ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

I'll be traveling to the West Coast this afternoon, but the blog will remain busy, as we begin examining the recruiting needs for all 11 Big Ten teams. The list begins with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan today, followed by the other seven teams on Friday. Enjoy. 

Here's your Big Ten news digest. 

• Ohio State linebackers coach Luke Fickell, a rising star in the coaching ranks, has been offered a position on Charlie Weis' staff at Notre Dame, Doug Lesmerises writes in The Cleveland Plain Dealer. 
• Larry Johnson is the biggest reason for Penn State's talent upgrade in recent years, and the university needs to step up and pay him before he leaves for Illinois, David Jones writes in The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News.
  

"If you're Ron Zook, why would you not go after Larry Johnson? And if you're Johnson, why would you not seriously think about jumping to Illinois? You get a bump in salary from the $250-300K range you're making now to something approaching what Locksley made as an offensive coordinator at Illinois -- a documented $500,000."

• Longtime Iowa football radio analyst Ed Podolak resigned after some damaging bar photos surfaced on the Web following the Outback Bowl, Marc Morehouse writes in The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette. Podolak's on-air presence will be missed, Pat Harty writes in the Iowa City Press-Citizen. 
• Money didn't motivate Brian Hartline's decision to enter the NFL draft, while safety Kurt Coleman still has unfinished business at Ohio State, including winning the Thorpe Award, Tim May writes in The Columbus Dispatch.  
• Wisconsin's senior class leaves a mixed legacy after raising expectations the last two seasons, the Wisconsin State Journal's Tom Mulhern writes in his blog.