Pressing questions for several Big Ten staffs this spring

The Big Ten was the ultimate halves and have-nots league in 2022, and we should get some indications if we’re in store for more of the same this spring. 

Michigan, back-to-back conference champs, and Ohio State should both be really good in 2023. The Buckeyes have a spring QB battle, though Kyle McCord is the early frontrunner, while the Wolverines are breaking in several projected starters from the transfer portal. 

Then there’s Penn State, who might finally have a dude at quarterback in Drew Allar. Is this the year it all coalesces in Happy Valley for Nittany Lions to make a run at a conference title?

Conversely, the Big Ten West is chalked with change and uncertainty. The division has three first-year coaches, transfers quarterbacks at every program and an Iowa offensive coordinator facing a put-up-or-shut-up season. 

I’ve written plenty already about the Hawkeyes’ offensive doldrums and whether or not Brian Ferentz has any solutions to a years-running problem, so let’s focus on several other staffs who need to answer some questions this spring. 

Here are my most pressing storylines for several Big Ten staffs this spring.

How will Phil Longo blend Wisconsin’s traditional smashmouth identity with his Air Raid roots?

No team in the conference is undergoing a more stark identity change this offseason than the Badgers. 

When first-year head coach Luke Fickell hired offensive coordinator Phil Longo from North Carolina, the move was met with all sorts of raised eyebrows. 

As in, if this works, it could be really, really interesting for Wisconsin’s future upside in the conference. 

So the spring is full of intrigue in Madison. 

How will the new system work? What will it look it? How long will it take the old and the new to gel?

Longo, who produced a 1,000-yard rusher in three of four seasons at UNC, has made it clear he won’t abandon the run.

“I’d be an idiot not to run the football here with the backfield we have and the offensive line we have,” he said in his introductory press conference. 

Still, while junior Braelon Allen is Wisconsin’s best skill-talent and one of the best tailbacks in the country, the Badgers completely overhauled their quarterback and receiver rooms because of Longo’s propensity to throw the football with great success. 

He wants to play fast (UNC was No. 7 nationally in tempo in 2022) and loose (The Heels led the ACC in 20+ yard throws last season). 

Wisconsin has a new quarterback — SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai — and four receivers from the transfer portal, so how Longo makes all the pieces fit this spring will be very interesting to watch. 

Is Illinois looking at a reset season, or has Bret Bielema adequately restocked the roster and coaching staff so that the Illini can compete for a Big Ten West title?

Illinois sputtered down the finish in 2022 (losers of four of five with three single-score losses), but the Fighting Illini’s 8-5 season was the program’s best showing in 15 years. 

They had one of the nation’s best defenses, with multiple all-Americans and a hot-shot coordinator — all of whom are gone in 2023. Ryan Walters is now the head coach at Purdue, and he took several defensive assistants with him, too. 

Meanwhile, Chase Brown, who led the Big Ten in rushing attempts (328) and was second in yards (1,643) is also no longer in Champaign. Same for quarterback Tommy DeVito.

Bielema promoted secondary coach Aaron Henry, a former player of his at Wisconsin, to DC. Henry is just 34 years old, but his unit was a key component to the defense’s overall success in 2022 — ranking No. 1 nationally in pass defense and leading the country in interceptions. 

Can Henry get similar results from vastly different personnel? The work starts this spring. 

Offensively, Bielema grabbed Ole Miss transfer Luke Altmyer from the portal to be Illinois’ next quarterback. DeVito wasn’t a game-changer for Illinois in 2022, but the Syracuse transfer was extremely efficient. He completed 70% of his passes with 21 total touchdowns to four picks. Bielema will find out this spring if he brought in the right replacement at QB to keep the baton moving.

The Fighting Illini hope that either Reggie Love III or Josh McCray will become a facsimile to Chase Brown in the offense, but if neither emerges as the guy, could they go portal’ing post-spring for a No. 1 tailback?

Does Nebraska look like a bowl team in Matt Rhule’s first season?

New Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule has a history of completely punting Year 1 (2-10 at Temple, 1-11 at Baylor) as extra time to reset his program’s culture and player development. 

But in the transfer portal era, that’s no longer necessary. And few schools were more aggressive in remaking their rosters than Nebraska. 

Rhule recruited 39 newcomers (28 prospects and 11 transfers) — essentially revamping close to half of the Cornhuskers’ scholarship roster. More movement is expected post-spring, too. 

So the next six-plus weeks is an opportunity for Rhule and his staff to evaluate whether or not they’ve plugged the right holes, or still need help at various spots. 

Is the front seven, which ranked No. 119 in yards per rush allowed in 2022, at least serviceable with the addition of three SEC transfers? Is the OL, which ranked 85th in rushing per attempt, improved with new bodies from Georgia and Arizona State?

Who is the better QB to roll with: Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims or incumbent Casey Thompson?

Nebraska hasn’t gone bowling since 2016, so Rhule has a lot to sort through this spring to see how far away his program still is from six wins in Year 1. 

What has Mel Tucker done to fix Michigan State’s defense?

Mel Tucker came to East Lancing with a sterling reputation as a defensive coordinator — and in particular — a secondary coach. 

Yet in the last two seasons, Michigan State’s $95 million man has overseen one of the worst defenses in the nation. 

Despite going 11-2 in 2021, the Spartans ranked last in the Big Ten in pass defense. They allowed 27 touchdowns, which was good for No. 111 nationally. 

The results did not improve at all last fall, as MSU allowed 26 passing TDs (No. 114 in the country) and 7.9 yards per attempt (No. 106). 

They had just two interceptions — good for LAST in the nation. 

The Spartans have a litany of questions offensively, too, but if Tucker is going to change the trajectory of the program he needs his bread and butter to be the catalyst. 

After a 5-7 season, he made no major staff moves, but like he did before MSU’s surprising 2021 season, Tucker loaded up via the transfer portal. 

Michigan State added 14 transfers — seven on defense. The headliner was former Top 50 prospect defensive end Tunmise Adeleye from Texas A&M, but Tucker signed other projected starters at defensive tackle, corner and linebacker. 

Tucker needs to find out this spring if he’s done enough to find some solutions that have ailed MSU the last three years.