There has been no shortage of top players to come through the Big Ten through the years and coming up with a top list of anything is almost impossible and sure to ruffle more than a few feathers along the way.
RJ Young of Fox Sports took a swing at things, naming a top team both on offense and defense. The teams certainly have a heavy dose of recency to them but all 22 names should be ones that fans are quite familiar with, even if some all-time Ohio State greats including Archie Griffin didn’t make the cut.
RELATED: Check out RJ Young's No. 1 Ranked Show (podcast)
Ohio State led the way with nine of the 22 spots, no other school had more than four with Wisconsin checking in at that number, Michigan at three, Minnesota at two and then four other teams holding down one spot apiece.
This certainly will be good conversation leading up to conference media days which are slated to take place next week in Indianapolis as ravenous Big Ten football fans are ready to talk some actual football.
The breakdown of Ohio State’s nine selections is four on offense, five on defense, surprisingly no Bosa brother making the list while Chase Young does, a pair of all-time greats from generations ago check in with Jack Tatum and Chris Spielman and then of course some more familiar names.
One of the spots that might draw the most pushback from other fanbases is the inclusion of Justin Fields at quarterback, especially with the belief that Ohio State quarterbacks don’t measure up while other programs have been able to produce players including the likes of Drew Brees, who recently retired from the NFL after a long career. And of course that school up north has claim to the GOAT in the NFL records with Tom Brady, but as we know, Brady’s NFL accolades far outweigh anything that he did in college while Fields has yet to play a snap in the NFL to this point.
What are your thoughts? Who did RJ get right, who did he miss out? Be sure to let us know in the Horseshoe Lounge and we promise to talk to RJ in person in Indianapolis and may even get him on an edition of the BIA Podcast to defend his picks.
