Afternoon roundup: Badgers’ Henry expects speedy recovery

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

Before getting to the links, I spoke today with Minnesota coach Tim Brewster (Q&A to follow soon), and he said former Gophers star safety Dominic Jones, who is serving a year in the county workhouse after being convicted of fourth-degree sexual conduct, will not address the team tonight, as originally planned. Brewster didn’t elaborate on the reason for the change and said he wasn’t sure if Jones could talk to the team at a later date.

Around the league:

• Wisconsin cornerback Aaron Henry underwent a second surgery on his right knee Friday, this time to repair a torn meniscus. Despite the setback, the sophomore expects to be ready for the Badgers’ Big Ten opener at the Big House on Sept. 27, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jeff Potrykus writes in his blog.
  
• There was a Big Ten flavor in FoxSports.com’s recent rankings. The league is No. 4 in the conference rankings, which isn’t as much of a surprise as the Big 12’s selection at No. 1. Ohio State tops the preseason power rankings, while Wisconsin comes in a surprising 10th. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz rounds out the coaches on the hot seat chart, while Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio is No. 5 among coaches on the rise. I guess Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema has already risen. Ohio State-Michigan is the sports top rivalry, and the Buckeyes rank No. 4 among the best teams of the last decade.
  
• Ohio State stars Beanie Wells, James Laurinaitis and Malcolm Jenkins occupy the top three spots in SI.com’s list of 10 best Big Ten players. It was nice to see Indiana’s Greg Middleton get some love at No. 9, but no Arrelious Benn? That’ll change.
  
• Rich Rodriguez isn’t what Michigan fans are used to, but the Old Blues will acclimate as long as the team wins, Jamie Samuelsen blogs in the Detroit Free Press.
• Leave your cameras at home if you’re headed to Ohio State’s open practice tonight. Offensive lineman Andrew Moses will be there, and his brother Chris will be watching, Ken Gordon writes in The Columbus Dispatch.
  
• If you missed it on the ESPN.com preps page, Bill Kurelic takes an early look at Big Ten recruiting for 2009. No surprise that Ohio State is excelling, but Michigan State has also joined the lead pack.
  
• The Lansing State Journal’s Joe Rexrode reveals his AP Top 25 ballot. He’s big on Ohio State (No. 1) but not so hot on Wisconsin (No. 18). Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan are on the outside looking in. Joe has a nice explanation for his voting.
  
• Bobby Bowden says Florida State’s succession plan has helped him in recruiting. Would a similar setup aid Penn State and Joe Paterno?

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Purdue’s Taylor to have MRI on knee

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

I just got an update from Purdue on senior running back Jaycen Taylor, who injured his right knee in Sunday’s practice. Taylor will undergo an MRI on Tuesday to assess the severity of the injury.

Taylor has split carries with Kory Sheets for the last two seasons and was set to do so again this fall. He has tallied 1,237 rushing yards and eight touchdowns since transferring from Los Angeles Harbor College, and his 5.62 yards-per-carry average ranks fourth on Purdue’s career rushing list. The 5-10, 180-pound Taylor has shown he’s a fast healer, missing only four weeks after breaking his arm early last season.

The Boilermakers could be preparing for the possibility of losing Taylor for some time, as Justin Siller was moved from quarterback to running back Monday. Siller, a 6-4, 220-pound redshirt freshman, had six rushing touchdowns as a high school senior.

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Big Ten Morning Briefing: Indiana’s Lewis addresses suspension

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

Game week is almost here, and coaches around the league have some big decisions to make. Your only decision is to keep reading.

• Rejus Benn could use a shave, particularly if he ends up on stage accepting an award or two in December. But the Illinois sophomore wideout isn’t concerned about his preseason hype, Bob Asmussen writes in The (Champaign, Ill.) News-Gazette. Sirod Williams’ season-ending knee injury put Illini defensive tackle Josh Brent in the mix to start, Mark Tupper writes.
  
• No one at Indiana has said much about the reasons behind quarterback Kellen Lewis’ spring suspension. But Lewis finally opened up Monday, saying he had thrown himself into “a party lifestyle,” skipping classes and team meetings, Terry Hutchens writes in The Indianapolis Star. Very candid stuff from the junior:
  

“There were times when they called me and couldn’t get a hold of me for three days. I had gone out and partied and then missed two classes and didn’t wake up until 12:30. … When you start believing in your own hype a little bit, you start thinking you can slide in a little bit later than everybody else. And now that you don’t have to follow the same rules, you can bend this rule or that one. ‘The essay is due on Thursday, but I can just e-mail it to [the instructor] later that night,’ that kind of thing. And then it all just kind of caught up with me and my grades slipped to a point they had never slipped to before.”

Also, some notes from Hoosiers practice, as wideouts Andrew Means and Brandon Walker-Roby returned to the field.

• Iowa’s linebacking corps has a youthful look after the losses of the Mikes (Humpal and Klinkenborg). Jacody Coleman leads the next generation of Hawkeyes linebackers, Ryan Suchomel writes in the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Derrell Johnson-Koulianos’ name isn’t the only interesting thing about the sophomore wideout, Marc Morehouse writes in The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette.
  
• More details are emerging about Michigan running back Kevin Grady’s drunken driving arrest. According to police, the Wolverines junior was passed out at the wheel, The Grand Rapids Press reports. Michigan doesn’t have many definitive answers on its depth chart, but coach Rich Rodriguez isn’t lacking for options, Angelique Chengelis writes in The Detroit News. The healing process continues for Wolverines offensive lineman Elliott Mealer, who lost his father and girlfriend in a car accident last Christmas.
• Brandon Long was overshadowed by Michigan State teammate Jonal Saint-Dic last season. The defensive end knows his time is now, Chris Solari writes in the Lansing State Journal. Long and the other Spartans defensive linemen face an immediate test in Cal’s Jahvid Best, Eric Lacy writes in The Detroit News.
  
• Minnesota’s offensive line is young and banged-up, but guards Chris Bunders and D.J. Burris are back in the mix after injuries, Kent Youngblood writes in the Star Tribune.
  
• Northwestern broke camp in Kenosha, Wis., after a solid 10 days.
• Ohio State opened its doors to the public Monday night, and freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor didn’t disappoint, Tim May writes in The Columbus Dispatch. More on Pryor’s throwing motion and wideout Dane Sanzenbacher, the star of Ohio State’s camp, from The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Doug Lesmerises. Also, Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel weighs in on the debate about closing practices and scrimmages to the media and the public.
  
• Josh Hull has gone from walk-on to projected starter at Linebacker U., Ron Musselman writes in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 50-yard Lion blog begins ranking Penn State’s opponents, from easiest to hardest.
  
• The prognosis doesn’t look good for Purdue running back Jaycen Taylor, who has his right knee evaluated today, Tom Kubat writes in The (Lafayette, Ind.) Journal and Courier. Boilers fifth-year senior safety Frank Duong has been rewarded with a scholarship, WNDU-TV reports.
  
• Wisconsin will name its starting quarterback Wednesday, with Allan Evridge the likely choice, Jim Polzin writes in The Capital Times. The team also could open the season without star linebacker Jonathan Casillas (ankle). Badgers cornerback Niles Brinkley, a possible starter, is inspired by the memory of his sister, who died earlier this month.
  

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Three questions for Minnesota

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

Today I’ll be taking a closer look at Minnesota, which tries to rebound from a school-record 11 losses as it enters Tim Brewster’s second season as coach. Here are three questions facing the Gophers as they enter the fall:

1. Who are these guys?

Minnesota’s roster has a decidedly different look to it, and that’s not a bad thing after last year. Recognizing the need for immediate upgrades on defense, Brewster brought in several junior-college players who will start or get major playing time. Keep an eye on Tramaine Brock, a hard-hitting safety who won a starting job this spring and should set the tone in the secondary. He’ll get help from Traye Simmons at cornerback. The line also will have a JC flavor with Cedric McKinley at defensive end and Simoni Lawrence and linebacker. Minnesota will lean on a strong crop of incoming freshmen, including cornerback/return man Troy Stoudermire, and wide receivers Brandon Green, Xzavian Brandon and Brodrick Smith.

2. How will the offensive line fare after losing three starters?

As the rest of the team prepares to take the next step with greater knowledge of the system, the line is, in a sense, starting over. This was one of few Gophers units that excelled last season, allowing a Big Ten-low 13 sacks. The loss of standouts Tony Brinkhaus and Steve Shidell will sting, and Minnesota needs Jeff Tow-Arnett to make a smooth transition from left guard to center. Ryan Wynn, Ryan Orton and Chris Bunders lead a group of promising young linemen, but they can’t afford growing pains. Getting the line right is the biggest priority for a team sensing a breakthrough this fall.

3. How will new coordinator Ted Roof reshape the nation’s worst defense?

Roof loves tough challenges, but unlike the Duke team he coached last year, Minnesota has the talent to make a big jump this fall. The veteran defensive coach stressed the basics upon his arrival, and Minnesota tackled a ton this spring after not doing it enough last fall. Roof doesn’t consider himself a panacea, but he’s another reminder that last season is in the past. There’s no doubt the junior-college transfers will help. Roof’s challenge will be facilitating improvement from returning starters like defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg and linebackers Steve Davis and Deon Hightower.

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Checking in with … Tim Brewster, part I

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

	AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt
	Coach Tim Brewster “couldn’t be more pleased with the progress” the Golden Gophers are making on defense.

Tim Brewster came to Minnesota talking Big Ten championships, Rose Bowl trips and restoring the program’s long-forgotten place among the nation’s elite. Though the Gophers set records for losses (11) and yards allowed (6,224) in his first season as coach, Brewster hasn’t changed his tune at all. 

He’s a coach, a historian and an eternal optimist who remains convinced Minnesota is on the brink of special things even though the program has gone 41 years without a share of the Big Ten title and 47 years without a Rose Bowl appearance. It’s an attitude that hooks top recruits but could soon wear on the Gophers faithful without better results on the field. Brewster rattles off Minnesota’s accomplishments — six national championships, 18 Big Ten championships — like they happened yesterday, and as I found out, he doesn’t like suggestions that his current players might be disconnected from the program’s glory days.

You’ve always been such an optimistic guy. Did you ever feel the need to taper off last year when things were going so badly?

Tim Brewster: That’s who I am. I wake up every day and I’m very blessed to be the head football coach at Minnesota and to have this opportunity. I feel really good about the day and what it presents, so yeah, that’s who I am.

Was is hard to keep that up last year? You obviously came in right away and talked about the Rose Bowl and the program’s past.

TB: Our goal each and every day we come to work at Minnesota is to win a Big Ten championship and go to the Rose Bowl. That has not changed. That’ll be the goal as long as I’m the head football coach and we certainly believe that can and will happen as long as we’re taking the proper steps toward making it happen. We have great confidence that we are taking those steps. It will happen eventually.

What type of effect does your optimism have on the players? Do they feed off it?

TB: Every football team takes on the characteristics of their head coach, and I want to be a very strong-willed, confident guy that our players know that they can depend upon in times of trouble, in good times, bad times, whatever times they may be. I want to be somebody our players can definitely lean on and who can lead them. Without question, I’d like to think that our team is starting to really understand the type of confidence that I’d like for them to play with. I even use that term swagger. We want to play with a swagger.

Did the bar need to be raised at Minnesota? The team had several winning seasons and had gone to bowls, but the Rose Bowl was the first thing you talked about.

TB: I just know that it’s my expectation of the program. The bar was set well before I got here. Six national championships. There’s not very many schools in the country that have won six national championships. That’s something tangible that we have that a lot of schools don’t. Eighteen Big Ten championships. It’s been a while since we’ve connected with that type of success, but we certainly feel it’s well within our reach for the future.

For the players who weren’t born during that period, have you hammered home those points, connecting them with the past, because they don’t have that reference point of, ‘Hey, Minnesota went to the Rose Bowl and won a Big Ten title?’

TB: That’s not a true statement at all. That’s a very uninformed statement by you. Our players know we’ve won six national championships, our players know we’ve won 18 Big Ten championships. They know the greatness that was the University of Minnesota. Each and every day, we want to study history and make sure our players do understand and respond and know what it means to be a Minnesota Golden Gopher.

I was trying to get at the fact that none of them were born during that time. How much do you bring that up to them?

TB: There’s a lot of people that need to be educated about the tradition and the history at the University of Minnesota. And it’s a great one. It truly is one of the greatest traditions in college football. So it’s my obligation as the head football coach to be certain that that message is conveyed.

What’s been the biggest surprise for you so far on defense? Who has stepped up on that side after so many problems last year?

TB: I couldn’t be more pleased with the progress we’re making on the defensive side. We’ve added some really good players and we’ve taken the players that were already in the program and gotten them bigger and stronger. [Defensive coordinator] Ted Roof has come in and really been a valuable asset to us. I’m really pleased what he has brought to our kids, a really fundamental approach to playing great defense. And our kids are really buying into it. But it’s a players’ game, without question, and the reason why we’ll be an improved defense is that we’ve improved our athleticism. We’ve gotten faster on the defensive side of the ball.

The junior college guys, Tramaine [Brock] and [Traye] Simmons and the others, how are they coming along on defense?

TB: They’re coming along great. Tramaine’s really had a great camp and Cedrick McKinley’s playing well. Marcus Sherels has just been absolutely outstanding at corner. Traye Simmons is another JC guy, Simoni Lawrence, Rex Sharpe, these are all guys that are really doing a nice job, and particularly up front. Eric Small is a kid who last season played at 260 and now he’s playing over 300 pounds. We feel really good about the change in our defense.

Sherels obviously has a legacy there with his brother [Mike] playing. What’s been the biggest difference in his game this year?

TB: He’s got tremendous quickness. He’s made a very seamless transition from wide receiver to corner. A very smart kid, diligent in his work ethic. He’s an extremely committed football player, and when you match that with his athleticism, the end result is you’ve got a really good player.

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Checking in with … Tim Brewster, part II

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

Here’s the second half of my interview with Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster. (For part I, click here.)

Have the junior college guys set a new tone on defense?

Tim Brewster: We ask this singular question of our players: Are you a great teammate? We spend a lot of time talking about what a great teammate is and team camaraderie and those types of things. We really feel like we’re growing together very closely. I just have a really good feel for this group of kids. They genuinely care about each other, and that will take you a long way.

Recruiting is obviously a big part of what you do and have done. What has it been like so far recruiting to Minnesota?

TB: I really felt like this was one of the best-kept secrets in college football, the Twin Cities, the facilities we have here, the facility commitment, brand-new stadium. I think that last season’s recruiting success is just the tip of the iceberg. We’re going to continue at a very high level each and every year. It’s something that’s very important to me and our staff. We work really hard at it, and the biggest thing is we really enjoy the recruiting process. Minnesota’s not a hard sell at all. Last year, we had 45 kids in on official visits; 31 of them signed scholarships with us. That’s over a 72 percent success ratio. That’s amazingly high.

Leadership starts with the quarterback spot. How has Adam [Weber] come along in camp and where do you see him progressing?

TB: Adam has got a chance to be one of the better quarterbacks in the Big Ten. He’s got tremendous physical characteristics. He’s got a great mind. He’s really adapted well to the spread offense. The thing I’m most excited about is his leadership capability. He’s verbalizing leadership, he’s really taken command of our football team and in particular, our offense. We had some pretty good numbers last year, but I think we’ll be much improved on that side of the ball as well.

Is the running back spot a position you need to get more from? There were some injuries last year and a lot was on Adam’s shoulders.

TB: In our offense, the quarterback is a designed runner, so it wasn’t by accident that Adam ran so many times. He’ll run the ball quite a bit this year as well. We really think Duane Bennett’s going to be an outstanding player. We’ve got some really good young kids: DeLeon Eskridge, Shady Salomon, Jay Thomas comes back healthy. So we think that tailback is going to be a position of strength for us.

Adam and Eric [Decker] developed great chemistry last year. Are some other guys stepping up at wide receiver to provide a second option?

TB: Brandon Green is going to be really an outstanding football player. Brodrick Smith is really making an impact on our team. Xzavian Brandon is doing some nice things. So under the leadership and guidance of Eric Decker, that group is really coming along nicely. We’re really going to have to expedite the learning process with those guys because we need ‘em from Game 1 to be performers for us.

So in terms of junior-college guys and freshmen playing this fall, are you thinking 15-20 guys?

TB: I don’t necessarily put a number on anything. There’ll be a lot of new faces, especially on the defensive side of the ball and there’ll be some new ones on offense. Collectively, we’ve got a chance to be a much-improved team.

You’ve been a little banged up on the offensive line, which has some new starters. How is that group coming along?

TB: The line has really done a nice job. We’ve got some real workmanlike guys, nothing flashy about those guys. I just really like their work ethic. A young guy, Ryan Orton has really stepped in and played extremely well at left guard. Dom Alford has been a solid Big Ten football player. Ryan Wynn has really done a nice job and Ned Tavale, Chris Bunders. We’ve got some youthfulness there, but we also have some outstanding talent. It’s a nice group.

With the players feeding off your optimism, what are their expectations for the season?

TB: It’s hard to say. I think our team is a confident group. They feel good about themselves, and they should. Last season was a very painful one for all of us, but our team, the investment they’ve made in improving themselves physically, off the field, in the weight room, has been amazing. Summer camp has gone very well. We want to make certain that we honor the game the way we play it. I think our kids are going to do that, without question.

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Weber fueled by offseason criticism

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

	Jeff Gross/Getty Images
	Adam Weber completed 258 passes last year for 2,895 yards and 24 touchdowns.

The Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex is filled with reminders of Minnesota’s team history, from national championship banners to plaques of Gophers All-Americans. But the numbers 1 and 11 won’t be appearing any time soon.

“I don’t think we’ll ever need to put a sign up or anything,” Gophers sophomore quarterback Adam Weber said. “The people that were part of the team, we’ll never forget a season like that.”

Several people Weber encountered during the offseason made sure he remembered.

Weber wasn’t just a member of the 2007 Gophers, a team that set a school record for losses as well as many other marks for futility. He was the starting quarterback. And unlike some teammates who could escape to California or Texas, Weber went home to Shoreview, Minn., still very much in Gopher Country.

“They’d always make comments about the season we had,” Weber said. “Sometimes I had to bite my lip and take it because it was a very embarrassing season and as a Gopher fan, you hate to ever have a team that did so poorly, record-wise. When people just brought up our record alone, that was enough to stir up some emotion. As a quarterback, you take extra responsibility for things like that.”

Weber also assumes the responsibility for turning things around this fall. An influx of junior-college transfers and talented freshmen helped Minnesota upgrade in several spots, and Weber, the program’s first ever sophomore captain, returns to lead an offense that really wasn’t the problem last season.

The Gophers averaged more than 400 yards a game and Weber, who “just tried to stay alive out there,” set single-season school records for passing yards (2,895), attempts (449), completions (258) and passing touchdowns (24). The 6-3, 220-pound quarterback also displayed the athleticism needed to run Mike Dunbar’s spread coast offense, leading the team in rushing with 617 yards.

What must come next is clear for Weber: limit the interceptions. He had 19 of them last year, tying Northwestern’s C.J. Bacher for the league lead, and threw multiple picks in six games, all losses.

“I was just trying to make my one read and stick with that,” he said. “Now I feel so much more comfortable with scanning the defense, making my reads and understanding how to visualize the whole field, how to look off guys a little bit, when you need to make a big play, when you can just drop it down.”

Weber should have more options this year. In addition to Eric Decker, the Big Ten’s top returning wide receiver (909 yards), Minnesota has added several touted freshmen wideouts, including Brandon Green and Brodrick Smith.

A deeper running back corps should reduce the number of hits on Weber, who wasn’t sacked much last fall but felt the wear and tear following the season.

“You’d wake up and your knee would be swollen or you couldn’t get out of bed,” he said. “I was just trying to heal up the body and heal up the brain, especially.”

Despite a new-look offensive line, Weber said the preseason has been sharper and faster. The Gophers haven’t wiped the 2007 season from their minds, and Weber hopes his opponents haven’t either.

“We’ll be able to surprise a lot of people because they look at us and see a 1-11 team,” Weber said. “We know we have something special.”

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Big Ten Media Day(s) under way

Big Ten Media Day opened yesterday with the media selecting Ohio State as the preseason favorite. No real surprise there but as an added bonus, they picked Beanie Wells as the Big Ten’s…



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Big Ten Media Day - Coach Tressel Talks

Second hand thoughts on Media Day so far:
- Media likes the Buckeyes - we swept the awards
- Tressel thinks Michigan game more important than USC
- Rodriguez hasn’t really caught on to the…



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This Changes Everything; Ref Fired for Bad Call in Illinois Game

If refs hadn’t blown the call, the Buckeyes would have won the BCS Championship - no question.



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