The B1G Picture: Offensive storylines

If last year’s COVID-shortened season and frequent game cancellations didn’t fully satiate your appetite for Big Ten football, you’re not alone.

The good news for voracious fans is that the 2021 season begins in just 82 days. The bad news, however, is that you’ll still have to wait 82 days for festivities to get underway.

As we sit in offseason limbo during the first few weeks of June, there may be no better opportunity to fill the football-shaped void in your heart with updates from all 14 Big Ten teams to tide you over until the start of the season.

In this new 10-part series, every Big Ten site in the Rivals.com network has come together to provide insights about the teams they cover, answering a myriad of burning questions surrounding each program over the offseason.

We start today by taking a look back at each team’s spring camp, as we posed the following question to each Big Ten team site in the network: what was the biggest offensive story of the spring?

It’s not every year that the Buckeyes have to replace one of the most talented quarterbacks in program history, so with Justin Fields off to the NFL, the headline story for the Buckeyes was undoubtedly the three-man QB competition between C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller and Kyle McCord.

Stroud was already the favorite to win the starting job heading into the offseason, and he did nothing to dissuade spectators from that notion in his rather clinical spring game performance, although McCord may have turned some heads with his arm talent and apparent game-readiness as just a true freshman.

This story is not over, as the Buckeyes may not name a starter until late in the preseason, but the speculative consensus does seem to indicate that Stroud will get the first crack at stepping into the role of new starter once September comes around.

– BuckeyeGrove team writer Griffin Strom

The offensive story of the spring has to be the absence of Michael Penix Jr. again for the Hoosiers.

The quarterback spent another spring rehabbing from an injury, but all signs are pointing to him being available on Sept. 4 when the Hoosiers travel to Iowa for the season opener.

During his career, Penix has not made it through an entire season, and all eyes will be on him to see if this is the year he can stay healthy enough to make it through an entire season.

– TheHoosier staff writer Paul Gable

The introduction of Mike Yurcich as offensive coordinator after a disappointing one-year stint with Kirk Ciarrocca made the spring a critical one for Penn State’s offense.

While the actual numbers were less miserable than most fans are likely to remember, finishing third in scoring at 29.8 points per game, the fact that Penn State started 0-5 with a host of turnover struggles along the way put the unit at the forefront of concerns within the program.

No doubt, quarterback Sean Clifford, now the only real option at the position after the transfers of backups Will Levis and Micah Bowens, is the second major component to this ongoing story.

– BlueWhiteIllustrated senior editor Nate Bauer

Depth at quarterback and o-line.

Taulia Tagovailoa had a great spring game, but walk-on backup Eric Najarian was unable to play in the spring game due to a shoulder injury which required surgery and incoming VMI graduate transfer Reece Udinski tore his ACL four games into the FCS spring season, also requiring surgery. That left rising sophomore walk-on David Foust as the only other quarterback available to throw this spring.

Both Udinski and Najarian are expected to be back at full strength at the start of fall camp, but should anything happen to Tagovailoa, there isn't much experience behind him.

Along the offensive line, the Terps lost Marcus Minor, who had started at both guard and tackle, as well as starting center Johnny Jordan to the transfer portal. This left the Terps extremely thin up front this spring, having to move right tackle Spencer Anderson inside to play center.

The Terps did get a late commitment from JUCO center Aric Harris and the hope is that he can step into the starting center spot and allow Anderson to move back outside.

– TerrapinSportsReport publisher Scott Greene

I’d say the biggest story of the spring was the question marks at quarterback. It was clear as day that Noah Vedral was/still is considered QB1 for the Scarlet Knights, but who will be his backup now that Artur Sitkowski is gone to Illinois?

The battle between Cole Snyder and Evan Simon was very interesting as we’ve heard one day Simon would shine and the next Snyder would impress. Even in the recent spring game, both had solid performances, each showing off both their arm and even their mobility at times.

Despite all that, the question still remains unanswered and we likely won’t get one until fall.

– TheKnightReport publisher Richard Schnyderite

The offensive story of the spring is that, while redshirt freshman Cade McNamara enters the summer penciled in as the starting quarterback, the Wolverines' QB battle will go into fall camp.

Highly-touted true freshman J.J. McCarthy has an outside shot to win the job, but he's likely a year away, and redshirt sophomore Texas Tech transfer Alan Bowman, who will join the team in June, is the wildcard — don't count him out.

– TheWolverine staff writer Clayton Sayfie

The quarterback competition between transfer Anthony Russo (Temple) and Payton Thorne (6-2, 215) was the biggest story on offense for Michigan State.

Russo is a guy that threw for more than 6,000 yards at Temple, and he was one of the biggest portal additions in the Big Ten during the off-season. A lot of people thought when Michigan State added Russo that he would be a lock for the starting quarterback job.

Thorne, a sophomore, who threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns in his only start against Penn State in the season finale, has played himself into contention for the starting job this season. It will be interesting to see how this competition shakes out during fall camp, but Thorne could well be Michigan State’s starting quarterback in 2021. That doesn’t mean Russo has been a disappointment. The Temple transfer is the player Michigan State coaches hoped he’d be.

– SpartanMag associate editor Paul Konyndyk

The addition of transfer quarterback Ryan Hilinski from South Carolina. Hilinski was able to take part in the last three weeks of spring practice. The starting quarterback battle will spill into fall camp, but the rocket-armed Hilinski appears to be the favorite over fifth-year seniors Hunter Johnson and Andrew Marty.

A former four-star, Rivals100 prospect in the 2019 class, Hilinski started 11 games as a true freshman for the Gamecocks in 2019 but fell out of favor when new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo arrived in 2020 and played in just two games. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

– WildcatReport publisher/managing editor Louie Vaccher

The big storyline for the spring was the quarterback position and the development of Spencer Petras.

While many Iowa fans wanted a true competition, Petras remains the starter with Alex Padilla ending up the spring as a fairly clearly second option and redshirt freshman Deuce Hogan in the third spot.

– HawkeyeReport publisher Tom Kakert

The two biggest stories from the offense, in the five spring practices select reporters saw, revolved around a couple of key positions groups.

The good news for Wisconsin appears to be more development at wide receiver. Last year, Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis both missed significant time in a shortened season, and their absences affected the passing game.

Chimere Dike and Jack Dunn stepped up last year in more prominent roles, and I felt they both performed well this spring (especially the former). However, Devin Chandler and A.J. Abbott both also appeared to stand out during particular open sessions as players that could help out the aerial attack if they continue their current trajectory.

On the not-so-bright side, reporters did not get to see much of the tailbacks and who could emerge due to injuries.

Presumed starter Jalen Berger exited the first open practice due to a leg injury and did not dress in the other four sessions. Third-year back Julius Davis (leg) did not suit up at all for those practices, while Isaac Guerendo -- who has a history of hamstring injuries in 2019 and 2020 -- dressed but was mostly limited to positional work outside of a couple periods, based on my notes.

UW had to welcome back a walk-on, Jacob Heyroth, back to spring ball to get carries for the group, along with utilizing fullbacks John Chenal and Quan Easterling in tailback-like roles. It will be interesting to see who steps up in the room of new assistant Gary Brown in fall camp.

– BadgerBlitz senior writer Jake Kocorowski

What to expect out of the wide receiver position.

Tanner Morgan returns as a 3rd year starter, eight players on the offensive line have started a Big 10 game (all starters return), and Mo Ibrahim was a 3rd Team All-American last year. All positions are pretty much set in stone, except the wide receiver room.

Rashod Bateman left for the NFL and so leaves his 33.6% reception share from a year ago, even with missing the final two games. Chris Autman-Bell returns and is the alpha in the room. He has amassed 78 catches for 1,250 yards and 6 TDs in three years on campus. He could be a late round draft pick with a good year this season. But beyond him, it is wide open.

True freshman Daniel Jackson caught 12 passes a season ago and should be building off a solid first season. Can Texas A&M transfer Dylan Wright get in the mix? That is a room with a lot of targets to go around this upcoming year.

– TheGopherReport staff member Alex Carlson

Development of the line.

The unit must get a better push after the rushing attack ranked last in the Big Ten in 2020. Depth is solid, but the line needs to be more physical. The front has two full-time assistants devoted to its development, as Neil Callaway was promoted from analyst to assistant o-line coach to work with o-line coach Dale Williams.

– GoldandBlack associate editor Tom Dienhart

There are a lot of way you can go with this for Nebraska, but the year-over-year transformation of the wide receiver position is where I’d start.

The Huskers added FCS All-American Samori Toure from Montana, the 2020 No. 1 ranked JUCO offensive player Omar Manning is now in a position to contribute and Iowa transfer Oliver Martin had a really nice spring (Martin tied a school record with a 40-inch vertical). This will make a big difference for the offense.

– HuskerOnline publisher Sean Callahan

With Bret Bielema on board as the new head coach, everything was new for the Fighting Illini this spring on both sides of the ball. But the offensive storyline that probably has the most interest to fans was the position change for two former Rivals250 recruits.

Isaiah Williams was given a shot at quarterback, but he'll now make the move to slot receiver, a position many schools recruited him to play coming out of St. Louis in the class of 2019. Perhaps the toughest player to tackle on the Illini roster – remember his 192 yards rushing against Rutgers last season -- Williams is a dynamic athlete who could give the offense a boost for new coordinator Tony Peterson.

Another notable position move was former four-star Marquez Beason switching from defensive back to wide receiver. Beason played both sides of the football in high school, so the transition should be a smooth one. His career was set back in training camp before his freshman season in 2019 when he suffered a torn ACL, and Beason labored through the shortened season last fall as a backup cornerback. He appears fully healthy now and is looking to finally make an impact at his new position.

– OrangeandBlueNews publisher Doug Bucshon