June 24, 2008

by Jeff Smith
Contributor, BigTen.org

Over the past few months, the Big Ten football "offseason" has been anything but. Several players, coaches and teams have made headlines this past spring. BigTen.org now takes a moment to look back on just some of those newsmakers.

SAY GOOD "BYE"
The 2008 and 2009 Big Ten football seasons will mark the end of the current 12 games in 12 weeks schedule. The conference announced on June 16 that beginning with the 2010 season, schools will once again be given a bye week during the eight-game league schedule. The "conference bye week" policy will continue through the 2012 season and will now force the final week of Big Ten contests to the Saturday following Thanksgiving.

TWO NEW BIG TEN HEAD COACHES GETTING SETTLED
A pair of coaches new to the conference are eagerly preparing for the 2008 football season, however one coach will have a little more time than the other to get used to his new position. Michigan's new man Rich Rodriguez is set to take the Wolverines back to national prominence after serving the past seven years at West Virginia. Rodriguez was hired as the school's 18th head coach on Dec. 17. Nearly a month later, Purdue hired Danny Hope as its next head coach, however Hope's new position was not to take effect until the 2009 season. The former Boilermaker assistant (1997-2001) and Eastern Kentucky head coach (2003-07) will serve as associate head coach this season and then take over the top role following Joe Tiller's retirement at the conclusion of the 2008 campaign.

ILLINOIS' ZOOK TO NAVY?
Not so fast, the 2007 Big Ten Coach of the Year and Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year is not leaving Champaign any time soon. But on May 26, the Fighting Illini leader departed for San Diego to take part in the Navy Distinguished Visitor Program. Zook toured the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier, having both landed on and launched off the ship in true Navy style. Photo galleries of Zook's visit can be found in this recap.

TEARING UP THE TURF
The AstroPlay artificial turf that once was the preferred playing surface at both Illinois' and Indiana's Memorial Stadiums are now, well, a memory. Both the Illini and Hoosiers will join Big Ten teams Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin by adding FieldTurf to their playing surfaces. While Illinois' decision to change its field was planned, Indiana's was not. The Hoosiers had their turf damaged in the recent storms and flooding that hit the Midwest region. Water rushed underneath the Hoosiers' turf and created a two-foot deep sinkhole near the South end zone, creating a ripple-effect of damage that reached midfield. Both schools are anticipating having their new playing surfaces installed prior to their respective 2008 home openers.

HEAVY CONSTRUCTION
Both Illinois and Indiana have been experiencing additional construction around their playing fields as the two schools join Michigan and Minnesota with football stadiums under construction this year. Illinois has been undergoing its own renaissance since November 2006 and at least one part of the renovation of Memorial Stadium is expected to be completed prior to kickoff of the 2008 season. Indiana's Memorial Stadium began enclosing its North end zone last season and construction is quickly making progress. The Hoosiers hope to see its new addition completed by February 2009. Additionally, Michigan Stadium began its project at the end of the 2007 season. Scheduled to be finished by August 2010, the campaign will enhance a variety of seats and the overall game-day experience which can be seen in this video. Finally, Minnesota is on pace to complete its new home on campus at the outdoor TCF Bank Stadium. Work on the new stadium began in the fall of 2006 and is scheduled to be completed for the 2009 season opener on Sept. 12.

BIG TEN'S TOP TEN DEFENDERS TOUTED FOR BRONKO NAGURSKI TROPHY
Speaking of the Golden Gophers, 10 conference standouts were named May 12 to the watch list of a trophy which bears the name of a former Minnesota legend. The 10 league representatives named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which honors the National Defensive Player of the Year, were Illinois' Vontae Davis, Indiana's Greg Middleton, Iowa's Mitch King, Michigan's Terrance Taylor, Northwestern's John Gill, Ohio State's Marcus Freeman, Malcolm Jenkins and James Laurinaitis, Penn State's Maurice Evans, and Wisconsin's Matt Shaughnessy. The Buckeyes' Laurinaitis captured the award in 2006 and was a finalist in 2007.

THREE CONFERENCE SNAPPERS THE "CENTERS" OF ATTENTION
A trio of Big Ten players was named May 7 to the Rimington Trophy Spring Watch List, which honors the nation's top center. Joining 41 other centers were Indiana's Alex Perry, Ohio State's Jim Cordle and Penn State's A.Q. Shipley.

BIG TEN LINEMEN ALSO ON A WATCH LIST
A dozen conference linemen have been named to the 2008 Outland Trophy Watch List, which honors the nation's top interior lineman. This year's Big Ten candidates include Illinois' Xavier Fulton and Ryan McDonald, Iowa's Mitch King and Matt Kroul, Michigan's Terrance Taylor, Northwestern's John Gill, Ohio State's Alex Boone and Steve Rehring, Penn State's Gerald Cadogan and A.Q. Shipley, Purdue's Sean Sester, and Wisconsin's Kraig Urbik. The award has been given to a Big Ten player in three of the last five years. Iowa's Robert Gallery won in 2003, while Minnesota's Greg Eslinger and Wisconsin's Joe Thomas claimed the honored in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

LOTS OF IMPACT DEFENDERS ON LOTT'S LIST
Six Big Ten defenders were named to the watch list for the 2008 Lott Trophy, awarded to the nation's top defensive impact player. Conference honorees included Illinois' Brit Miller, Indiana's Greg Middleton, Iowa's Mitch King, Ohio State's Malcolm Jenkins and James Laurinaitis, and Wisconsin's Jonathan Casillas. Among the 42 players, seven repeat candidates received recognition, including Casillas and 2007 finalist Laurinaitis.

FOUR SIGNAL CALLERS HONORED BY JOHNNY U.
Four Big Ten quarterbacks were named to the candidates this week for the 2008 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation to the best senior college quarterback in the nation. Congratulations and best of luck to Michigan State's Brian Hoyer, Northwestern's C.J. Bacher, Ohio State's Todd Boeckman and Purdue's Curtis Painter.

OHIO STATE'S TRAPASSO HOPING TO BE THE "GUY"
Ohio State's A.J. Trapasso was one of five punters named to the preseason watch list for the 2008 Ray Guy Award, which identifies the nation's top collegiate punter. Trapasso, who finished last year with 2,049 punting yards, joins Arizona's Keenyn Crier, Ball State's Chris Miller, Cincinnati's Kevin Huber, and Utah's Louie Sakoda on the initial list.

PAIR OF BIG TEN BESTS SET FOR HALL OF FAME INDUCTION IN JULY
Indiana's Anthony Thompson and Penn State's Joe Paterno still have quite the summer to look forward to as the pair will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame's, July 18-19. Thompson, arguably one of the best running backs in conference history, finished his career with the all-time Division I record for touchdowns and was the nation's top rusher and scorer as senior in 1989. He narrowly missed winning the Heisman Trophy in one of the closest votes in the trophy's history, however, he did win the Maxwell and Walter Camp Awards as National Player of the Year. Paterno, who passed Amos Alonzo Stagg's record last year with his 41 years as head coach at Penn State, has more bowl game wins and more Football Bowl Subdivision undefeated seasons than any other coach in college football history.

ADD THREE MORE CONFERENCE STANDOUTS TO THE HALL OF FAME
In addition to Thompson and Paterno, three additional football figures with Big Ten football bloodlines were recently named College Football Hall of Fame inductees for the class of 2009. Former Minnesota coach Lou Holtz, Northwestern All-American linebacker and current Wildcat head coach Pat Fitzgerald, and former Ohio State head coach John Cooper will also be on hand this July in South Bend, Ind. Cooper is the second-winningest coach (111-43-4) in Buckeye history and is the only coach to guide both a Pac-10 (Arizona State) and Big Ten team (Ohio State) to a Rose Bowl victory. Speaking of the Rose Bowl, Fitzgerald helped the Wildcats to win in Pasadena in 1996. He was a two-time first-team All-American and Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik award winner as the nation's top defensive player. Holtz coached at Minnesota during the 1984 and 1985 campaigns and helped lead the Golden Gophers to the 1985 Independence Bowl.

BUCKEYES' ROBISKIE HONORED
Ohio State wide receiver Brian Robiskie is one of three male finalists for the 2008 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar of the Year award, which was announced recently by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine. Robiskie, who led the Buckeyes in receiving with 55 catches for 935 yards and 11 touchdowns and was a first team Academic All-American last year, is the first Buckeye to be named a finalist since the national awards program began 15 years ago.

REMEMBERING A PAIR OF BIG TEN COACHES AND CLOSE FRIENDS
This past spring, fans of Indiana and Northwestern came together to honor each of its fallen football coaches. On April 26, 200 members of the Wildcat community took part in the inaugural Walk for Randy prior to Northwestern's Spring Game. The walk raised $2,600 for the Randy Walker Fund, named for NU's former coach who died of an apparent heart attack on June 29, 2006. Walker's close friend from his Miami (Ohio) days, Terry Hoeppner, was also honored this spring on the Indiana campus. The former Hoosier football coach, who died from complications of a brain tumor on June 19, 2007, inspired the creation of the first annual Coach Hep Indiana Cancer Challenge cycle/run/walk event on May 10, which attracted over 700 participants.

Exactly one year after his untimely death, Hoeppner was also inducted posthumously into the 2008 Independence Bowl Hall of Honor. While serving as coach at Miami of Ohio, Hoeppner's squad fell 17-13 to Iowa State at the 2004 Independence Bowl.

IN MEMORY
At least four former Big Ten football players from Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State passed away over the past few months. The conference remembers Illinois' Mel Agee and Rick Schulte, Iowa's Richard Evans, and Michigan State's Everett "Sonny" Grandelius.

• Mel Agee (Illinois, 1987-90): Agee died June 15 at the age of 39 of an apparent heart attack. The defensive lineman was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 1989 and 1990 and an honorable mention All-America selection in 1990.
• Rick Schulte (Illinois, 1981-84): Schulte passed away June 14 at the age of 45 after also suffering an apparent heart attack. Schulte was a co-captain of the 1984 squad and regarded as one of the Illini's all-time strongest players having bench-pressed 400 pounds, squatted 630 pounds and power-cleaned 310 pounds.
• Richard Evans (Iowa, 1937-39): Evans died May 26 at the age of 93. He was one of the last remaining members of the famed "Ironmen" of 1939 and had a long coaching career in the NFL as an assistant with the Packers, Cardinals, Redskins, Eagles, Browns, Lions and Patriots.
• Everett "Sonny" Grandelius (Michigan State, 1948-50): Grandelius died April 25 at the age of 79. In 1950 he was the Spartans' first 1,000-yard rusher and earned team MVP honors along with first-team All-America recognition from the AP, International News Service and Central Press. Following the 1953 season, he began a five-year stint as an MSU assistant (1954-58) under Duffy Daugherty.