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During the course of spring practice, Big Ten bloggers Adam Rittenberg and Brian Bennett visited 11 of the 12 league schools, getting an up-close look at the players and coaches who will shape the 2012 season.

Now it's time for them to share their thoughts on what they saw and learned this spring, and you can follow along as they exchange emails. First, they'll discuss the teams in the Leaders Division. A Legends Division email exchange will arrive in the near future.

Brian Bennett: Adam, I guess the biggest story in the Big Ten this spring was the culture change at both Penn State and Ohio State. You went to both places. What was your sense of how different things are there now, compared to your previous visits to State College and Columbus?

Adam Rittenberg: There's definitely a new energy in both football complexes, Brian. Change can be tough on fans, especially at a place like Penn State where they've only known their program under Joe Paterno's watch, but the players seem to be excited about the new ways things are operating. At Penn State, they're excited to play for a coach (Bill O'Brien) who comes straight from the NFL and has made some much-needed modernizations to certain areas of the program (strength program, offensive philosophy). The enthusiasm about strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald and his philosophy really stood out to me at Penn State. I was also impressed by some of the younger players like freshman tight end Jesse James and redshirt freshman defensive end Deion Barnes.

The changes aren't as dramatic at Ohio State because Urban Meyer retained so many assistants from the previous staff. On the other hand, the thought of Ohio State running a true no-huddle, spread offense amazes players as much as it does the rest of us after so many years of TresselBall. One welcome change with both programs is greater accessibility for the media (and, through us, the fans). I had to pinch myself a few times while watching a Penn State practice.

You made your first visit to Madison, where, judging by the pictures you posted on Twitter, you likely gained 15 pounds and lost that Kentucky twang. What stood out about your time in Mad-city?

Brian Bennett: I'm just now shedding the last of those cheese curds from my system. Change was not really a buzzword with the Badgers, even with a slew of new assistant coaches and some turnover at key positions. This program has a system it believes in and will continue to do the same things year in, year out with new faces.

Wisconsin is still all about running the ball, and Montee Ball looked terrific during the practice he participated in while I was there. If possible, he's even a step faster, and backup Melvin Gordon is going to be a star someday as well. The quarterbacks and receivers weren't nearly as impressive or consistent, but Danny O'Brien wasn't there and Jared Abbrederis was out with his foot injury. I am intrigued by the size of some of the Badgers wideouts, like Marquis Mason (6-foot-4) and Chase Hammond (6-5). The Badgers could be effective throwing some jump balls to those guys, and with their tight ends and offensive line, their offense is going to be just fine.

There are more questions on the defense, but I liked what I saw from the defensive tackles and the secondary, which looks a little more athletic. We know the linebackers will be good with Chris Borland and Mike Taylor. If David Gilbert or someone else can come back and give them a pass rusher from the defensive end spot, this team should be loaded for a run at repeating in the Leaders Division.

I see Illinois as a bit of a mystery team in the division, with a new coach and a new system. How much progress did the Illini make in learning the spread under Tim Beckman, and do they have enough offensive playmakers to run it?

Adam Rittenberg: I don't think they do, although running back Josh Ferguson's performance in the spring game raises hope. Illinois also has some versatile players in cornerback Terry Hawthorne and quarterback Miles Osei who can fill in at receiver and/or running back if need be. But Beckman has been candid about the lack of depth at running back, and we both saw how that offense fared after opposing teams limited A.J. Jenkins' effectiveness. I do think quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase could end up being a good fit for the spread. He obviously has the mobility you need at that position, and while his arm strength is a question mark, he should be able to spread the ball around if enough weapons emerge. I think it's critical for receiver Darius Millines to stay healthy. He really had stood out in practices, but he just can't stay on the field.

I liked what co-offensive coordinator Chris Beatty said about the offense needing to regain its swagger. It's still hard to pinpoint exactly what happened to the unit last year, but I know when a spread offense establishes a nice tempo, it's awfully hard to stop. But here's the thing with Illinois: it might only need to score 20-24 points a game. The defense should be really, really good, and potentially better than last year's crew. The coaches are really excited about Michael Buchanan at end, and the front seven could be the best in the Big Ten.

You also spent some time in the Hoosier State this spring. Purdue coach Danny Hope feels this is his best team. Things couldn't get much worse for Kevin Wilson at Indiana after a 1-11 clunker in 2011. What sense did you get from being in West Lafayette and Bloomington?

Brian Bennett: I sensed quite a bit of confidence coming out of Purdue's camp. That will happen when you have 18 starters back, three healthy quarterbacks and are coming off a bowl win (granted, only against Western Michigan, but it beats the alternative).

The Boilermakers didn't let reporters watch any meaningful parts of spring practice because they're installing Tim Tibesar's new defensive system, so I didn't learn as much about them as I'd like. Still, it's clear this team has experience and some major talent with guys like Kawann Short and Ricardo Allen on defense. I think Purdue is very much a sleeper in the division, though we're going to need to see this team cut down some of its mental mistakes and play with far greater consistency than it has in the Danny Hope era.

The best thing I saw from Indiana was competency on defense. Wilson played so many freshmen last year, and the benefit is that those guys are now a year older and know the system. They were able to execute it much better this spring, and the juco kids will help a lot. The Hoosiers have some nice players on offense, like young quarterback Tre Roberson, running backs Stephen Houston and Isaiah Roundtree and tight end Ted Bolser, and I think Seth Littrell's system will play well to their strengths. Yet you look at the roster and compare it to the upper echelon of the Big Ten, and it's clear that Indiana has a long way to go to catch up and be any sort of factor in the league race.

I came away from the spring still thinking Wisconsin will win this division, but I also believe it will be a tight race and that Penn State could very well take it. Ohio State might end up being the best team in the Leaders but can't play for the league title. Did your spring visits make you feel any differently about the division?

Adam Rittenberg: I agree that Wisconsin remains the team to beat, but I came away thinking the division could have greater depth. The Legends still looks stronger with Michigan State, Michigan and Nebraska up top, and every Leaders Division team has some flaws. But Wisconsin knows how to win, returns a nice core and added a key piece in O'Brien. Ohio State will be a better defensive football team -- end John Simon is poised for an enormous senior season, and hopes are high for tackle Johnathan Hankins, too -- and while there will be some growing pains on offense, it's not as if the Buckeyes set an impressive benchmark in 2011. They were mostly awful.

Penn State and Illinois are very similar teams to me. Both have new coaches whose hiring elicited some skepticism. Both look extremely strong in the defensive front seven. Both retained excellent D-line coaches from the previous staff (Larry Johnson, Keith Gilmore). Both have standout linebackers (Gerald Hodges, Jonathan Brown) and stout defensive tackles (Jordan Hill, Akeem Spence). And both have major question marks on offense: Penn State more so at quarterback, Illinois more so at running back/receiver. Still, if the defenses perform to their capability, Penn State and/or Illinois could really make some noise in a wide-open division.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Maybe it's a blessing that Mauti follows Massaro in the alphabet.

Much like seating assignments in a class, football lockers are often distributed according to surnames. As a result, Penn State senior defenders Pete Massaro and Michael Mauti share adjoining lockers in the Lasch Building.

The arrangement has worked out well, especially in recent months as both men work their way back from the same major knee injury. The two players share a shockingly similar injury history. Massaro, a defensive end, tore his right ACL in the 2009 spring game, and then his left ACL in the spring of 2011. Mauti, an outside linebacker, tore his right ACL in preseason practice in 2009 and missed the season. After a strong start to last season, he tore his left ACL in Week 4 against Eastern Michigan.

The two men share four torn ACLs suffered in the same sequence (right, then left), and more months of combined rehab than games played for Penn State.

"His locker's right next to mine, so every day, we're talking," Mauti told ESPN.com. "We always share stories and we always share feelings. We've kind of [laughs] mastered the self-therapy, just how long and tedious this whole process is, and what it does to you."

Both players participated in some drills this spring, though neither engaged in all the contact drills. Massaro said in mid April that his knee is "80-85 percent" recovered, and Mauti said if Penn State kicked off preseason drills in mid May, he'd be cleared to do everything.

But the rehab process remains challenging, even for two men who are all too familiar with it.

"It's such a slow recovery," Massaro said. "That's the hardest part about it. That's what eats at you the most. Talking to Mauti, when you tear your second ACL, that's something everyone thinks about. It's my second one. It's another nine, 12 months of my life that I'm not going to be who I am on the football field. Even now, I look at my tape from last spring and where I was playing at the end of the season a few years ago, and you can tell you don't have that athleticism back, and that you're not as strong in the knee and the leg as you were."

Communication was critical for Massaro this spring, as he made sure to keep team doctors, coaches and trainers, particularly new head athletic trainer Tim Bream, in the loop about how his knee felt. If he felt uncomfortable doing certain movements during practice, he told defensive line coach Larry Johnson.

The fact Massaro had suffered both of his ACL tears during the spring made it even more important to proceed with caution.

"There's times I want to be going full speed, times where the offensive line will challenge the defensive line, and I want to get in there and show what I can do," he said. "But I really have to take it slow because if I get too ahead of myself mentally, that's when problems start to happen and other injuries start to arise."

When healthy, Mauti and Massaro are two of Penn State's better defenders. Mauti was well on his way to All-Big Ten honors last season, recording 21 tackles, including three for loss, plus an interception and three pass breakups, in the first three plus games. He worked through some injuries to record 67 tackles, including 5.5 for loss and two sacks, as a starter in 2010.

Massaro has played only one season (2010), but racked up eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He was having a superb spring last year before the ACL tear.

Although the rehab process isn't over, both Massaro and Mauti are on track to return and enhance a defensive front seven that could be the Big Ten's best in 2012.

"That'll be the way it should be," Mauti said. "I'm just excited to play with him. It's about time."

Thanks for waiting patiently for today's Big Ten chat, which took place a little later than normal. Another day of good spring football chatter around the league.

In case you missed out on the fun, here's the full transcript.

Some highlights:

Jason from Northville: Adam, you're in East Lansing this week correct? With the exceptions of Worthy, Robinson, and Pickelman departed do you see this defense as good or better than 2011's defense at MSU?

Adam Rittenberg: Brian actually will be in East Lansing, as of tonight. Excited to see what he learns from the Spartans. I'm really excited about the Spartans D. Gholston is a potential national superstar. Bullough and Allen form an excellent 1-2 punch at LB. Adams might be the league's top cover corner. Michigan State is loaded with difference-makers on defense despite losing Worthy, Robinson and Pickelman. And being able to retain coordinator Pat Narduzzi is huge for the Green and White.

Tyler from Austin, Minn.: Hey Adam, Do you see the Huskers as a real title contender? Are we going to see Taylor Martinez air it out more this year? Is Rex going to get more or less carries this year and what are your thoughts about him being a heisman contender?

Adam Rittenberg: I see Nebraska as a Big Ten title contender but not a national title contender. I'd definitely expect more passes from Martinez, particularly during non-league play when Tim Beck can experiment a bit. I also think Rex's workload will go down because of how Abdullah and Green are performing in spring ball. That's not a bad thing for Rex, who was overworked at times last year. I think Rex will need a huge game or two early to really put himself on the Heisman radar. It's a crowded pool right now, and he's not on it (although he deserves to be).

Max from the Wisconsin Cheerleading Squad: Adam, As per your article about the changes in how PSU is going to play D this season, do you think a drastic change is a good idea? The system is pretty tried and true, especially with LJ Sr and Ron VDL still on staff. Don't you think Ted Roof should take the "If it isn't broke don't fix it" approach?

Adam Rittenberg: Good question, Max, and one I thought a lot about while in State College. Although PSU wisely retained Larry Johnson and Ron Vanderlinden as position coaches, you can see that Roof is definitely in charge on the practice field. It'll be important for the defensive backs to get comfortable with the presnap motion, disguising blitzes and coverages and the other elements that go along with a more varied defensive approach. But I don't think things will change too much for the front seven guys, who really serve as Penn State's bread and butter on D.

Joe from New Glarus, Wis.: Whether it's a question in the mailblog, chat, or you guys writing, every time the NC comes up it seems like a different group of teams is mentioned as those likely to dethrone the SEC. Removing OSU and UM, which program(s) has/have the BEST shot at winning it all in the next 5 years? Maybe a ranking system of sorts.

Adam Rittenberg: Joe, I'd go with Wisconsin and then Nebraska. Wisconsin has been right there the past two seasons. It still amazes me how the Badgers managed to lose three games last fall. But the program is inching toward a nationally elite level. Nebraska might not be too far away, either, and the talent level in Lincoln is pretty good. But the Huskers might have to skip a few steps to reach the promised land as they haven't won a league title since 1999.

Austin from Colorado: Who has the best chance for Heisman in the big 10?

Adam Rittenberg: Montee Ball has to be up there as a Heisman finalist from 2011. Denard Robinson is the other name to watch because he's so recognizable nationally. That's a big part of it -- how exciting you are as a player and how recognizable you are nationally. People point out Denard's shortcomings, and there are some. But he's a face that college football fans know about coast to coast. And that matters regarding the Heisman.

Thanks again for your participation, and my apologies to those whose questions weren't answered. Let's do it again next week.

The Big Ten saw an unprecedented number of coaching changes during the offseason, as three head coaches were dismissed, Wisconsin's staff lost six assistants and many other moves were made. Barring an unexpected change, only four teams -- Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern -- will return their full staffs intact for the 2012 campaign.

Although the coaching carousel hasn't quite reached its end, Big Ten teams have filled all of their coordinator vacancies for the coming season. The league will have 13 new coordinators at eight different programs.

It's time to pass out quick grades for the coordinator hires (co-coordinators are graded together):

ILLINOIS

Co-offensive coordinators Billy Gonzales and Chris Beatty
Previously: Gonzales was LSU's receivers coach and pass-game coordinator; Beatty was Vanderbilt's receivers coach

Grades

Adam Rittenberg: C

Gonzales and Beatty both are strong recruiters who should help bring talented players to Champaign, but they're both young and unproven as playcallers. They should bolster Illinois' receiving corps, but I'd expect a few growing pains on game days as they adjust to bigger roles with a unit that flat-lined late in the 2011 season.

Brian Bennett: B-

Both are energetic guys who should adapt well to Tim Beckman's style, and both were considered up-and-comers. But as Adam mentioned, neither had led an offense before, so it's hard to give this too high a grade yet.

Defensive coordinator Tim Banks
Previously: Co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Cincinnati

Grades

Adam Rittenberg: A-

After a very successful 2011 season, Illinois' defense is looking for continuity and Banks can provide it. His aggressive style and pressure packages should translate well for a unit that still has a lot of talent in the front seven with linebacker Jonathan Brown, defensive tackle Akeem Spence and others.

Brian Bennett: B+

Vic Koenning declined to stay, and Jon Tenuta took the job for about 20 minutes before deciding to stay at NC State. As a third choice, Banks is a really nice hire and a better fit, in my opinion, than Tenuta would have been. After a tough first year with a Cincinnati defense lacking depth and experience, Banks did a great job turning that unit around in 2011. At Illinois, he merely needs to keep it going.

INDIANA

Offensive coordinator Seth Littrell
Previously: Offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Arizona

Grades

Adam Rittenberg: B+

Littrell wasn't the reason Arizona made a coaching change in 2011, as his offense ranked third nationally in passing (370.8 ypg) and 15th in total yards (465.2 ypg). He comes from the fertile Mike Leach coaching tree and should help Indiana's offense become more balanced behind promising quarterback Tre Roberson.

Brian Bennett: A

It isn't easy to hire big-name coaches at Indiana, but Kevin Wilson got a good one as Littrell was left looking for a gig. The addition of Littrell already helped the Hoosiers land promising quarterback Nathan Sudfeld on the recruiting trail.

IOWA

Offensive coordinator Greg Davis
Previously: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas (didn't coach in 2011)

Grades

Adam Rittenberg: B

Davis is an experienced coach who has coordinated offenses at the highest level and won a national title at Texas. He should help James Vandenberg's development at quarterback. The concern is he has been predictable at times and had his most recent success in a spread system, which Iowa likely won't use.

Brian Bennett: C+

Davis oversaw some record-breaking offenses at Texas, but he won't have the same kind of blue-chip talent at Iowa. Then again, in Kirk Ferentz's system, he won't be asked to generate 50 points per game. He's great with quarterbacks, and Ferentz will feel comfortable with a veteran coach who'll keep things simple. But to hire a guy who'd been out of football for a year was not very exciting for a program that probably could have used a battery recharge.

Defensive coordinator Phil Parker
Previously: Defensive backs coach at Iowa

Grades

Adam Rittenberg: B

Parker knows the Hawkeyes' personnel and brings an energetic personality to the defense, but he's not the big-splash addition some were hoping for after Norm Parker's retirement. Phil Parker has coached defensive backs forever but has yet to serve in a coordinator role. It'll be interesting to see how much he actually tweaks the scheme in Iowa City.

Brian Bennett: B-

Parker knows the Hawkeyes defense in and out, and I doubt much will change with the approach now that he is in charge. There was a curiously long time between Norm Parker's retirement and his successor's appointment, and Phil Parker has never been a coordinator before, so that brings my grade down a notch.

NEBRASKA

Defensive coordinator John Papuchis
Previously: Defensive line coach and special teams coordinator, Nebraska

Grades

Adam Rittenberg: B

Papuchis is a rising star and most likely a head coach in the near future. While I'm tempted to give him a higher grade, he hasn't been a playcaller and is just four years removed from being a football intern at LSU. Inexperience is the only main drawback here.

Brian Bennett: B-

Like Adam said, the grade level is held down here by a lack of previous experience. But every coordinator has to start somewhere, and Bo Pelini has been really high on Papuchis, who has done excellent work everywhere he's been put to use so far. Any growing pains should be offset by the knowledge Pelini can impart as a defensive-minded head coach.

OHIO STATE

Offensive coordinator Tom Herman
Previously: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Iowa State

Grades

Adam Rittenberg: B+

Herman is regarded as a rising star and a sharp offensive mind who, with the help of Urban Meyer, will inject some life into a bland Ohio State offense. The only potential drawbacks are that he hasn't proven himself in a big-time job like Ohio State, and Iowa State's offensive numbers from 2011 don't exactly jump off the page.

Brian Bennett: B-

Ohio State fans were probably expecting a bigger name when Meyer promised to bring in the best staff in the country. But Meyer has an eye for offensive talent and will be heavily involved in the offensive game planning himself. Though Herman hasn't done it on a major stage, he'll be working with a lot more talent in Columbus, and this grade could easily prove to be an A in the future.

Defensive coordinator Luke Fickell and co-defensive coordinator Everett Withers
Previously: Fickell was Ohio State's head coach; Withers was North Carolina's head coach

Grades

Adam Rittenberg: A-

There's a lot to like about this pair, as both men return to coaching defense after being put in awkward positions last season. It'll be interesting to see how Fickell fares as the primary defensive playcaller. Withers has a few blotches on his résumé (Minnesota 2007) but brings a lot of experience to the table.

Brian Bennett: A

The head-coaching experience both men got last year should only help their development as coaches, and both are excellent recruiters. My only concern is whether there are too many cooks in the kitchen, but there's no reason to believe that Fickell and Withers won't get along and accept their roles. If so, this should work out really well.

PENN STATE

Defensive coordinator Ted Roof
Previously: Defensive coordinator at Auburn (briefly took Central Florida defensive coordinator job in December)

Grades

Adam Rittenberg: C+

While I loved what Roof did at Minnesota in 2008, his exit from Auburn after some struggles there raises a few red flags. The good news is he steps into a very good situation with Penn State's defense, and he has three good assistants: Larry Johnson, Ron Vanderlinden and John Butler, two of whom (Johnson and Vanderlinden) are holdovers from the previous staff.

Brian Bennett: C

Roof has some very bright spots on his long résumé, but he's also been a serial job-changer whom Auburn fans couldn't wait to see leave town despite the national title. Bill O'Brien could have retained Tom Bradley or promoted Johnson and probably done just as well, if not better. But he has a previous relationship with Roof, so the trust factor should be high.

PURDUE

Defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar
Previously: Defensive coordinator for the CFL's Montreal Alouettes

Grades

Adam Rittenberg: C

Both the change and the hire surprised me a bit, and Tibesar is a bit of a wild card coming back to college football from the CFL. He knows how to face the spread offense, a primary reason Danny Hope hired him, and had some success in Montreal. But his previous FBS stop at Kansas State resulted in some struggles (117th-rated defense in 2008).

Brian Bennett: C-

If Tibesar pans out as a successful defensive coordinator, perhaps Hope will start a trend of teams looking to the Great White North for assistant coaches. I'll give Hope some credit for making an unconventional choice, but I'm a little skeptical about just how well the CFL experience will translate to college.

WISCONSIN

Offensive coordinator Matt Canada
Previously: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Northern Illinois

Grades

Adam Rittenberg: B

Canada has extensive coordinator experience, including four seasons in the Big Ten at Indiana, but he has been primarily a spread coach in recent seasons. While he had success running a pro-style system during his first stint at Northern Illinois (2003), he'll have to make some adjustments. The good news: he inherits a lot of talent and understands his main job is to keep the momentum going.

Brian Bennett: B-

I was surprised that Bret Bielema didn't chose someone who was a pro-style disciple through and through given his strong comments about not changing the offense much after Paul Chryst left. As Adam said, Canada knows his stuff and has done some good work as a coordinator. But anytime a coach has to adjust his style to a larger system and not the other way around creates a seed of doubt.

The Big Ten had three head-coaching changes in the offseason, with new leading men stepping in at Ohio State, Illinois and Penn State. We already shared our thoughts on the new staffs at Illinois and Ohio State. We finish off the series by turning to Penn State, which wrapped up its staff recently with the addition of Charlie Fisher as quarterbacks coach.

Here's how the new Penn State staff looks:

Bill O'Brien -- head coach
Stan Hixon -- assistant head coach/wide receivers
Ted Roof -- defensive coordinator
John Butler -- secondary
Charlie Fisher -- quarterbacks
Larry Johnson -- defensive line
Charles London -- running backs
Mac McWhorter -- offensive line
John Strollo -- tight ends
Ron Vanderlinden -- linebackers

So today's Take Two topic is: How did O'Brien fare in putting together his first staff at Penn State?

Take 1: Brian Bennett

We can't evaluate how O'Brien did in a vacuum. He is the first new head coach at Penn State in nearly half a century, taking over a place where assistants hardly ever left under Joe Paterno. O'Brien also got a bit of a late start in assembling his assistants, as he was not hired until early January, and the uncertainty and controversy swirling in State College may not have made this opportunity attractive to all job candidates.

With all that in mind, I think O'Brien did a reasonably good job in putting this staff together. I thought it was a great move to retain Johnson and Vanderlinden, two excellent coaches who didn't deserve to get scapegoated for the Jerry Sandusky mess. They will be able to provide some institutional knowledge about a place that isn't familiar with much change. It would have been nice if O'Brien could have kept Tom Bradley as well, but he brought in a seasoned veteran in Ted Roof, who knows the Big Ten from his time at Minnesota. Roof was pushed out at Auburn and has moved around an awful lot in his career, but he does have a national championship ring and a wealth of experience. Same goes for McWhorter, another greybeard who helped win a BCS title at Texas. I like the mixture of experience (Hixon, Trollo and Fisher have seen it all in their long careers) and up-and-comers like London and Butler, the latter of whom O'Brien was able to lure away from a successful program at South Carolina.

Ultimately, whether this works or not will all depend on O'Brien, who was a surprising choice to replace Joe Paterno and who has never been a head coach before. He has an enormous legacy to follow, as well as some off-the-field challenges. He has a staff full of coaches he knows and has worked with in the past to help guide him through that journey.

Take 2: Adam Rittenberg

It's interesting to see what would have happened with the staff makeup had Penn State hired O'Brien a few weeks earlier. Perhaps we would have seen the same names, perhaps not. But O'Brien had to rush to get coaches in place to help finish off 2012 recruiting while he wrapped up the season with the Patriots. I love his decision to retain both Johnson and Vanderlinden. Johnson has been Penn State's lead recruiter and one of the best in the Big Ten, and both he and Vanerlinden provide continuity for a defense that has been consistently good to great in recent years.

The two most critical hires in my mind are Roof and Fisher. Roof's appointment generated some grumbling around Nittany Nation, as fans were skeptical about a coach who struggled his final season at Auburn before parting ways with Gene Chizik. Although Roof had success in the Big Ten at Minnesota in 2008, he'll be under the microscope. The good thing is he understands his job is to keep Penn State's defensive tradition alive, rather than overhauling what has been a good unit. I like the Fisher hire as he brings a lot of experience to a group that needs a significant upgrade. He'll work with O'Brien more than any other assistant, and they'll collaborate with tutoring the quarterbacks and shaping the offensive vision.

Overall, I think O'Brien did a nice job. My only two concerns here are whether he went with too many familiar names from his previous coaching stops and whether there's enough youth on the staff, which can be beneficial in recruiting. Penn State has no shortage of grizzled vets, but there's not much youth other than London and Butler.

Let's do this.

Glenn from Seattle writes: Adam, I think you're still missing Travis from Omaha's point when he says "the ONLY reason divisional competition matters is for the tiebreaker itself." Nebraska's loss total this year is what mattered, not the fact that they were divisional games. The losses to Michigan and Northwestern might as well have been to Ohio State and Purdue. Divisional games are just games — they only mean something more when the tiebreaker comes into play. For divisional games to truly matter you would have to ignore cross-division games when determining division champions unless you needed a tiebreaker. THEN count the cross division games to break the tie. The Big Ten and Nebraska's former Big XII don't really have division champions — they have conference top seeds where one is required to be from each division. It's a subtle but important distinction. Or to put it another way: conference championships typically don't count non-conference games except in the event of a tie, so why should division championships count non-division games?

Adam Rittenberg: Glenn, you bring up some good points here. I guess my view is that the tiebreaker often will matter, and therefore the division games often will mean more. Look at the Big Ten standings between 1998-2010: there was a tie for first place seven times. In 2010, the tie was broken by the final BCS standings because Michigan State and Ohio State didn't play. We were left with co-champions, which no one liked, especially me, and a questionable system of breaking ties. The beauty of divisions is that teams are guaranteed to play the other five squads, which in many cases will break any ties through head-to-head results rather than a questionable rankings system like the BCS standings. Also, a division loss equals a win for another team you're directly competing against to get to Indianapolis. A cross-division loss hurts you, but it only indirectly helps your division competitors rather than directly helping them.

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Judy Tibesar from St. Paul, Minn., writes: My son's name is TIM TIBESAR not Tisebar.

Adam Rittenberg: Sorry, Mrs. Tibesar!!! We'll get it right in the future. Hoping to talk with Tim for a Q&A soon.

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Evan from Arusha, Tanzania, writes: Hey Adam, how much of a difference, recruiting wise, do you think it made not having O'Brien joining PSU after the Super Bowl? It has been pretty obvious that Michigan and OSU have really utilized their time with these juniors, which PSU and O'Brien's staff may not have been able to use.

Adam Rittenberg: Evan, Bill O'Brien made a point to try and be in State College for recruiting events while he was still with the Patriots. He also attended the junior day event this past weekend. Would it have helped to have him fully focused on Penn State the day he was hired? Sure. Would it have made a dramatic difference? Probably not. It's vital for O'Brien to establish himself with recruits and high school coaches during the coming months. While the 2013 class is important, I'm thinking the next two classes (2014, 2015) are when O'Brien and Penn State need to make a big splash. Retaining top recruiter Larry Johnson was an excellent move, but Penn State might have some recruiting speed bumps during the initial transition.

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Ryan from Omaha writes: I don't really understand why so many people don't believe in Taylor Martinez. If you look at his stats he completed 162 of his 288 passing attempts for 2,089 yards for 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He completed 56.2% of his passes. In 1995 Tommie Frazier completed 92 of his 163 passing attempts for 1,362 yards for 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. He complets 56.4% of his passes. In two seasons at Nebraska Martinez has thrown 3,720 yards and Frazier threw 3,521 yards in four seasons at Nebraska. Will you please tell me why most people say he can't throw or lead Nebraska's offense.

Adam Rittenberg: Ryan, it's nice to see there's one Taylor Martinez fan in the great state of Nebraska. One difference is that Frazier operated in a true option offense, while the Huskers rely on Martinez to throw the ball more in the current system. Martinez attempted 125 more passes in 2011 than Frazier did in 1995. Also, Frazier had a quarterback rating of 156.14, which ranked second in the Big Eight in 1995, while Martinez's rating of 126.52 ranked ninth in the Big Ten. Frazier had four more touchdown passes and four fewer interceptions than Martinez. That's a big difference. Like many teams, Nebraska lives and dies by turnover margin, which hasn't been great in recent years.

It doesn't really hold water to compare Martinez in 2011 with Frazier in 1995, but I also think Martinez did some good things in the offense last season that tend to get overlooked. His critics point to his decision-making, which needs to improve, and his throwing motion, which looks worse than it actually is. But Martinez gets a raw deal at times, and he's still got some time to make strides. He had some really nice performances and showed some resilience against Ohio State a week after struggling mightily at Wisconsin.

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Eli from New York writes: 10.6 Million. Nothing on the first page of your site. I bet you Sandusky's trial will be on the front page for a week.

Adam Rittenberg: Eli, I acknowledged Penn State's tremendous work at THON this year in today's lunch links. It's a wonderful event that gave Penn Staters a chance to celebrate, take pride in their school and generate a lot of money for a great cause. But you're not going to see stories about student fundraisers in the news rail of a national sports Web site. Penn State is one of many schools to hold similar events, and they're all terrific, but they're not going to appear on the front of the site. The Sandusky scandal is a major national news story. It generated national attention and still does. We know Penn State fans want it to go away, but it's not going away. We can debate the coverage of the scandal, but the attention on the case, and its connection to sports, is why you'll see it appear on the news rail.

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Ben from New Berlin, Wis., writes: Adam, just asking for some clarification on your rankings on the Top 25 players. Are you ranking them based on their values (similar to MVP voting) or based on how good they are at their positions. I see guys like Konz and Zeitler go 17 and 20 but are both All-Americans and I know there weren't 20 All-Americans in the Big10. Are your ranking more based off of valuable positions? Should we expect the Top 10 to be QBs and RBs? Just curious, what sort of ranking would Joe Thomas and Jake Long get on your list?

Adam Rittenberg: Ben, good question. We're ranking them based on their value to the team and their impact on their team's season in 2011. There are certain positions we value over others, and while I can assure you the top 10 won't only be QBs and RBs, it won't be all offensive linemen, either. Without speaking for Brian, I tend to value offensive tackles above centers and centers above guards. You would have to be a pretty special guard to crack my top 15, but I'd definitely include a tackle in my top three. I had Wisconsin tackle Gabe Carimi at No. 6 in the 2010 rankings. Both Thomas and Long undoubtedly would be in my top 5 if I was blogging back in 2006 and 2007.

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Stephen from Pennsylvania writes: Do you have Northwestern having a good year next year? I believe they are the underdog in the Big Ten, but I want to hear someone else's opinion. At best, I think they could get nine wins, what do you think?

Adam Rittenberg: Stephen, I think Northwestern faces some big hurdles in 2012. The biggest issue is a defense that hasn't been right for the better part of the past two seasons. Northwestern simply doesn't have enough playmakers on the defensive side and has one unit (secondary) that consistently ranks near the bottom of the league. The key to the season will be the younger defenders who saw significant action in 2011. Will they step up and make more plays, or will Northwestern continue to have breakdowns? The Wildcats also play three nonconference games against teams from BCS automatic-qualifying conferences, and while it's not murderer's row -- Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Boston College -- it'll be tough to go undefeated. While there are some question marks on offense, Northwestern has a track record of finding productive players. Nine wins definitely seems like a stretch. If Northwestern wins seven or eight, it would be a big success.

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Jeb from East Lansing, Mich., writes: Can we get something straight. I get so sick of hearing that if Wisconsin would have made 2 plays last year they could have went undefeated. This is true for the Ohio State game, but it is not for the MSU game. We were tied when the Hail Mary happened and would have went to overtime if it had fallen incomplete, at which point it was probably 50/50 who would have won. So please stop propagating the myth that Wisconsin was 2 plays away from going undefeated last year, they had a lot more work to do if they were going to win the MSU regular season game.

Adam Rittenberg: Jeb, that's a fair point. Wisconsin would have had to make several plays in overtime to outlast the Spartans. It seemed like the Badgers had the momentum, though, after erasing their fourth-quarter deficit to tie up the game. Wisconsin also ranked second nationally in red zone offense, which is basically what overtime in college football boils down to. The Badgers scored 64 touchdowns on 75 trips inside the red zone and failed to score only four times. They led the nation in points scored in the red zone (468) and ranked second in trips to the red zone. Michigan State ranked 45th nationally in red zone offense with 34 touchdowns in 56 trips. On the flip side, Michigan State was much better in red zone defense (22nd nationally) than Wisconsin (77th). It would have been interesting to see how overtime would have turned out. But thanks to Michigan State's heroics, it doesn't matter.

Hoping everyone has a great weekend. The blog will be dark Monday for the holiday, but I'll be back at it bright and early Tuesday morning.

Onto your emails ...

Nick from Omaha writes: Adam, love the blog. I was just thinking: Everyone's asking what will happen to the Rose Bowl if a playoff system comes along. Well in the playoff system, there probably wouldn't be any important bowls so that would mean the end of the Rose Bowl. Well what if the Rose Bowl becomes a championship game of sorts for the B1G-Pac-12 and is played before the playoffs, or maybe as a way to get an automatic seed into an 8-team playoff? That would preserve the Rose Bowl and it would add greater importance to the season and partnership between the conferences. Whats your take?

Adam Rittenberg: Nick, it's an interesting idea. Your model would extend the season well into January, because the Rose Bowl isn't going to move from its traditional Jan. 1 date. In your model, we'd be seeing games at least two weeks into January and possibly three weeks in. Can't see the university presidents going for it, but you never know. Also, if the Rose Bowl determines an automatic bid to the playoffs, would there still be opportunities for other Big Ten and Pac-12 teams to make it. I don't think those two leagues want only one representative between the two of them in an eight-team playoff. I think it's more likely we see the Rose Bowl either incorporated into the playoff structure or exist independently of the playoff but take place around the same time. I think the time window we're looking at for all of this is between Dec. 20-Jan. 10.

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Mark from Wooster, Ohio, writes: Thanks for answering my question but it just raises more questions. You write "While it's possible an undefeated Big Ten team could be left out, history shows it's highly unlikely. 'Bennett writes "Wisconsin makes three more plays last year it goes undefeated" So are you suggesting if the Badgers did not lose those two close games. They would have gone to the National Championship? It is my humble opinion In addition to making those close loses into wins, they would have needed some Quality wins outside the conference. What am I missing here?

Adam Rittenberg: That's exactly what I'm saying, Mark. Wisconsin would have been one of two FBS unbeaten teams (along with LSU) had it won at both Michigan State and at Ohio State, and captured the Big Ten championship game. Your national title game would have been Wisconsin-LSU in New Orleans. As I mentioned to you in my previous note, strength of schedule matters when you're comparing major-conference teams with the exact same record, not major-conference teams with different records. In many cases, we're comparing several 1-loss teams. In that case, Wisconsin's weaker strength of schedule would have hurt. But if Wisconsin and LSU were the only two unbeaten squads on the board, they would meet in the title game. Plus, Wisconsin would have had two more road wins (Michigan State and Ohio State), which would have helped the Badgers with the BCS computers.

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Brian from Newmarket, United Kingdom, writes: Great column, helps me keep up with the Big Ten while I am overseas. My question is do you think the TCU drug scandal is actually a bigger issue than what happened at Penn State? TCU involved many football players and for all we know it could get bigger. Penn State's issue was with a retired coach, a head coach that the legal system considered innocent and some University officials (not football specific). I understand the crime at Penn State is worse but in regards to the football program which is bigger?

Adam Rittenberg: Brian, I see what you're getting at, and I guess in terms of the coming season, the TCU situation could have a bigger impact. The Frogs could be without several key players as they transition to a new conference (Big 12). There also will be further investigation into how rampant the drug problems were in the program. But in the greater picture, the Penn State scandal was a much bigger issue in virtually every way. The alleged crimes are much worse, as you point out. The scandal also led to a historic head-coaching change and the resignation of an athletic director. It negatively impacted a recruiting class and could have an impact in future recruiting. It has prompted the potential -- not the guarantee, but the possibility -- of sanctions from both the NCAA and the Big Ten. You're right in that the Penn State scandal might not impact the current roster in the way the TCU situation might, but in every other way the situation in State College is worse.

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Travis from Omaha writes: I think you put way to much stock into divisional competition. Having followed Nebraska throught he Big12, I can't tell you how many times a cross division loss (Texas or OU) forced a tie breaker. The ONLY reason divisional compeition matters is for the tie breaker itself. Otherwise, it really doesn't mean anything. So lets say Nebraskas sweeps their division, but loses to Penn St. and another cross division team, Wisconsin. That's pretty easy to do, and sweeping your divisions doens't really mean anything because its the team with the best overall CONFERENCE record that wins the division. Michigan's could only lose one game to Nebraska, and beat everyone else on their schedule, but could be in the title game. I would say, look at Kansas's 2007 orange bowl run to see how important cross division games are. The onyl year they don't play OU or Texas, BAM! Orange bowl. Now, that doesn't mean cross division games are more imporant. It just means that a conference loss is a conference loss and division's don't mean anything until a tie breaker is needed.

Adam Rittenberg: Travis, thanks for sharing your perspective, especially as someone who has followed division play for a number of years. While you're right about a lot of this, I would point out that the Big 12 divisional alignment was structured a bit differently than the Big Ten seemingly will be. You had by far the two most dominant programs -- Texas and Oklahoma -- in the same division (South), and as a result you usually had the South division being much stronger than the North. So the North division teams that didn't play Texas and OU -- like Kansas -- had a much easier path, increasing the significance of cross-division games.

The Big Ten, meanwhile, seems to have greater balance in its division alignment than the Big 12. While you're right that all Big Ten games matter, there's still an added significance for division games. Look at Michigan and Ohio State, for example. While both fan bases want that win more than any other on the schedule, a Michigan win against Ohio State often might not be as significant as a Michigan win against Nebraska. Or if Ohio State has to lose one game in league play, it's probably better to lose to Michigan than Wisconsin, which is in the same division.

Let's also look at your favorite team, Nebraska, in 2011. The Huskers actually handled themselves well in tough cross-division matchups, going 2-1 against Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Nebraska also scored a big Legends division win against Michigan State. But it was the division losses -- Northwestern and Michigan -- that doomed Big Red in its quest for a Big Ten title.

Every conference game matters, but I do think that the Big Ten having pretty good balance in its division alignment (maybe not in 2012, but in most years) adds significance to the division games.

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Michael from New York writes: For next year at least, isn't Ted Roof under a lot more pressure that O'Brien? He replaces a very successful coordinator who most fans feel got a raw deal. He is also inherriting plenty of talent.

Adam Rittenberg: I think both men are under some pressure, Michael, but you make an excellent point about Roof. His hiring was greeted with a lot of skepticism by Penn State fans, mainly because of how things ended at Auburn. Penn State has historically been very strong on defense, and Tom Bradley was one of the better coordinators in the country. Any sort of step back under Roof would cause some grumbling, especially if it's related to the scheme. Roof did retain two excellent defensive assistants in line coach Larry Johnson and linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden, and I like the John Butler hire from South Carolina. But Penn State likely will need to be a defense-driven team, and there's a lot of talent coming back, particularly at linebacker. It's important for Roof to keep the unit performing at a high level.

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Chris from Bloomington, Ind., writes: What do you think the chances are of the B1G making similar arrangements with other conferences as they have with the Pac 12 in regards to scheduling? With the B1G tv contract negotiations coming up soon and the possible move to a strength of schedule based playoff, it may neutralize many of the drawbacks such as reduced ticket revenue and the need to go undefeated for the NCG.

Adam Rittenberg: Chris, you make some good points, but I don't know how much more the Big Ten can dictate how its teams schedule non-league games. You're dealing with a majority of schools that need at least three non-league home games a year. The Pac-12 agreement calls for home-and-home series, so six Big Ten schools will be playing at least one non-league road game each season. You also have school-specific nonconference agreements like the ones Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue have with Notre Dame, and Iowa has with Iowa State. Another scheduling initiative might be a tough sell to the ADs. So while we'd all love to see every Big Ten school play at least two stronger non-league games a season, I don't see it happening.

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Rich from Baltimore writes: What is the most important out of conference game for the B1G in 2012? UM/Alabama and MSU/Boise stand out, but are there others that can build the case for a deeper B1G?

Adam Rittenberg: The Alabama and Boise State games will shape the Big Ten's national perception more than any others, Rich. And if I had to pick one, it's Alabama. You beat the defending national champion, a team that has won two of the past three national titles, and you gain instant respect around the country. There are some other nonconference games that will matter, too. Notre Dame likely will be ranked in the top 20 entering the season, so beating the Irish at least twice would help the Big Ten. You also have some interesting Big Ten-Pac-12 matchups, such as Ohio State hosting California, Wisconsin visiting Oregon State, Nebraska visiting UCLA and Illinois visiting Arizona State. One game that might fly under the radar is Northwestern hosting Vanderbilt, but Vandy is a program on the rise. This would be a nice win against an SEC opponent.

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Greg from Brockton, Mass., writes: Just to clarify, O'Brien could rejoin former Maryland assistant James Franklin at Vanderbilt, but he couldn't receive a scholarship from the school. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that O'Brien has yet to contact Wisconsin. I thought he was a graduate student and as such could transfer depending on grad programs. How can Maryland restrict those?

Adam Rittenberg: Greg, I can't help but think of "Coneheads" when I see Brockton, Mass. Good times. ... In this case, we're talking about two issues: academics and athletics. From an academic perspective, Maryland can't restrict quarterback Danny O'Brien at all. He can enroll anywhere he wants and pay tuition like any other student. But if he wants to receive an athletic scholarship from Vanderbilt, he needs his release from the previous institution. That's what Randy Edsall is preventing. Maryland reportedly will grant O'Brien's release to a school like Wisconsin, where he could receive an athletic scholarship. So there's an academic component and an athletic scholarship component to this.

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Aaron from New Braunfels, Texas, writes: Hi Adam, I love the work you guys are doing here: I am a big Hawkeye fan, and am a little nervous over Phil Parker being named the new D coordinator. Here is why I am worried. Norm Parker was not only a outstanding coach, but a master motivator. I noticed that when he had to leave the sidelines the D appeared to lose alot of its fire- escpecially in the 4th quarter when it counted the most. All the while Phil was on the sidelines filling in. Exactly what was Phil's role in Norm's abscence, and how concerned (if any) should I be? I want to give the guy a fair shake, but it is hard to ignore the forementioned observation.

Adam Rittenberg: Aaron, that's an interesting take about the defense losing its edge when Norm's health problems forced him off of the sideline. Not sure the two are connected, but it's worth noting. Phil Parker worked in collaboration with the other defensive assistants during Norm's absence in 2010. They all took on additional duties at that time. Phil also was known as the "yeller" on Iowa's staff during the early part of his tenure with the Hawkeyes, and he doesn't seem to lack fire or the ability to motivate players. Iowa fans should pay more attention to Parker's play calls and personnel groupings than his passion for the game, which doesn't appear to be a problem. Will Phil Parker truly put his imprint on the defense or just continue what Norm did? That's what I'm interested to find out this fall.

Big Ten bloggers Adam Rittenberg and Brian Bennett will occasionally give their takes on a burning question facing the league. We'll both have strong opinions, but not necessarily the same view. We'll let you decide which blogger is right.

Today's Take Two topic is this: What has been the best assistant coaching hire in the Big Ten so far this offseason?

Take 1: Adam Rittenberg

It's not an outside hire but rather an assistant retained from the previous staff. Penn State's Bill O'Brien made an excellent decision immediately after getting the job in keeping defensive line coach Larry Johnson on staff. Johnson has been Penn State's lead recruiter for years and one of the best in the Big Ten. As Penn State goes through a transition and enters an uncertain future, having Johnson on staff to spearhead recruiting should really help. Johnson recruits the talent-rich Washington D.C./Maryland/Virginia area well and is a known name with Pennsylvania high school coaches. He also has a strong record as a position coach developing defensive linemen like Tamba Hali, Aaron Maybin, Jared Odrick and, most recently, Devon Still. Johnson can help maintain some continuity on Penn State's defense, which isn't the unit that needs a serious upgrade on this team. Every assistant is evaluated as both a recruiter and as a talent-developer. Johnson excels at both, and he also can help O'Brien and Penn State through a historic transition.

Take 2: Brian Bennett

That's a good choice, Adam, and certainly an excellent decision by Bill O'Brien. I'm going to go with a guy who wasn't part of a program before but made a stellar addition: Everett Withers at Ohio State. Urban Meyer promised to bring in a top-notch staff, and Withers is the headliner of that group. He was the interim head coach at North Carolina last season and before that led some extremely talented and productive defenses for the Tar Heels. Withers has been a defensive coordinator in the Big Ten before (at Minnesota) and is regarded as one of the top teachers of defensive back play in the country. He's also a good recruiter whose ties to North Carolina played a big role in the Buckeyes landing linebacker Jamal Marcus in this class. When paired with holdover Luke Fickell -- another great call by Meyer -- Withers should help Ohio State reclaim its Silver Bullets legacy as one of the top defenses in the nation.

Charles London doesn't have any connections to Penn State except for admiring the program from afar and having worked for former Nittany Lions player Mike Munchak on the Tennessee Titans. But now he's on new coach Bill O'Brien's staff as running backs coach, representing a new way of doing things in State College. London played and later coached at Duke and then went on to work in the NFL, serving as an offensive assistant and quality control coach for the Titans. He's young and smart (he has a master's degree from Duke), and he recently visited with ESPN.com to talk about why he came to Penn State.

You got to know coach O'Brien while both of you guys were at Duke. How would you describe him as a coach?
Charles London: He's a very passionate guy. He's very smart. He knows offensive football and how to relate to players. He's just very passionate about what he does and really has the ability to get the most out of his players.

You've spent the past couple of years in the NFL. Was your goal to coach in the pros, or were you just looking to break into coaching wherever possible?
CL: Originally, I just wanted to get into coaching, so I started my career as a graduate assistant in 2004. It took me to college and the pros. I spent the last few years in the NFL. But I just wanted to coach. When Coach O'Brien got this job and offered me a position on the staff, it was an opportunity I couldn't turn down. I knew he'd be a good coach, and with Penn State being such a special place, I knew it was a great opportunity.

What types of things did you learn from your time in the NFL?
CL: I just had the opportunity to work with two really good head coaches in Lovie Smith and Mike Munchak. I learned a lot about X's and O's, but I also learned how to relate to people, how to get the best out of players. I think it was a great experience for my growth as a coach.

Was there any hesitation about coming to Penn State given the controversy surrounding the program?
CL: No, there was no hesitation at all. Once you step on campus, you see what kind of special place this is. The administration has been great and everybody has been really supportive as we've gone out hitting the recruiting trail. So there was no hesitation on my part.

What was it like trying to recruit this class with so little time?
CL: Well, you know, it was a challenge. But Larry Johnson, Ron Vanderlinden and Bill Kavanaugh who were on our staff here did a great job of maintaining relationships with the kids while we were in transition, so when the new staff came in we just had to pick up the ball where they left off. We just tried to maintain relationships and hold onto the guys who were committed to us and pick up a few new commits as well.

Were you just basically introducing yourself to recruits at that point?
CL: Exactly. One of the first things we had was a recruiting weekend as soon as we got there. We had a short period of time to let the families feel comfortable with us. A mom or dad sends their son to us for four or five years, so they need to feel comfortable with us. So it was just building relationships with them and conveying our message about where the future of Penn State football is headed.

How difficult was it without coach O'Brien around very much?
CL: He's done a good job of splitting his time between the Patriots and Penn State. It was actually really good for us in recruiting. He could have been around all the time, but the kids were very excited about what he was doing. They could turn on the TV on Sunday and say, "That's going to be my head coach in a few weeks." They understood why he couldn't be around in recruiting.

Having been around him, what do you think the offense will look like at Penn State?
CL: I think it will be multiple. It will be a game-plan offense. We'll take advantage of what the defense gives us. If we've got to throw it 40 times to win, we'll do it. If we've got to run it 40 times, we'll do it as well. We'll have to sit down a little further and evaluate our team and our players and what part of the scheme fits them best, and we'll take it from there.

I know you haven't gotten to know the players that much yet, but what are your initial thoughts about Silas Redd?
CL: Extreme quickness. He has great feet, really good vision, does a good job once he gets in the hole. A really explosive first step and he does a lot of things well. I'm really looking forward to working with him.

How much did you know about Penn State before this? Did you watch the Nittany Lions much growing up?
CL: I've always watched them from afar just because of the tradition that was there. I had the pleasure of working for a Penn State alum for the last year or so, and I just knew from talking to him and from the way he carried himself and how he transformed the Tennessee Titans that it was a good place. And that the ideals that they shared at Penn State were similar to my beliefs. So I just knew it would be a good fit.

How did Mike Munchack react when you took this job, especially since he was reported as a head-coaching candidate for a while?
CL: He was very excited. I left with his blessing, and we had a good conversation before I left. He was excited for me and I'm sure he'll be up to a game sometime. Now he has somebody to hold accountable.

How much of a responsibility do you feel as a new staff to be transparent and help bring people back into the fold after all that has happened here, even though you weren't in any way a part of it?
CL: We just want to uphold the tradition of Penn State football. We've been telling people we want to restore the roar here. We're going to do things here with the highest integrity, athletically and academically, and I think people will be proud of the product they see on and off the field.

Where will your recruiting areas be?
CL: We're still figuring some of that out right now. Each coach will have a piece of Pennsylvania. We'll definitely hit Pennsylvania hard and some of the mid-Atlantic states. But also with some of the experiences and relationships we have, we might hit some areas that maybe Penn State hasn't recruited heavily in the past, like North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, those areas. Maybe hit Texas. We'll definitely be aggressive in recruiting.

Finally, just looking around at the facilities, the fan support, what do you feel like is the potential for this program going forward?
CL: I think the sky's the limit for this program.We're going to go out and try to identify the top student-athlete prospects around the country and go after them the best we can. We're going to run a pro-style offense and a really attacking defense. It's going to be a really good place to be, so we're excited about the future.

Larry Johnson has been Penn State's lead recruiter for years, helping the Nittany Lions reel in several blue-chippers, particularly from the Washington D.C./Maryland area. But Johnson's recruiting responsibilities increased this year as Penn State scrambled to hold onto its class. New head coach Bill O'Brien, named to his post Jan. 6, is still juggling two jobs and turned over the recruiting reins to Johnson. Penn State lost several of its top verbal commits to other schools, but held things together enough to sign a class of 19 on Wednesday.

Johnson, the team's defensive line coach and one of two assistants retained from the previous staff, discussed the recruiting process with ESPN.com on Thursday.

Here are his thoughts:

How was this recruiting cycle different from what you've been used to at Penn State?

Larry Johnson: I don't think it was a different cycle, but just the transition from the old staff to the new staff. The only thing different was Coach O'Brien made a decision on every new guy we wanted to offer, just to make sure it was the kind of player he wanted in his system offensively or what we thought defensively. He gave us some parameters and things he was looking for with specific positions. So we had to take those parameters and select players who we wanted to add to the class as we move forward. But the biggest transition was just getting the new staff on board, getting the new staff ready to move forward and really continuing what the old staff had done to that point, moving forward with recruits that we had created relationships with.

When Coach O'Brien came on board, how much of the process was offering new players and how much was trying to keep the committed recruits on board?

LJ: Really, the biggest thing he wanted to do was try to keep the guys who were committed. That was the most important thing, so we had every coach out to see every single recruit who was committed to us. And it was whatever it took, two coaches, three coaches, we did it, and did it by position and did it by areas just to get everybody involved. And then the second weekend in January, it was our biggest recruiting weekend. We had pretty much all those guys on campus, and then Coach O'Brien had a chance to be here and really sat down with each family, each kid for 45 [minutes] to an hour before he left, just to reassure them his commitment to Penn State University and answer questions. That was huge, in the sense of starting out. He was committed to doing it and it worked out well. That was our first priority, hold onto the 14, 15 guys we had and go after more and let them know we're committed. And as we moved along, there were some needs we still had, and we targeted a few kids we could go after and offer and move from there.

Do you think if Coach O'Brien was in place earlier, it would have prevented some recruits from looking elsewhere?

LJ: It's hard to tell. It's hard to really tell if that would have been the factor. The issue is what it was, and parents have a right to make those decisions and what's best for them. Their decision would have been made whether the coach was in place or not in place. The neat thing about it was the guys that stayed with us stayed with us through the whole process. Some kids didn't waver. The focus should really go back to the families and the kids that decided to wait and then stay and then come. It speaks volumes about those people. Some kids say, 'OK, coach, we'll see.' They listened and waited it out and waited for the new coach to be in place. Even though guys took [recruiting] trips during that process, they still came back to one thing. The families realized Penn State is Penn State. You get a great education, and it's a great place to be. Those are the families, and the people we got are very excited about it. Everybody has a choice, and we're just thrilled to death that these guys decided and the families decided to stay with us.

The guys who stayed, did any of that surprise you? Could it have been worse with guys leaving for other programs?

LJ: You never know what's going to happen once the fire starts rolling, one guy changes his mind. Each one of those kids got pressure from the media or their neighbors, 'Why are you still going to Penn State?' We all endured it. It could have been worse, but it wasn't, and I think the biggest key was when Coach O'Brien got named head coach, the first thing he did was call the players, call the parents, talk to them on the phone, and then he was here that first weekend that we had a big official visit. That was huge. They needed to see him, they needed to see his face and they needed to hear his vision of where this program is going. That was a big selling piece. And having all the coaches in place as fast as he did. Normally, it takes a long time to do that, but he had a vision in mind with the staff, and that was in place pretty fast also.

What were your top needs in this class, and how did you do in addressing them?

LJ: We got some really great wideouts. The wideout need we met very well. We needed a running back, and we thought we got a great one in Akeel Lynch. We got some secondary players we wanted, more guys, and we got a couple corners there. We would like to have gotten another corner, but we didn't. Defensive line, I thought we met our needs there. Offensive line is probably one of the only places we came up short in getting the numbers we need to have, but you don't want to take a guy late. You might want to roll it over into next year, and that was our mind-set. When we didn't get the few guys we really wanted to get, we didn't want to move anywhere else. We said, 'Let's wait and see next year, we'll get a couple great guys.' We wanted to get four [offensive linemen] and we got two.

What stands out to you about the wide receivers, guys like Eugene Lewis?

LJ: Coach [Stan] Hixon saw them on videotape and it doesn't take much to figure out what kind of kid [Lewis] is. He's great with the ball in his hands, great, athletic kid, great basketball player, great hands, great competitor. All the things you want in a big wideout, he has. So I think he's a great player. Then you have Trevor Williams, another guy who caught 99 balls last year. Jonathan Warner, he's got great hands, Malik Golden, another very athletic guy also. So I think it's a really outstanding class of wide receivers.

And the defensive linemen, what stands out about them? You'll obviously be working closely with those guys.

LJ: All four of those guys are very athletic, can do a multitude of things. Three of them played basketball, one wrestled, so they're multi-sport guys, great competitors, and they're big and can run. And they're great kids, great students, high-character families. So we're very fortunate to hold onto all those guys. And then we got Evan Schwan, the young D-end, we got him late but he was in our camp for two years, so we knew a little bit about him, but we weren't really sure we were going to take another defensive end. We just felt he was too good of a guy. To not play his junior year and have a great senior year, he's 6-6, you just can't pass up his athletic skills. We were very fortunate to get him late in the process.

How much have you talked the next class and your philosophy going forward with recruiting under Coach O'Brien?

LJ: I think the groundwork has already been laid. He gave us some parameters moving forward with the 2013 class and what we're looking for. That won't take place totally until he gets here next Tuesday, and then we'll really put the groundwork. But he did give us some parameters of where he wanted to go in the next class and the numbers we're looking at. There's some areas we're going to really hone in on. I know one thing is he wants to control the state of Pennsylvania, so we're going to make a lot of effort in-state to really hold these kids in it. And then we're going to attack the surrounding areas as hard as we can on the East Coast and in through Ohio. And then we may jump and recruit some areas we haven't been before, only because it ties to the coaching staff, Georgia, Alabama, Florida a little bit. But our base is going to be Pennsylvania, the D.C. area, the Maryland area, Western Pennsylvania, all the places that we've got a chance to really get some great players from.

So a little more Southeast focused with this staff?

LJ: I think so. We're going to dip down in there. You get one or two guys. The key there is travel, getting here. But we've got some guys on this staff, Coach [Ted] Roof and Coach Mac [McWhorter] have got some expertise in that area, some friendships down in the Alabama, Georgia area. So it makes sense to use their connections and try to get some kids out of there.

How much of your job has been reassuring recruits and their parents about the situation at Penn State and that the program is moving forward?

LJ: Signing this class now, I think we can all move forward. That starts the moving forward for Penn State football, having Coach O'Brien and his staff here, that's been a great starting point. I think now we can really move forward, we really can, and focus on putting together a great class, our kind of people, and ones who want to come to Penn State for all the right things and play at a high level. That's what we're selling right now. And I'd be remiss if I didn't say this: the previous staff, two months prior to this all happening, that's all we sold, Penn State. That's a compliment to those guys. Knowing the situation we were in as coaches, we never stopped selling Penn State. I really think that's why we're here today, because we didn't waver from that and really believe in the system here at Penn State. Now moving forward with this class, people are going to see a difference in what we'll do and how we approach this as we move forward. There are exciting times ahead, I really believe that.

Of the eight assistant coaches Bill O'Brien has named to his staff at Penn State, no hire has sparked more debate among Nittany Nation than defensive coordinator Ted Roof. He spent the past three seasons at Auburn, winning a national title in 2010 but finishing no higher than 60th nationally in total defense. After facing scrutiny this past season, Roof left for a position on Central Florida's staff before joining O'Brien, one of his former ACC colleagues, at Penn State. Roof has an interesting résumé, highlighted by a successful run as Georgia Tech's defensive coordinator and a solid season as Minnesota's defensive coordinator in 2008. But he also went 6-45 as Duke's head coach between 2003-07 (O'Brien served as the Blue Devils' offensive coordinator in 2005 and 2006).

Roof takes over for longtime Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, who guided the Nittany Lions following Joe Paterno's firing in November. He'll work alongside two assistants retained from the previous staff -- defensive line coach Larry Johnson and linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden -- as well as defensive backs coach John Butler, who Roof worked with at Minnesota.

ESPN.com recently caught up with Roof. Here are his thoughts on his new gig.

Why Penn State? Why did this job make sense for you?

Ted Roof: It started with Bill O'Brien. This is the third stop that we've worked together [Georgia Tech, Duke]. He's a very strong leader, he's passionate about what he does, he's high-energy, and I know that he's going to be successful. And it's hard to say no to Penn State. To me, Penn State is one of those 'wow' places. There's only a handful of them in the country. When you're there, the facilities are unbelievable. The people are very welcoming. It's an outstanding university with a huge alumni network. It's something I don't think you can say no to.

What do you know about Bill that a lot of people don't? How do you think he'll fare in a head-coaching position?

Roof: He's very organized. He has a very detailed and thorough plan for every aspect of the program. He was in college football for a while, and then to be in the NFL the last five years working in [the New England Patriots] organization for a guy like Bill Belichick, I know he's enjoyed that experience. He relates to players well. He's going to be a disciplinarian, because he knows we're going to do things the right way. At the same time, football at the highest level and a meaningful academic, collegiate experience, they can coexist. You don't have to settle for one or the other. The values of what he's about align with the values of Penn State. It matched up.

What has been your impression of Penn State from the outside as someone who has worked in college football for a long time?

Roof: The success both on and off the field. The number of football games they won and the way they won, and at the same time, the graduation rates and what their players do after they graduate. It's really, really classy, and it's a great combination of the best of both worlds: the best academically, and the best also on the football field.

What type of defense do you want to play?

Roof: Multiply aggressive. Here's what I think we've got to do: evaluate who our players are, what their strengths are and then ask them to do that -- not stuff a square peg into a round hole. I do know that in order to be great, we're going to have to stop the run, we're going to have to affect the quarterback, and we're going to have to defend the deep ball. If we can do those three things, we're going to be real successful.

Coach O'Brien kept coach Johnson and coach Vanderlinden on staff. Do you know them? What has it been like being in touch with them?

Roof: The transition has been great. Those guys are both highly respected in this profession, both good men. It's been real good. They've helped during this transition for the new guys coming on board to kind of catch us up and indoctrinate us into Penn State and give us their vantage point and perspective on what Penn State stands for and what it's all about. They've both been extremely helpful. They have awful good reputations, and I'm looking forward to working with them.

You worked with coach Butler at Minnesota. Was that a big factor in him coming to Penn State?

Roof: Coach O'Brien hired guys that he either worked with before, guys that had Penn State ties or guys that were native Pennsylvanians. I certainly was familiar with John after working with him for a year. I have a lot of respect for the job he did. He's a relentless recruiter, a relentless recruiter and a heck of a football coach. I'm looking forward to reuniting with him and moving forward.

Penn State has played defense a certain way for a lot of years. How do you blend the way they've done things with what you do, or are there a lot of parallels?

Roof: They've played really good defense for a long time, and the previous staff did a wonderful job. Everybody in college football respects what they've done. At the same time, I don't know exactly what they've done. All I know is it's worked. We've got to evaluate who we've got on our defensive squad right now and put them in positions, always under the mantra of being multiply aggressive.

Have you had a chance to look at the personnel yet?

Roof: Not as much as we're going to, but I've watched some of it. We've got to get into more of getting to know our current players, and also finishing up this recruiting class and starting the next one.

What types of players are you looking for as you're out recruiting?

Roof: Guys who will be great fits at Penn State, guys that want to do things the right way, guys that understand the value of a degree, and at the same time doing what's right in our system. In the back end and at linebacker, we want guys that can run, want guys that are tenacious, and want guys that can change direction and make plays in space. And up front, we want guys that can turn the corner and attack the quarterback, and guys inside that can push the pocket and hold the point, and be productive in the run game.

You've coached in the Big Ten, the ACC and the SEC. Do you draw much on your Big Ten experience at Minnesota?

Roof: It's a great conference. There's so much tradition in this conference and pageantry. It's a good conference to be a part of. College football changes so much and so quickly. It's certainly changed since I was in the Big Ten in 2008. I've got to study it as we move forward, and go from there.

What type of challenge does this situation at Penn State present after what's happened the past few months?

Roof: I think there are great opportunities here. We're following a legendary coach at a legendary institution. So it's a great opportunity, and we're just excited about moving forward.

What's your message to the players?

Roof: I met with them the first week I was there and right now, it's all about getting to know each other, understanding the expectation level, and working to take the next step. That's what we've got to do, because the standard at Penn State is extremely high.

National Signing Day is barely a week away, and Big Ten teams will be stockpiling for the future (and, in some cases, the present). Today we'll take a look at the recruiting needs of each Big Ten team, starting with those in the Leaders division. These needs are based on current rosters and anticipated departures in the near future. And to save you some email time, we do realize teams have already addressed needs in compiling their 2012 classes.

Let's get started ...

ILLINOIS

Wide receiver: The Illini lose A.J. Jenkins, who accounted for 90 of the team's 226 receptions in 2011. No other Illinois player had more than 26 catches, so there certainly are opportunities for young players to emerge and make an immediate impact for the new coaching staff.

Linemen: Illinois loses two starters from an offensive line that struggled down the stretch of the regular season. It's important to build depth there going forward. Despite Whitney Mercilus' early departure to the NFL draft, the defensive line returns some talented players. Still, defensive end Michael Buchanan is entering his senior year, and defensive tackle Akeem Spence is a bona fide NFL prospect who could enter the draft with a strong 2012 campaign.

Safety: The Illini defense didn't have many weaknesses in 2011, but safety was a liability at times. The team returns experience for 2012, but will lose some key players after the season. An impact defensive back or two in the 2012 class would really help.

INDIANA

Defensive back: This has been a primary recruiting need for the past few seasons, and it remains a pressing concern after Indiana surrendered a league-worst 8.5 yards per pass and a league-high 26 passing touchdowns in 2011. Indiana needs impact players and depth among the back four to be able to limit Big Ten offenses.

Defensive front seven: Sense a theme here? Indiana needs defenders in the worst way, and the front seven is a huge piece to the puzzle. The Hoosiers return some experience at defensive tackle, but lose top linebackers Jeff Thomas and Leon Beckum. The coaches showed in 2011 that they're not afraid to play young players, and they need more contributors on the defensive side.

Quarterback: Starter Tre Roberson returns, but Indiana needs bodies here after Dusty Kiel and Ed Wright-Baker both opted to transfer earlier this month.

OHIO STATE

Offensive line: Three multiyear starters depart at center, left tackle and right tackle, so Ohio State's offensive line will have a very different look in 2012. The Buckeyes could use some immediate-impact linemen, like center Mike Brewster in 2008, and they'll look to build depth here.

Defensive end: Ohio State appears loaded at defensive tackle for 2012 and beyond, but the team needs some more pure pass-rushers on the edge. John Simon, who had four more sacks than anyone on the squad in 2011, will be a senior this coming season.

Wide receiver: The Buckeyes lacked reliable receiver options in 2011 and had their best wideout, DeVier Posey, for only three games because of suspension. Posey departs and Ohio State needs to build depth and increase competition in what should be a more wide-open offense under Urban Meyer.

PENN STATE

Quarterback: New coach Bill O'Brien might be the quarterback whisperer Penn State has waited for, but he also needs to upgrade the talent on the roster. Matthew McGloin and Rob Bolden both must make significant strides, and while Paul Jones is an intriguing player, we've yet to see him in a game. Penn State needs more options here.

Wide receiver: Top target Derek Moye departs, and Penn State returns only two players with decent but not great production in Justin Brown and Devon Smith. Brown looks like a potential impact player in 2012, but Penn State needs more options in the passing game.

Defensive back: Penn State loses all four starters, although returning players like Stephon Morris, Malcolm Willis and Adrian Amos have logged playing time. Still, the Lions need some more players here to build depth and increase competition.

PURDUE

Offensive line: This is one of few areas where Purdue loses a decent amount of production from 2011, as tackle Dennis Kelly and Nick Mondek both depart. Two more starters exit after the 2012 season, and Purdue wants to be a run-based offense. It's important to build some depth up front with the 2012 class.

Kicker: Purdue loses the bionic-legged Carson Wiggs, who did more than make field goals from ridiculous distances. He also kicked off and served as a backup punter, attempting 45 punts over the past two seasons. The versatile Wiggs leaves a major void, and Purdue must address the specialist spot.

Defensive back: The Boilers say goodbye to both of their starting safeties from the 2011 team. They also will lose starting cornerback Josh Johnson after the 2012 season, while Ricardo Allen might be an early entry candidate with a big junior year. While this isn't a pressing need right now, it could soon become one.

WISCONSIN

Quarterback: Russell Wilson saved Wisconsin in more than one way in 2011, and his departure is significant. The team's most experienced signal callers, Jon Budmayr and Curt Phillips, both are coming off of major injuries. Wisconsin typically doesn't play younger quarterbacks, but needs more options after a season where Wilson showed what the offense could be.

Wide receiver: The Badgers typically get by with 1-2 good wideouts and an excellent tight end or two, but they could use more depth at the receiver position. Top target Nick Toon departs, and Wisconsin is pretty thin at receiver aside from Jared Abbrederis.

Defensive speed: Oregon makes a lot of teams look slow, but the Rose Bowl spelled out what the Badgers must do to take the next step as a program. Wisconsin needs to upgrade its speed at all three levels of the defense, particularly the back seven, to prevent explosion plays. Michigan State also exposed Wisconsin's defense, so the need for speed certainly is there.

New Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien has only been on the job for a little more than a week, but he has already hired all but one of his assistants.

The school officially announced the hiring of Ted Roof as defensive coordinator and John Butler as secondary coach on Friday. Both guys come from the SEC.

O'Brien only has to hire a quarterbacks coach to complete his staff. The New England Patriots offensive coordinator has said he will call his own plays with the Nittany Lions and will not name an offensive coordinator.

Roof was Auburn’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2009 until this season and oversaw the defense on the Tigers' national championship team last season. He was named Central Florida's defensive coordinator on Dec. 8 before the Penn State job came along. Roof worked with O'Brien when both were assistants at Georgia Tech.

Butler was South Carolina's special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach last season. He served on the same Minnesota staff as Roof in 2008.

Roof and Butler join veteran Penn State coaches Larry Johnson (defensive line) and Ron Vanderlinden (linebackers) on the defensive coaching staff. O’Brien previously had announced four members of the offensive coaching staff: Stan Hixon (assistant head coach/wide receivers), Charles London (running backs), Mac McWhorter (offensive line) and John Strollo (tight ends).

Penn State made it official Thursday and announced the hires of six assistant coaches on Bill O'Brien's staff.

All of these names have been previously reported, but here they are again:

• Larry Johnson, defensive line
• Ron Vanderlinden, linebackers
• Stan Hixon, assistant head coach/wide receivers
• Charles London, running backs
• Mac McWhorter, offensive line
• John Strollo, tight ends

O'Brien has three more positions to fill: defensive coordinator, secondary coach and quarterbacks coach. Central Florida defensive coordinator Ted Roof confirmed in a text message to ESPN.com on Monday that he's taking the Penn State defensive coordinator spot. South Carolina assistant John Butler reportedly is heading to State College, likely to take the secondary coach spot.

New England Patriots offensive assistant George Godsey reportedly will take the quarterbacks coach role. Godsey worked directly with O'Brien in New England during the 2011 season and played for O'Brien at Georgia Tech.

O'Brien definitely went with familiarity in his hires, as he worked alongside London, McWhorter, Strollo and Roof as an assistant at Georgia Tech and/or Duke. There's also a decent mix of college and NFL experience, as O'Brien promised.

It's definitely a veteran staff, as London, Godsey and Butler are the only assistants who logged some playing time in the recent past.

I like the retention of both Johnson and Vanderlinden, who are great at what they do. Roof's appointment has sparked some angst among Penn State fans, but he did good work at Minnesota and will have good position coaches working under him.

It'll be interesting to see how things go with O'Brien as the offensive play-caller, at least for Year 1. A lot of folks will make the Charlie Weis comparisons, which are a little unfair. It's important to point out that while Weis ultimately failed at Notre Dame, his offenses certainly didn't in 2005 and 2006. My preference is defensive-minded coaches who delegate play-calling to their coordinators, but there are offense-minded coaches who call their own plays and have success (i.e. Bobby Petrino).

"I said last weekend we were going to put together the best staff for Penn State and I firmly believe we have done that," O'Brien said in a prepared statement. "It was crucial to get an experienced, passionate and enthusiastic staff together quickly so they can hit the ground running. All of these coaches have varied and successful backgrounds coaching in the NFL, college and high school across the country. They have developed extensive relationships with coaches that will be vital in our recruiting efforts. They are excited to meet our current players, get on the road and become part of the Penn State football family."

What are your thoughts on the staff?

The season might be over, but the mail never stops.

Let's do this.

Mike from Phoenix writes: As a Badger fan I was waiting to see your final power rankings of the year because I had a feeling that you might make MSU number 1. I just don't get it. It's the same way the coaches poll has MSU and Michigan ahead of Wisconsin. That's a joke.Look at the teams everyone played in the bowl season. MSU barely beat Georgia who is not the 2nd best team in the SEC even though they went to the title game. They are the 4th best team in that league. Michigan looked bad, and played one of the easiest teams in BCS history. Wisconsin would have destroyed both Georgia and Va. Tech, but you are penalizing them for going blow for blow with the most talented offensive team in the country. They were a fumble away from possibly winning.

Adam Rittenberg: Brian and I had a spirited debate about Wisconsin vs. Michigan State for No. 1. You can make good cases for both teams, but you can't base it solely on the bowl competition. Would Wisconsin have rolled Georgia? Maybe, maybe not. Georgia has a much better defense than Oregon and would have moved the ball against a Wisconsin defense that wasn't nearly as good as its stats indicated. Wisconsin also was extremely fortunate to beat Michigan State in the Big Ten title game, which the Spartans dominated for stretches. The two teams are evenly matched, as their two games this season showed. And I believe Michigan State ended the season playing better football than Wisconsin. I also tend to value teams with good to great defenses above those that rely on their offense. Michigan State is certainly superior to Wisconsin on defense.

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Tim from Iowa writes: While it might get you some back lash, I'd like your opinion on this.....me and several friends have the opinion that if 2 B10 teams(esp in our champ game) played like LSU-Bama, the B10 would once again be ripped for 3 yards/cloud of dust 1950's football. I watched parts ofthe game last night, then the final 8min. what I saw was one great def, 2 bad quaterbacks, a very repeative ineffective O from LSU, and Iowa/B10 style ball control from Bama. then Saban being proclaimed the next "Bear".

Adam Rittenberg: Tim, you're right to a degree, although there was less SEC love about the national title game than there was about the 9-6 contest. The SEC in a sense has earned the right to have ugly games because teams from other leagues simply haven't stacked up against the SEC's best. The common belief is that while Oklahoma State would have scored against Alabama, the Tide still would have rolled the Cowboys by 20-30 points. But I agree the SEC is the only league that can "get away" with games like last night's. Most people would much rather see games like the Rose Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. Alabama is a great football team with one of the best defenses I've ever seen. But LSU's offense would be mediocre to bad in most leagues, not just the SEC.

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Ryan from Pittsburgh writes: Adam,What are your thoughts on the new Penn State staff? I have to admit I'm somewhat surprised. For years I thought that PSU would turn the corner if they could only get a younger fresher staff in place to energize recruiting. This new staff that O'Brien has coming in is not young at all, so I doubt they're great recruiters. Plus any Auburn fan will tell you that Roof was fired. Mack Brown fired McWhorter last year. Am I overreacting?

Adam Rittenberg: You bring up a good point, Ryan. A lot of veteran assistants are joining Bill O'Brien in State College. Keeping Larry Johnson is huge and a somewhat obvious move. He's one of the Big Ten's top recruiters, and he'll maintain Penn State's presence in the Maryland/DC area. His age isn't a factor in that regard. Ted Roof is the hire that has some Penn State fans upset. I agree he doesn't have the best track record, but the overall defensive staff with both Johnson and Ron Vanderlinden still looks solid to me. Charles London is a younger guy (mid-30s), but he's definitely the junior member right now. It'll be interesting to see who O'Brien hires to fill out the staff. Some more youth would be nice.

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Jeff from Omaha, writes: Adam? Why am I so awesome?

Adam Rittenberg: Ask myself the same thing every morning.

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Sam from Kalamazoo, Mich., writes: Adam, can you please explain your rationale for naming MSU as an early favorite to win the B1G in 2012 over, say, Michigan? The Wolverines return two 1,000 yard rushers in Denard and Fitz Toussaint, 3 starting receivers, and a top-5 recruiting class loaded with 4 and 5 star DLs, LBs, and OLs. Molk, Van Bergen, and Martin will be sorely missed, but I'm not sure it makes sense that MSU is so ramped for success after losing 6 All-Big Ten players and playing in the Big House. Can you even name next year's replacement for mighty Kirk Cousins off the top of your head?

Adam Rittenberg: Sure, Sam. Andrew Maxwell. Michigan State has been grooming him the past two seasons. Will he be as good as Cousins? That's a tall order, but he's not coming out of nowhere. Michigan State is my pick because of its defense. While Jerel Worthy is a big loss, the Spartans return a ton of elite athletes in all three levels, players like Will Gholston, Denicos Allen, Johnny Adams and Darqueze Dennard. The Spartans have more difference-makers on defense than Michigan will in 2011, at least in my view. I also believe MSU will be a more effective running team than it was this season because of an experienced line and a strong lead back in Le'Veon Bell. I certainly could see Michigan winning the division, but the Wolverines have a much tougher schedule in 2012 and could have a better team with a worse record (much like MSU this season versus 2010).

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Ben from Fargo, N.D., writes: One of the big stories in 2012 will be a surprising improvement in Minnesota's defensive line play. Ask Jerry Kill about Thieren Cockran. He's coach Kill's secret weapon.

Adam Rittenberg: Will do, Ben. Thanks for the note. Minnesota's defensive line play has struggled since Willie VanDeSteeg departed following the 2008 season. Gophers have ranked and 78th, 120th and 86th nationally in sacks in the past three seasons. It's an area of focus throughout the offseason as Minnesota loses linebacker Gary Tinsley and standout safety Kim Royston. Cockran, a redshirt freshman defensive end from Florida, is among those who needs to step up in 2012.

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Matt from Burbank, Calif., writes: Hi Adam,Regarding Northwestern next year, do you think Kain Colter gets the starting QB job? I've been of the opinion that he is more dangerous in a utility role as he was used these season, but on the other hand he's proven he can win and be effective as the top guy. Additionally, do you think there's any hope for this defense?Thanks for a great season, can't wait till next year! Bowl win or bust!

Adam Rittenberg: Matt, I think Colter will be the starter for 2012, but he has to make some important strides as a passer during the offseason. Northwestern's offense is predicated on short passing and accuracy. The Wildcats convert a lot of third downs, and Colter has to be able to make the throws Dan Persa, Mike Kafka and C.J. Bacher have made in recent years. He's the best athlete Northwestern ever has had at quarterback, and he's a perfect fit for the spread -- as long as he gets better as a passer. If there's little to no progress, Northwestern will have to use another quarterback, likely Trevor Siemian, to spark the passing game. Offensive coordinator Mick McCall has developed quarterbacks well at Northwestern, and Colter is his next big project.

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Kevin from New Orleans writes: It's been a tough couple weeks to be a Badger. Lost the Rose Bowl, lost 3 straight in hoops, lost 5 coaches. First let me say, if Bielama has Barry's confidence and support, then he has mine. Have you heard anything? Are the Badgers getting some really good coaches? I doubt we'll get anybody that can match the talent we are losing, but maybe we get an upgrade on the recruiting. 4 of the 5 coaches that left were not good recruiters. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Adam Rittenberg: Kevin, while it's tough right now, I think Wisconsin fans should have faith in Bret Bielema to make some good hires. As you note, Joe Rudolph is the only major loss from a recruiting standpoint. Bielema has made good choices in the past, such as defensive coordinator Dave Doeren (now head coach at Northern Illinois), Dave Huxtable (did a great job with UW linebackers in only year) and Chris Ash (has upgraded secondary, now defensive coordinator). It'll be interesting to see where he turns to replace Paul Chryst and Bob Bostad, but a lot of good coaches will want to come to Madison after seeing what Wisconsin has done the past few years. So I would look at Bielema's hiring track record and feel confident.

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Lance from Arlington writes: "While Penn State has produced some solid college quarterbacks -- most recently Daryll Clark, the 2009 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year"While your opinion is correct in general, saying Daryll Clark was solid does him an injustice. DC (along with Drew Brees) was the best QB the Big Ten has had since Kerry Collins and Michael Robinson is right there. Simply put, Penn State has produced three of the top five QB's to have competed in the Big Ten since their arrival. You will no doubt disagree since you hate Penn State but you are wrong.

Adam Rittenberg: Lance, I don't hate Penn State. I hate every school according to you folks. Let's get that cleared up. I was a big Daryll Clark fan during his career, but your argument doesn't hold up. Troy Smith won a Heisman Trophy in 2006. He played between Brees and Clark. Iowa's Brad Banks won the Davey O'Brien award in 2002. He played between Brees and Clark. While Clark led the Big Ten in pass efficiency in conference games in 2009 (136.6), it's the lowest rating for a Big Ten leader since at least 1980. His season rating that year (142.6) didn't lead the league (Terrelle Pryor did) and ranks behind all of the league leaders since 1980. Again, not hating on Daryll, who has a really nice career in State College, as did Michael Robinson. But there have been better Big Ten quarterbacks since Kerry Collins, including Wisconsin's Russell Wilson this year.