Big Ten teams might not be officially kicking off against one another for a couple more months, but we here at Rivals.com kicked off our new B1G Picture series with a bang on Monday, examining the most pressing offensive storylines for each team coming out of the spring.

RELATED: The B1G Picture: Offensive storylines

Today, we take a look at the other side of the ball, as we asked all 14 Big Ten sites in the Rivals network to evaluate the integral defensive storyline that defined the spring for the program that they cover.

From injuries to schematic realignments and personnel turnover, our experts and analysts break down the most important developments each of their teams experienced on defense at the end of spring and leading into the summer.

Without further ado, check out where the defenses for every program in the conference stand as of early June down below.

The standout schematic change for the Buckeye defense this spring was its frequent use of the bullet position, which saw hybrid linebacker-safeties Craig Young and Ronnie Hickman take the place of a third traditional linebacker in the middle of the field.

Injuries to linebackers like Dallas Gant and Mitchell Melton may have made the move necessary for Ohio State during the spring, but it stands to reason that the bullet position could be here to stay for the Buckeyes as a way to address the obvious shortcomings of last year’s pass defense.

Several elements of the Ohio State back seven remain a mystery due to a slew of spring absences from linebackers and defensive backs alike, but the picture should become clearer once the roster regains some of its key pieces in the lead-up to the season.

– BuckeyeGrove team writer Griffin Strom

The biggest defensive story of the spring has to be the addition of Charlton Warren as defensive coordinator, replacing the departed Kane Wommack, who is now the head coach at South Alabama.

Warren didn’t come in and overhaul what has been a very successful defense in recent years for the Hoosiers, but what he has done is bring the importance of doing the little things right and ensuring that the likes of Micah McFadden and Tiawan Mullen will be able to help carry the load for what could be another very tough defense for Indiana this year.

– TheHoosier staff writer Paul Gable

For as frustrating as the program was over the offense’s performance last season, the reality was that the Nittany Lion defense had its own big step back from its typical performances.

Allowing 27.7 points per game, Penn State finished sixth (though the frequency with which the offense put it into impossibly deep holes can’t be overlooked) in the league in scoring defense. The major areas for improvement include turnover generation, sacks, and allowed explosive plays, which tend to work in tandem.

– BlueWhiteIllustrated senior editor Nate Bauer

Replacing Chase Campbell.

The Terps somewhat unexpectedly lost their leading tackler from 2020 in junior linebacker Chase Campbell to the transfer portal. Luckily for Maryland head coach Mike Locksley, he's recruited a number of highly-ranked inside linebackers over the past couple of years, including former four-star Ruben Hyppolite and former five-star Terrence Lewis.

Hyppolite started one game as a freshman and had a promising spring. Lewis, on the other hand, missed all of the spring after finding out that he tore his ACL during his senior high school season which required surgery. Lewis is expected back in the fall, but Hyppolite is likely to get the starting nod to start the season.

– TerrapinSportsReport publisher Scott Greene

I’d say the biggest story coming out of spring was who will play where in the secondary.

This offseason the Scarlet Knights added a couple of solid cornerbacks in former UNC Tarheel Patrice Rene and former Temple Owl Christian Braswell. While Braswell technically won’t arrive until summer, he is a projected two deep guy, but as for Rene he came in and is a projected day one starter.

All of this along with a strong 2020 from fellow cornerback Tre Avery forced a move that had been talked about all offseason and that was to move Avery Young from cornerback to safety, where he is likely the starter opposite of Christian Izien this season.

There’s been a lot of questioning of how the staff will handle the new surplus of defensive backs that they have but at the end of the day it is a good problem to have.

– TheKnightReport publisher Richard Schnyderite

Outside of a new coordinator, which we'll cover later on, the biggest storyline on defense is that the front seven is unproven and largely inexperienced.

The Wolverines are switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 (though they'll be multiple), and that means there are some on the roster who are transitioning positions.

Junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is a great piece to start with, but the linebackers and defensive tackles need to step up if Michigan wants to be able to stop the run against the big boys in the conference.

– TheWolverine staff writer Clayton Sayfie

Michigan State’s lack of depth at linebacker and in the defensive backfield was the biggest story this spring, overshadowing to a large degree a defensive line that is going to be a strength in 2021.

The Spartans had a ton of roster turnover during the off-season. Several defensive backs and linebackers exited the program via the portal. Most of those departures were from players that weren’t good fits for Mel Tucker’s defense. Even so, Michigan State’s back-seven depth was a glaring weakness during spring football, and the program is counting on an influx of portal additions to address holes in the two deep.

Michigan State aggressively recruited linebackers out of the portal, bringing aboard Ben VanSumeren (Michigan), Tank Brown (Minnesota), and Quavaris Crouch (Tennessee). One or more of those guys needs to be an impact player for the Spartans on defense given lack of depth at linebacker.

The Spartans were also aggressive in targeting portal defensive backs, landing Ronald Williams (Alabama), Chester Kimbrough (Florida), Khary Crump (Arizona), Marqui Lowery (Louisville), Kendell Brooks (Division II). As with linebackers, Michigan State needs its portal DB’s to fill depth chart holes in the secondary.

– SpartanMag associate editor Paul Konyndyk

New defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil took over the reins this spring, replacing retired legend Mike Hankwitz. The Wildcats finished fifth in the nation in scoring defense last season, so O’Neil isn’t going to fix what isn’t broken, but he will add some new wrinkles to Northwestern’s scheme.

O’Neil spent the last 12 years in the NFL – three of them as a coordinator – so he has instant credibility with players. Early comments from players this spring were very positive.

– WildcatReport publisher/managing editor Louie Vaccher

After losing three starters along the defensive line, Iowa was in re-tooling mode up front this spring.

Two concerns with the group. First, the players who were returning don’t have much experience. Second, several of the younger players who are expected to be counted on this fall missed time due to injuries. Bottom line, questions will remain for the Iowa defensive line.

– HawkeyeReport publisher Tom Kakert

I think some key areas to watch coming in were on the defensive line and linebacker spots, and I wanted to see how the depth surrounding the starters filled out.

At inside linebacker, Maema Njongmeta and Tatum Grass both played well in the handful of open practices. Njongmeta in particular, a third-year player who went through some trials and tribulations with his health in 2020, showed a tenacity to get into the backfield and make plays.

If he continues that type of play into fall camp, he should help round out a strength of the defense that includes starters Jack Sanborn and Leo Chenal and key reserve Mike Maskalunas.

– BadgerBlitz senior writer Jake Kocorowski

The defensive transfers. Minnesota’s defense was horrendous last season, especially early on. They gave up 415 yards per game, including 675 to Maryland.

Reinforcements came with Clemson DT transfer Nyles Pinckney and Abilene Christian transfer Jack Gibbens, who has over 250 tackles already in his career.

How much can they improve the defense? Those two will be pivotal in turning around the defense from a year ago.

– TheGopherReport staff member Alex Carlson

The story with this group is everybody is back. 17 of the top 20 players from a year ago return in terms of snaps played, and they’ll plug in one of the top FCS players at inside linebacker in Chris Kolarevic.

They also had five different players decide to return for a sixth year of eligibility in defensive end Ben Stille, linebackers JoJo Domann and Will Honas and safeties Deontai Williams and Marquel Dismuke.

It has been a long time since the Huskers have had this type of experience returning.

– HuskerOnline publisher Sean Callahan

All of the defensive coaches are new. And the unit is on its third coordinator in three years. Brad Lambert is calling a defense that will work from a base four-man front and be multiple. Purdue is preaching being more aggressive. And Jeff Brohm says he will be much more involved on this side of the ball, too. The D needs a big year from star end George Karlaftis, who could be a first-round NFL pick.

– GoldandBlack associate editor Tom Dienhart

The coaching change also brings a scheme change on the defensive side of the ball. That means some players shuffling to different positions in the new 3-4 base defense under new coordinator Ryan Walters, who left Mizzou to join Bret Bielema’s staff.

Three Illinois veterans have only played with their hands on the ground at weakside defensive in Lovie Smith’s 4-3 Tampa-2 scheme. Isaiah Gay, Owen Carney, and Seth Coleman are now playing standing up at rush linebacker, and the Illini hope that gives them a more effective rush off the edge this coming season.

– OrangeandBlueNews publisher Doug Bucshon