Illinois: Illinois senior A.J. Jenkins made a considerable jump in his receiving production from his sophomore to his junior season. He caught a total of 21 passes in his first two seasons with the Illini before making 56 receptions for 746 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Now, as a senior, Jenkins believes he's capable of even more and has set some lofty goals. "I want 1,000-plus yards, 10-plus touchdowns and around 80 catches," Jenkins said. "So, I'm ready to have a real big year this year."
Indiana: Kevin Wilson's first goal in turning around the Hoosiers' program is changing the entire mindset. He says that includes everything from the players' body language to what they are listening to. "Like I tell them all the time, when I'm talking it's bouncing off you, so if somebody tells you you're not any good, let it bounce off you," Wilson said. "I told you to go to class and you didn't go, so if a guy says you're not going to win any games, don't worry about it."
Iowa: In the past, Kirk Ferentz has tried to give his players some time off at Thanksgiving. The Hawkeyes were upset by Minnesota last year after the holiday and have had some other post-Turkey Day letdowns. That will change this year, as Iowa will play the "Heroes Game" against Nebraska on the Friday after Thanksgiving. "I'm not saying that's why we performed the way we did at Minnesota, but the thought entered my mind," Ferentz said. "The way it's mapped out now, I'm enthused about it. We'll all be together on Thanksgiving. … There will be no decisions about what to do anymore."
Michigan: The Wolverines have a lot of competition at the running back position, including veterans Michael Shaw and Vincent Smith and several younger players. They lack a true established No. 1 back. Head coach Brady Hoke said Michigan will utilize the depth and play two-back sets often. "At end of the day, we'd like to have a lead back as that I-back or tailback, but we'll have to see how we progress through fall camp," Hoke said. He added that he'd like his main running back to take about 25 carries per game.
Michigan State: Kirk Cousins sees similarities in the Spartans' lone two losses last season, blowouts against Iowa and Alabama. Michigan State lost the battle in the trenches and couldn't run the ball effectively. The senior quarterback, though, pins blame on himself. "If things go south up front, I can't let my play on the back end go south," Cousins said. "I can't start trying to do too much because we're not running ball and try to get it all back in one play. … I need to make sure to stay patient in those situations."
Minnesota: Immediately after hearing that Jerry Kill was his new coach, MarQueis Gray jumped on YouTube to watch highlights of Kill's offense at Northern Illinois. "I saw some games last year where they'd run for 200 yards," he said. "I thought, 'This is the type of offense that we need.' It makes everybody on our offense salivate."
Nebraska: Bo Pelini still isn't sure what freshman quarterback Bubba Starling will do. Starling, who was the No. 5 pick by the Kansas City Royals in June's amateur baseball draft, has been working out with the Cornhuskers in Lincoln this summer and has until Aug. 15 to agree to terms with the Royals or enroll in fall classes at Nebraska. "Obviously, money plays a part in it, but at some point it comes down to what he wants to do," Pelini said. "Do you want to go to college and be a multisport athlete? Or do you want to go pro? I think it's got to be where his heart is."
Northwestern: Northwestern dropped its final three games of last season in large part due to the absence of quarterback Dan Persa, but the defense didn't help matters, either. The Wildcats allowed 163 points, including 70 points to Wisconsin, during their final three games. It was a humbling stretch for Northwestern's defense, and one it doesn't want to experience again in 2011. "It was definitely a growing experience," Northwestern senior cornerback Jordan Mabin said. "We learned from it. We grew from it and try not to repeat it."
Ohio State: Center Mike Brewster is used to snapping to a freshman quarterback, doing so with Terrelle Pryor. The Buckeyes could go with another newbie at QB this year if Braxton Miller wins the job. But now Brewster is a grizzled vet. "It's probably better than having a freshman center and a freshman quarterback, because at least I know what I'm doing and he can just play," Brewster said. "With myself and Terrell our freshman year, we didn't really know what we were doing. We were just playing off instincts."
Penn State: Joe Paterno looked pretty spry during media days, and the legendary coach said he intends to be more involved with play calling this year. "I told the staff, 'Your day in the sun is over,'" Paterno said. "'I'm going to call a lot more plays and lot more defenses and the whole bit, so get ready.'" He also revealed that third-string quarterback Paul Jones will miss the season because of academics. Kevin Newsome and Shane McGregor will compete for the No. 3 job behind Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin.
Purdue: The Boilermakers always want to beat in-state rival Notre Dame, but linebacker Joe Holland has extra incentive to do so. Both Holland's parents and his grandfather graduated from Notre Dame. The Irish have beaten Purdue during Holland's first three years on the team. Holland also sees the bigger picture. "That game is the week before we go into Big Ten play," he said. "So getting a win in that game will hopefully jump-start us into having a good Big Ten season. Each and every game is important, but that's a big one on our schedule."
Wisconsin: Badgers coach Bret Bielema came up with a novel idea while recruiting former Central Florida defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable to Wisconsin. Bielema paid to fly Huxtable's wife to Madison, Wis., with money out of his own pocket. Huxtable filled one of the vacancies created when former Badgers defensive coordinator Dave Doeren was named head coach at Northern Illinois. "We really had to do a good recruiting job," Bielema said. "He was leaving money and a title on the table. His wife was able to come to Wisconsin and see it all. She was at dinner when I offered him the job."
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