in Penn State football history, no matter what Bolden does with this unprecedented opportunity. In Joe Paterno's 45 years at the helm, he's never, ever, not once named a true freshman as the starting quarterback before the season begins. That means one of a few things:
a) He's really, really good
b) Kevin Newsome and Matt McGloin are really bad
c) A combination of a and b
One thing's for sure, Robert Bolden is making history. On Saturday, it will be the 6'4", 208-lb. true freshman leading the Nittany Lions in the warm-up before heading down to Alabama.
I'm a little stunned, and a little nervous, but all sorts of excited about it. If you recall, I was pulling for Bolden to win the job. Now he has.
I can't wait until Saturday.
Also, an update on the new-look Big Ten.
Penn State's inter-division rival will be Nebraska, meaning Penn State will play Nebraska every year. Here's a look at the other rivalry games:
Michigan - Ohio State
Iowa - Purdue
Minnesota - Wisconsin
Northwestern - Illinois
Michigan State - Indiana
Also, Penn State's 2011 and 2012 schedules were announced. They are as follows:
2011
Indiana State
Alabama
at Temple
Eastern Michigan
at Indiana
Iowa
Purdue
at Northwestern
Illinois
Bye
Nebraska
at Ohio State
at Wisconsin
2012
Ohio
at Virginia
Navy
Temple
at Illinois
Northwestern
Bye
at Iowa
Ohio State
at Purdue
at Nebraska
Indiana
Wisconsin
No Michigan the next two years, making it all the more important to embarrass them on Mischief Night in Happy Valley this year.
This is a monumental occasion in Penn State football history, no matter what Bolden does with this unprecedented opportunity. In Joe Paterno's 45 years at the helm, he's never, ever, not once named a true freshman as the starting quarterback before the season begins. That means one of a few things:
a) He's really, really good
b) Kevin Newsome and Matt McGloin are really bad
c) A combination of a and b
One thing's for sure, Robert Bolden is making history. On Saturday, it will be the 6'4", 208-lb. true freshman leading the Nittany Lions in the warm-up before heading down to Alabama.
I'm a little stunned, and a little nervous, but all sorts of excited about it. If you recall, I was pulling for Bolden to win the job. Now he has.
I can't wait until Saturday.
Also, an update on the new-look Big Ten.
Penn State's inter-division rival will be Nebraska, meaning Penn State will play Nebraska every year. Here's a look at the other rivalry games:
Michigan - Ohio State
Iowa - Purdue
Minnesota - Wisconsin
Northwestern - Illinois
Michigan State - Indiana
Also, Penn State's 2011 and 2012 schedules were announced. They are as follows:
2011
Indiana State
Alabama
at Temple
Eastern Michigan
at Indiana
Iowa
Purdue
at Northwestern
Illinois
Bye
Nebraska
at Ohio State
at Wisconsin
2012
Ohio
at Virginia
Navy
Temple
at Illinois
Northwestern
Bye
at Iowa
Ohio State
at Purdue
at Nebraska
Indiana
Wisconsin
No Michigan the next two years, making it all the more important to embarrass them on Mischief Night in Happy Valley this year.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
What the Big 12 Ten Divisions Will Look Like
According to ESPN, the divisions will look like this:
Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern and Minnesota on one side
Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana and Illinois on the other.
I'm not entirely sure what to think about the whole thing. It definitely creates some interesting potential rivalries. Penn State and Ohio State fighting each other annually for one spot in the Big Ten title game with Wisconsin crashing the party every now and then makes for a fun scenario. Though it also makes it pretty tough for Penn State and Ohio State, winners of the last five regular season conference championships. However, they do get to beat up on Indiana.
On the other side, you have Michigan, Iowa and Nebraska, three teams that should stir up some animosity on the regular to face either Ohio State or Penn State or whoever. Then you have the ultimate rivalry of Michigan-Ohio State as a potential championship game, not to mention pseudo rivalry of Penn State-Nebraska that I hope will develop into a real rivalry.
Lots of intrigue for sure. Guess we'll see how it all plays out.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Jared Odrick is a Beast
Ladies and gentlemen, something is going on here with sports voters getting things right for once in their lives and frankly, it's getting scary. Instead of horribly screwing things up per usual, the baseball voters correctly picked Joe Mauer as AL MVP, Zack Greinke as AL CY Young winner and Tim Lincecum as NL Cy Young winner — all correct. Now the Big Ten voters have gone and properly named Jared Odrick the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, despite ridiculously uninformed sour grapes from Michigan State fans, who clearly display they know as much about football as I do about women.
While players like Adrian Clayborn, Brandon Graham, O'Brien Schofield, Greg Jones and even his own teammates Navorro Bowman and Sean Lee are all fine, talented players who will be making their living on Sundays, Odrick has been the best defensive player on the best defense (statistically, I'd argue Ohio State's defense is better as a whole) all season long. Hell, he's been the best player on Penn State for two years now. And what people like Pete Rossman, who authored this travesty of a post, fail to realize is just how incredibly dominate Odrick has been and how important he is to the Penn State defense.
Unlike Graham and Clayborn, two scary good players, Odrick is a defensive tackle, not an end. Therefore, each and every play, Odrick had very little choice but to face double teams. I'm not saying Graham and Clayborn did not, because they most assuredly did, but being on the outside, they have the advantage of going wide and avoiding extra blockers much more easily than an interior lineman such as Odrick. Yet Odrick still disrupted an insane amount of plays in the backfield, got to the quarterback and proved he was an unblockable force. His combination of size and speed was unmatched at defensive tackle, and I'd be surprised if he isn't the first defensive lineman in the Big Ten drafted. He's that good.
The true testament to Odrick is the way he has made the players around him better. Yes, Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman are studs in their own right, but they get to maximize their ability because Odrick does such a tremendous job eating up blockers, allowing Bowman and Lee to use their incredible speed and instincts to make plays. And his value was even more evident this season when both Bowman and Lee were out for considerable amounts of time dealing with injuries. The defense didn't miss a beat with the likes of Nathan Stupar, Bani Gbadyu and Chris Colasanti filling in — and none of those guys will ever be mistaken for Bowman or Lee. Hell, he even made Josh Hull, one of the worst players I've ever seen, look decent at times. Trust me, that's an incredibly tough thing to do.
The shocking thing to me is that the voters got this one right. Much like Mr. Rossman, people tend to heap praise on the players who get gaudy sack numbers and have almost running back speed. That's why a guy like Aaron Maybin, who wasn't even half the player Odrick is, jumped up the draft charts and into the top 10. But this year, the voters ignored mere stats and truly looked at the players. And defensively, there was none better than Odrick. He's equally adept at putting pressure on the quarterback as he is at stuffing the run. His motor is so high and his conditioning so good that he rarely has to take a play off. And he can handle a double team, even against the better linemen, which will do him well on Sundays. Odrick has not only been the best player on the Penn State defense, not only the best player on Penn State period, but he has clearly been the best defensive player in the entire conference. It's nice to see him vindicated for his hard work and tremendous play.
In a senior class that was void of a ton of talent, Odrick is the one Penn Stater I will miss the most. More than Daryll Clark. More than Dennis Landolt. More than Sean Lee. I'm sad to see him go, but I'm happy to see him take home the hardware he most definitely earned. And I'll be thrilled to watch him in NFL next season. I just hope he doesn't get drafted by a team I hate.
Obviously, with winning the award, Odrick was named First Team All-Big Ten. He was one of six Nittany Lions named to the first team. Joining him were Daryll Clark, Dennis Landolt, Evan Royster, Stefen Wisniewski and Navorro Bowman. Now, I have a problem with three people in particular on this list. First off, Daryll Clark is a fluke fraud who has never once played well against a good team. He should not be first team. Then again, looking at the Big Ten quarterbacks, he certainly put up the best numbers and he's better than Ricky Stanzi or Terrelle Pryor. Still, perhaps Mike Kafka of Northwestern or Kirk Cousins of Michigan State would have been better choices. Then there are Landolt and Wisniewski. Listen, Landolt did a decent job last season, and Wisniewski was awesome at guard in 2008. But in 2009, these two were on a terrible line that should not have a single player on the first team. Landolt was probably the best offensive lineman for Penn State all season, but he wasn't great. And Wisniewski gave it the old college try, but the guy isn't a center. He's a guard, and he needs to get back there. He had more than a subpar season, and it's a joke he was named first team. Conversely, Royster and Bowman were locks, and both deserved first team recognition.
Three Penn Staters were named to the second team. Josh Boone definitely deserved it. He was the only player on the Penn State special teams worth a damn, and if he figures out a way to get the punts off a little quicker, he may make it to the NFL one day. Maybe. Sean Lee also is the right fit here. When he played, he was his usual awesome self. The problem is, he was limited to time on the field with injuries, so while he is definitely first team talent, he didn't quite deserve it. Second team is appropriate. Then there is Josh Hull. He shouldn't even be on the Penn State roster, let alone making the All-Big Ten second team. I've given him plenty of abuse over the past two seasons, so I'll spare it simply by saying I can't wait for him to graduate. That selection makes me sick.
But all I have to do is look at Jared Odrick's name on that Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award and everything is all right. Congrats, Jared. You'll be missed.
While players like Adrian Clayborn, Brandon Graham, O'Brien Schofield, Greg Jones and even his own teammates Navorro Bowman and Sean Lee are all fine, talented players who will be making their living on Sundays, Odrick has been the best defensive player on the best defense (statistically, I'd argue Ohio State's defense is better as a whole) all season long. Hell, he's been the best player on Penn State for two years now. And what people like Pete Rossman, who authored this travesty of a post, fail to realize is just how incredibly dominate Odrick has been and how important he is to the Penn State defense.
Unlike Graham and Clayborn, two scary good players, Odrick is a defensive tackle, not an end. Therefore, each and every play, Odrick had very little choice but to face double teams. I'm not saying Graham and Clayborn did not, because they most assuredly did, but being on the outside, they have the advantage of going wide and avoiding extra blockers much more easily than an interior lineman such as Odrick. Yet Odrick still disrupted an insane amount of plays in the backfield, got to the quarterback and proved he was an unblockable force. His combination of size and speed was unmatched at defensive tackle, and I'd be surprised if he isn't the first defensive lineman in the Big Ten drafted. He's that good.
The true testament to Odrick is the way he has made the players around him better. Yes, Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman are studs in their own right, but they get to maximize their ability because Odrick does such a tremendous job eating up blockers, allowing Bowman and Lee to use their incredible speed and instincts to make plays. And his value was even more evident this season when both Bowman and Lee were out for considerable amounts of time dealing with injuries. The defense didn't miss a beat with the likes of Nathan Stupar, Bani Gbadyu and Chris Colasanti filling in — and none of those guys will ever be mistaken for Bowman or Lee. Hell, he even made Josh Hull, one of the worst players I've ever seen, look decent at times. Trust me, that's an incredibly tough thing to do.
The shocking thing to me is that the voters got this one right. Much like Mr. Rossman, people tend to heap praise on the players who get gaudy sack numbers and have almost running back speed. That's why a guy like Aaron Maybin, who wasn't even half the player Odrick is, jumped up the draft charts and into the top 10. But this year, the voters ignored mere stats and truly looked at the players. And defensively, there was none better than Odrick. He's equally adept at putting pressure on the quarterback as he is at stuffing the run. His motor is so high and his conditioning so good that he rarely has to take a play off. And he can handle a double team, even against the better linemen, which will do him well on Sundays. Odrick has not only been the best player on the Penn State defense, not only the best player on Penn State period, but he has clearly been the best defensive player in the entire conference. It's nice to see him vindicated for his hard work and tremendous play.
In a senior class that was void of a ton of talent, Odrick is the one Penn Stater I will miss the most. More than Daryll Clark. More than Dennis Landolt. More than Sean Lee. I'm sad to see him go, but I'm happy to see him take home the hardware he most definitely earned. And I'll be thrilled to watch him in NFL next season. I just hope he doesn't get drafted by a team I hate.
Obviously, with winning the award, Odrick was named First Team All-Big Ten. He was one of six Nittany Lions named to the first team. Joining him were Daryll Clark, Dennis Landolt, Evan Royster, Stefen Wisniewski and Navorro Bowman. Now, I have a problem with three people in particular on this list. First off, Daryll Clark is a fluke fraud who has never once played well against a good team. He should not be first team. Then again, looking at the Big Ten quarterbacks, he certainly put up the best numbers and he's better than Ricky Stanzi or Terrelle Pryor. Still, perhaps Mike Kafka of Northwestern or Kirk Cousins of Michigan State would have been better choices. Then there are Landolt and Wisniewski. Listen, Landolt did a decent job last season, and Wisniewski was awesome at guard in 2008. But in 2009, these two were on a terrible line that should not have a single player on the first team. Landolt was probably the best offensive lineman for Penn State all season, but he wasn't great. And Wisniewski gave it the old college try, but the guy isn't a center. He's a guard, and he needs to get back there. He had more than a subpar season, and it's a joke he was named first team. Conversely, Royster and Bowman were locks, and both deserved first team recognition.
Three Penn Staters were named to the second team. Josh Boone definitely deserved it. He was the only player on the Penn State special teams worth a damn, and if he figures out a way to get the punts off a little quicker, he may make it to the NFL one day. Maybe. Sean Lee also is the right fit here. When he played, he was his usual awesome self. The problem is, he was limited to time on the field with injuries, so while he is definitely first team talent, he didn't quite deserve it. Second team is appropriate. Then there is Josh Hull. He shouldn't even be on the Penn State roster, let alone making the All-Big Ten second team. I've given him plenty of abuse over the past two seasons, so I'll spare it simply by saying I can't wait for him to graduate. That selection makes me sick.
But all I have to do is look at Jared Odrick's name on that Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award and everything is all right. Congrats, Jared. You'll be missed.
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