The Best of the B1G, #6 Allen Robinson

Allen Robinson Jr WR Penn State

Penn State wasn’t suppose to be any good after the sanctions were handed down. Players were allowed to transfer without penalty of having to sit out a year. Not MotSaG’s Number 6 player in our B1G Top 25, a receiver that only had 3 receptions for 29 yards and zero touchdowns.

Allen Robinson, a tall target at 6ft 4in, had a break out season in 2012. Under Bill O’Brien’s pro style offense he has flourished. Robinson was a key weapon that helped Penn State finish ranked 2nd for passing and touchdowns in the B1G last season. He lead the Big Ten with 77 receptions and 1,021 yards receiving, having 9 receptions and 200 yards better than any other player in the confrence, also hauling in 11 touchdown catches.

Robinson is going to be only 1 of 7 returning receivers in the NCAA with 1,000 yards catching, 10 plus touchdowns, and over 75 receptions. He is a fast wide receiver with the skills of great hands, crisp and precise route running. During the off season Allen has added 10 pounds of muscle and has worked even more on his route running.

Allen has put himself on the national stage as one of the best not only in the B1G but in the NCAA.

The only down side to Robinson might be the added attention from opponents secondary and not knowing who the starting QB is this year. Being one of 8 starters on offense and in the second year under Bill O’Brien, Allen is poised to take on the leadership role and help out his QB whoever that may be. It’ll help that Penn State only has to face 2 of the top 5 B1G secondaries this year possibly allowing Robinson to roam free and put up great numbers again in 2013.

Previously on MotSaG’s Best of the B1G
#7 Jake Ryan
#8 Carlos Hyde
#9 James White
#10 Trevor Siemian/Kain Colter
Best of the B1G, #15-11
Best of the B1G, #20-16
Best of the B1G, #25-21

The Best of the B1G, #14 Devin Gardner

b1g_iconDevin Gardner Jr. Quarterback University of Michigan

Devin officially takes over being the starting qb of the Wolverines this year. Having started the final 5 games for the Maize and Blue last year for an injured Denard Robinson, Gardner inherits the full time leadership role due to Robinson’s departure. Gardner changed the dynamics of Michigan’s offense running Brady Hoke’s pro style offense. While Robinson was pretty much a pure running QB Gardner is a dual threat but more of a passer.

Devin showed in the final five games he has a strong arm, completing 75 passes out of 126 attempts,passing for 1,219 yards and accounting for 22 touchdowns (threw for 11 td’s). Giving him a QB Rating of 161.7 percent averaging 243.8 yards passing a game. He also threw 5 INTS one in each contest. Gardner only ran for 100 yards in those 5 games averaging 2.1 yards per carry. If he played in all 13 games he would have had over 3000 yards passing easily.

Gardner is projected as the third best quarterback in the B1G behind Ohio State’s Braxton Miller and Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez. Devin is going to be facing a tougher B1G schedule than those two QB’s. Having to face 5 of the B1G’s projected top secondaries out of his 8 conference games. Miller and Martinez only have 2 match-ups against those same projections.

Devin Gardner is going to be the key to Michigan’s chances of being a championship caliber team as he states they are. His touchdown/interception ratio for the five games he started were good being 11/5 but he has a problem holding on to the football. He showed last season against Ohio State’s defense, which should be better, he struggled only throwing (season lows) for 171 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. If Devin cuts down on his turnovers he could be inserting his name into the Heisman talk. He is lucky in having his LT Taylor Lewan (one of the best in the NCAA) coming back to protect his blind side.

Devin Gardner’s best College Game:

Previously on MotSaG’s Best of the B1G
#15 Kenny Bell
Best of the B1G, #20-16
Best of the B1G, #25-21

The Best of the B1G: #15 Kenny Bell

b1g_icon#80 Kenny Bell
School: Nebraska
Position: Wide Receiver
Class: Junior
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Height: 6-1
Weight: 185 lbs.

Why He’s Important to Nebraska’s Success: Kenny Bell is one of the most dynamic wide receivers in the Big 10 and can give a defense fits. Combined with quarterback Taylor Martinez and running back Ameer Abdullah, this trio makes up one of the most potent offenses in the Big 10. Since he’s surrounded by two other offensive threats, Bell becomes an even more dangerous player.

Bell has been the leading receiver for the Cornhuskers the last two seasons, leading the team in receiving yards, receptions and touchdown catches. In 2011, Bell caught 32 passes for 461 yards and three touchdown passes. He also ran the ball three times for 100 yards and one touchdown. Last season, Bell had a breakout year and established himself as one of the best receivers in the Big 10. Bell had 50 receptions with 863 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Bell was fifth in the Big 10 in receiving yards per game.

Career Highlight

Also one more thing about Bell: He’s a damn good blocker! In fact, the NCAA recently announced they’re cracking down more on hitting defenseless players above the shoulders this season, largely because of hits like Bell made on a Wisconsin player in the Big 10 Championship last season. Nebraska fans refer to it as the “Kenny Bell Rule.”

Take a look at this spectacular hit below (the great Gus Johnson with the call). I care about the player’s safety, but how could you not love this block?

How Bell Stacks Up Against His Competition

As I mentioned, Bell is one of the best receivers in the Big 10. Phil Steele named him to his 2013 Preseason All-Big 10 1st team. In 2012, he was named 1st team All-Big Ten by the Big Ten Network, Phil Steele, ESPN and CBS. Big 10 coaches and media named him second-team All-Big Ten in 2012.

Bell’s two best games in 2012 were against Minnesota and the Buckeyes. Against the Golden Gophers, Bell had nine catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns (expected when going against the Minnesota defense). I obviously saw him play against the Buckeye defense last fall and I was impressed by his play. He caught the ball five times for 133 yards. Credit the Buckeye defense for harassing Martinez enough to prevent him from hooking up with his star receiver for a touchdown (3 interceptions).

Why Bell is Ranked No. 15?

I consider Bell to be the third best wide receiver in the Big 10, trailing only Penn State’s Allen Robinson and Wisconsin’s Jared Abbredaris. The reason I consider him only the third best is because he seemed inconsistent at times last season, especially in the latter half of the season. After his great performance against the Buckeyes, he had two solid games against Northwestern and the school up north. Then he combined for only 62 receiving yards against Michigan State and Penn State. After he destroyed Minnesota’s defense, Bell sat out with an injury against Iowa and only managed 14 receiving yards against Wisconsin. Bell needs to prove he can be consistent throughout the grind of the Big 10 season and against good defenses. Bell seems to have no problem doing well against inferior defenses, but needs to do well against worthy opponents to be considered the best in the Big 10. He also needs to show that last season wasn’t a fluke and that it really was his coming out party. Bell is only a junior this season, so there is definitely room for improvement. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Bell stepped his game up even more this season and established himself as the best receiver in the Big 10.

Previously on MotSaG’s Best of the B1G
Best of the B1G, #20-16
Best of the B1G, #25-21

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links

OSU FootballOSU LogoBest Damn Band in The Land: This isn’t shocking but as every Buckeye fan knows that Script Ohio has been selected as the B1G’s Best Traditions. The folks at Athlon Sports has an article out and talks about how great Script Ohio is. Every time I witness it I still get goosebumps (of course anytime I’m walking into the Shoe it happens too). They also selected the Rivalry as Number Three. Beaver Stadium’s “White Out” was chosen second. The O-H-I-O chant was selected but low on the board.

Return of the Night Lights: According to Buckeye Planet Friday Night Lights will be returning July 26, 2013. This is the second year Coach Meyer has held the camp in Columbus, he originally started it in Gainesville with much success.

Media Days: The B1G has announced who will be attending the Media Days at the Hilton Chicago July 24-25th. The Ohio State University will be represented by Senior Jack Mewhort, Juniors Braxton Miller and Bradley Roby. Of course Coach Meyer will also be there.

Big Man Wanted: Thad Matta is on a mission to find the elusive Big Man. The Buckeyes only have one opening remaining for the 2013-2014 basketball team and they need a center to replace Evan Ravenel who graduated. Lets send out positive vibes for this to happen and lets see Buckeye Basketball back in the Final Four and beyond.

Coach gets Extention: As I reported to you before the B1G will now officially have Lacrosse as a B1G Sport. Nick Myers the coach of the Buckeyes Lacrosse team for the last five seasons just received a five year extention running until 2018. Coach Myers led the Buckeyes to the best season in Ohio State history. Congrats to Coach Myers and continued success.

Thank You for taking the time again for joining us today Buckeye Fans and remember if your on Facebook like us on there, follow us on twitter @MotSaG (or each writer who’s handles are on the right side of the page, plus we are working on getting back on Google+. You can also subscribe to get your daily dose of Men of the Scarlet and Gray emailed to you and please if you have any news, videos, memes, anything Buckeye related send it through the “contact us” tab.

We are planning on running 3 yards and a Cloud of links every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I will be on the look out for other Buckeye sports news than just Football and Basketball to inform all Scarlet and Gray fans whats going on with their favorite University.

Well Buckeye Nation until next time.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links

OSU FootballMorning Buckeye Nation!!

First off I would like to thank MotSaG adding me to their staff. It is great to be a part of the Buckeye Nation. Thank You to all our readers for taking the time to be a part of our family. I hope to keep you entertained and informed as we go forward.

That being said these are going to be the longest weeks in college football. I mean the coaches are going on vacation, players working out getting ready for camp approximately a month away. Recruiting slows to a crawl and its my job to find Buckeye info to share with you.

Awards Watch lists: The Maxwell Football Club has released their Maxwell and Bednarik Award preseason watch lists.

The Maxwell award is given to the best player in college football. No surprise but Braxton Miller is one of the Buckeyes offensive weapons that made the list. Also making the list is Carlos Hyde who has the chance to become Urban Meyers first 1000 yard rusher.

The Bednarik Award is given to the top Defensive player. Three Buckeyes made this list. C.J. Barnett, Bradley Roby, and Ryan Shazier.

I know preseason awards don’t mean much but it goes to show that the Buckeyes have some great players on both sides of the ball. The biggest question mark is going to be the Front Seven of OSU’s defense. Having Barnett, Roby, and Shazier as your leaders is going to help the young front. The Buckeyes might have one of the best secondaries in the nation this year. It’s going to be fun watching these players grow and get better each week.

New Uniforms for Sale: The Buckeye Room Tweeted about new Buckeye Uni’s on sale now

No official word if these will be the same as the players wear. Nike has added seven Golden Leafs on the back collar representing the Seven National Championships. I know Ohio State has seven Heisman Trophy’s too. If you want one and have 120 dollars I would get with the Buckeye Room before they are gone.

Mascot Love: Chomps the Browns mascot tweeted a picture of him and Brutus together playing in a mascot soccer game at Columbus Crew Stadium.

M*ch*g*n wins in football: Hahaha not really just a poll for the best B1G uniforms. We all know the Scarlet and Gray have the best uniforms but I guess we can be nice and let them win something. You know its not going to be on the field anytime soon!!

Beat M*ch*g*n: This is a story that even M*ch*g*n fans are embracing. A young Grant Reed was diagnosed with life threatening brain tumor 2 years ago. His parents, both former members of The Best Damn Band in the Land and die hard Buckeye fans, instilled the values of being a Buckeye which lead to them calling the disease “M*ch*g*n”. He has beaten Blue. He has been visited by Urban Meyer and his story is inspirational. There’s a chance it can come back but Buckeye Nation stands behind this young man.

Grant, from one cancer survivor to another, I say congratulations. You are an inspiration to so many.

Well Buckeye Nation until next time.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links

OSU LogoThree Yards and a Cloud of Links is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s newly renamed, semi-regular curated look at items that would interest the casual and hard-core Ohio State fan. These include news items, interesting blog posts and the occasional meme you’ve probably already seen. It’s all here and it’s all for you. Have a tip that should be included in the next TYAACOL? Drop us a line at motsag@gmail.com or through our Contact Page.

w680As the B1G grows: “It’s pretty obvious to us that the paradigm has shifted, and it’s not your father’s Big Ten,” Delany said via Brett McMurphy and Dana O’Neil of ESPN.

Adam Kramer of Bleacher Report talks about how the B1G is changing with their expansion, changing of league names (finally), and recruiting as a whole.

The B1G is making more of a push into the large market of New York by adding a bowl game at Yankee Stadium the addition of  Rutgers and the planned new B1G offices by 2014. The additions of Maryland and Rutgers pushes the B1G’s reach all the way to the east coast. Finally changing the Leaders and Legends divisions to being called East and West. The B1G is also having its inaugural men’s hockey season. Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin will be the teams. Not only is Men’s Hockey being added  as a B1G sport but also men and women’s Lacrosse will become the 27th and 28th official sports. Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, and John Hopkins(just men’s) and Northwestern (just woman’s).

It’s a new day in the B1G!!

He said What: Drew Sharp of freep.com recently posted a blog basically blasting Michigan and the B1G.

“A little delusion once in awhile isn’t terrible. Fooling yourself into believing that anything’s possible has restorative properties.

But eventually, reality hits you pretty hard squarely between the eyes.

The impending birth of a new football season doesn’t change an old argument: The Big Ten isn’t anywhere close to the SEC competitively. It wasn’t close 10 years ago. It’s not close now. It won’t be close 10 years from now.

Accept the limitations and move on.”

Now I don’t know what he’s hearing, watching or reading but I know for sure without a doubt there is a team in the B1G that is changing this attitude. The Ohio State University lead by, the coach who started the SEC dominance and has two National Championships, Mr. Urban Meyer. Urban has done an outstanding job at recruiting speed as he has been accustomed to doing wherever he coached at. As evidenced by watching The Opening the last two years you would have seen Urban’s recruits on hand as some of the fastest in the nation. Mike Mitchell finished first in last years Sparq combine while Terry Mclaurin represented Buckeye Nation well by almost beating ATH Speedy Noil.

Cory Mccune of Bleacher Report has a nice section that has a little breakdown and video highlights of each recruit of Ohio State.

Oh No She Didn’t: Speaking of recruiting I came across an article from Lisa Horne. She quotes, Bleacher Reports Andrew Kulha’s interview with Miami (FLA.) commit ,Kc McDermott as saying this in regards to Urban Meyer.

He came to my school a week after I told his assistant that I wasn’t even interested in them. I told him no to his face, and it’s got to be one of the top five reactions of someone ever. His facial expression was just so funny. My coach was tearing up and had to go in his office to laugh.

More like the state of shock where the guy has literally never been told no in his life. It literally looked like a kid the first time you tell him ‘no, you can’t do something.’ It looked like he was a baby about to cry. It was so funny.

She also went on to say that Five Star Defensive End Lorenzo Carter talked about his “drive through visit” to Ohio State’s campus. She implies that Urban is having a problem with recruiting because of “bad publicity”, kids talk.

Here’s my problem number one I’m sure that Urban has been turned down before and I’m sure it has been to his face, now I’m not sure but I’m betting that Meyer’s reaction was from the way the “kid” disrespected him. To say that coaches who have been recruiting longer than he’s been playing football haven’t heard “No Thanks I’m going elsewhere” is ridiculous. Number two when Carter claims his “unofficial visit” was just a drive through was anyone on the coaching staff notified ahead of time? Did we check into this or we just taking a kids word.

Trying to manufacture that there’s something wrong with the way Urban Meyer recruits, we should  verify what these kids are saying is true and number lets look at his whole body of work. Meyer is not going to get every single kid he wants, no coach will, but to take the word of two kids over his whole body of work is insulting.

Breaking, Another One bits the Dust: It seems like the Buckeyes have lost another player. Unfortunately its at an already thin linebacker corp. Luke Roberts is transferring to Harvard. He is the second player after David Perkins announced his transfer. Seems Luke turned down a scholarship to Virginia to attend Harvard. Wish Luke well in his future endeavors.

Thank You for your time.

Being a new writer to the site I would love to hear you input!!!