Daily briefing: On Bryce Young’s health, Utah CB Clark Phillips III and the – ahem – mediocre Big Ten West
Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:
Bryce Young is day-to-day; more Jalen Milroe on tap?
Alabama coach Nick Saban, speaking at his weekly Monday news conference, downplayed the severity of quarterback Bryce Young‘s shoulder injury. Saban said Young is day-to-day and at this point no one knows when he will begin to throw again. That means offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien has a full week to prepare backup quarterback Jalen Milroe, the redshirt freshman who, at 6 feet 2 and 212 pounds, is a physical wonder. Milroe has carried the ball 12 times and busted three of them for more than 20 yards, including the 77-yarder (on third-and-15!) at Arkansas that reasserted the Tide’s control of the game after the Razorbacks cut it to 28-23. O’Brien has proven he is adept at utilizing the talent available to him. Keep an eye on how much he makes Texas A&M account for a running quarterback, an asset that stresses even the best defenses.
The word should be out on Clark Phillips III
Word must travel slowly to Corvallis. Oregon State chose to challenge Utah third-year sophomore corner Clark Phillips III, and he responded with three interceptions, including the second pick-six of his career. To give you a sense of the respect opponents have for Phillips, in five games this season, he has five pass breakups. To give you a sense of how good the 5-10, 183-pound Phillips is, he has as many interceptions as pass breakups. Phillips has started all 25 games since he arrived on campus in 2020. He wasn’t a secret then – Clark decommitted from Ohio State to sign with Utah – and he isn’t a secret now. ESPN’s Mel Kiper lists Clark among his top five corners for the 2023 NFL Draft.
When tied for first is the same as tied for next-to-last
Three teams in the Big Ten East are undefeated and ranked in the top 10. Six teams in the Big Ten West are tied for first in the division at 1-1. That may be the best definition of mediocrity we see for a while. This happened after Purdue upset No. 21 Minnesota and Illinois ran over Wisconsin (alone at 0-2), and if pessimists describe it as a six-way tie for next-to-last, they’d have a point. The Big Ten website and CBSSports.com list Illinois first. Northwestern is listed first on ESPN.com, third on the conference website, and sixth on FoxSports.com. Nebraska is second on ESPN, fifth on Fox, and sixth on the conference site. Fans should shop around for their favorite conference standings. They’re all correct.