ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Bob from St. Louis writes: Adam-I'm sure you've received hundreds of e-mails questioning your selection of Terrelle Pryor and Ricky Stanzi for your "South" All-Star team (over Juice Williams), so I'll just say this:Did you know that if Juice rushes for 70 yards per game and throws for 280 per game, he'll finish his career as the Big Ten's all-time leader in Total Offense? And this is a guy you put third out of five QB's in the fictional "Big Ten South"?With the offensive weapons that each team possesses, if Ricky Stanzi has his best possible season, he's second-team All Big Ten. If Juice Williams has his best possible season, he's sitting in New York.

Adam Rittenberg: You're not the first person to bring up the Juice-Stanzi debate, and I definitely can see the case for Juice, who will finish his career with some great numbers. One factor that played into it was the way the two players finished the 2008 season. Juice really struggled down the stretch, while Stanzi showed a lot of growth. Illinois certainly has a better receiving corps than Iowa, but from talking with people around the league, don't be surprised if Stanzi makes a major jump in his development. In hindsight, Juice probably deserves the nod as Pryor's backup, but his inconsistent play over the years makes it pretty close with Stanzi.

Rich from Columbus, Ohio, writes: Adam, I was meaning to write this to you when the list first came out but how in the hell is Pryor not going to the Big Ten Media Days? Is there something that we are missing here or do these players get into some kind of trouble that dont allow them to go? Another one I found pretty interesting of not going was Mayberry from Indiana and took another LB on their team but he was a captain last year but is no where near as good as Mayberry who I thought this is what it is all about is to bring the best players!? I am so confused and I know you mentioned Adam Weber before so I thought I would throw these two names that shocked me who werent going!

Adam Rittenberg: The media days lineup is filled almost exclusively with seniors, and it has been that way for years. Coaches view it as a reward for the guys who have put in their time. I get that. Also, seniors are the least likely to provide bulletin-board material. Still, any returning starter at quarterback should be required to attend this event. A lot of fans tell me they don't care about player quotes, but the starting quarterback is, in many ways, the team spokesman, no matter if he's a sophomore like Pryor or a senior like Juice Williams. The quarterback usually provides the best perspective on the team because he's the leader, so I was disappointed not to see Pryor, Stanzi and Weber on the list. Good call on Mayberry as well. Will Patterson has been a more outspoken player, but Mayberry is the name people know.

Ben from London, England, writes: Adam, just saw Heather Dinich's Ranking of the ACC best units. Have you, or will you be doing a similar thing for the big ten?Love the blog! Cheers

Adam Rittenberg: Thanks, Ben, and yes, the position rankings are coming. I'll probably start them next week and roll them out until preseason practices really get going during the second week of August.

Brian from Kingston, Pa., writes: Adam,Great job on the column first off. As a Penn State fan, what will it take to get the Nittany Lions to schedule tougher non-conference games? As I look at the 2009 slate, other than Syracuse (which they had a pre-arranged agreement with) the other 3 teams are a complete joke. I realize we are finally playing a worthy OOC opponent next season in Alabama, but what's with the constant Temple match up, or Akron being a regular opponent every 3 years. I want to see PSU plays games with teams like: Pitt, WVU, Rutgers, BC or ND.I believe we won't see any changes made in the scheduling dept. until Joepa hangs up the black cleats. It won't be until a new coach takes over the program that Penn State once again plays dare I say tough OOC teams.As a PSU fan, this seems to be the one constant knock on our football program and I can't blame anyone for taking those shots.What's your take?

Adam Rittenberg: It's a year-to-year thing, Brian, and obviously this year's slate could hurt Penn State if it contends for the national title. Anything less than 12-0 -- with some help from the other conferences -- will keep Penn State away from Pasadena on Jan. 7. As painful as it is for me to write, you only need one marquee nonconference game to gain respect, and Penn State has one the next two years with Alabama. I'd love to see Penn State, Ohio State and others play two showcase non-league games a year, but with the importance of revenue from home games, it's pretty unlikely. You're always going to have an Akron or two on the slate. Whether a new coach in Happy Valley shakes up the scheduling philosophy remains to be seen, but Penn State has a history of not winning national titles despite undefeated records. A more challenging schedule, along with a better league, can only help.

Andrew from Chicago writes: Hey Adam,Thanks for producing a great blog; it's always a pleasure to read! Quick question about your home run threats - why no love for Michigan State's Mark Dell?? He's the Big 10's 3rd leading returning receiver from a yardage standpoint (Behind Regis Ben and Eric Decker) and led the league with an eyepopping 18.9 YPC! He caught 7 less balls than Blair White (4th leading returning receiver), yet had 20 more receiving yards. Those two could form one of the better receiving tandems in the Big 10. Thoughts?

Adam Rittenberg: Good call on Dell, Andrew. There are a number of guys I should have added -- Pryor, Terry Hawthorne, Denard Robinson -- and Dell certainly qualifies. His numbers are slightly inflated because of the huge game he had against Cal, but you could say the same for White against Michigan and Wisconsin. If Dell can stay healthy, Michigan State should be pretty solid at wide receiver this fall.