SEC!, SEC!, SEC! — er Big Ten?
That’s right. While the Southeastern Conference might be perceived as being the best in all of college football over the last fifteen years or so, it may not send the best of the best to the next level, at least according to some of the opinionmakers at ESPN.
The worldwide leader in sports programming recently put together an All-Conference NFL ultimate starting team for each the Power-Five conferences that include the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12, Big 12, and ACC. At the end of it all, something surprising happened.
When all the teams were drafted at the various starting positions, it was pretty clear to the panelists that the Big Ten had the best 22-man roster than any other conference, including the big, bad SEC. Simply put, the superstar talent that’s gone on to the NFL at the top end is better in the Big Ten than any other conference, and it’s really not all that close.
You can make an argument about the depth of talent from sweet tea and grits country, but when you’re putting an All-Pro type roster together, the Big Ten came in tops. Coming in behind the Big Ten was the SEC at No. 2, followed by the ACC, Pac-12, and lastly — the Big 12.
You can get a look at all of the teams by visiting the piece put together by panelists by visiting ESPN’s website. But first, get a look at the Big Ten’s roster that has 8 of the 22 spots occupied by former Ohio State players.
Next … The All-Big Ten ultimate NFL starting team
OFFENSE
QB – Russell Wilson, Wisconsin (Seattle Seahawks)
RB – Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State (Dallas Cowboys)
WR – Michael Thomas, Ohio State (New Orleans Saints)
WR – Chris Godwin, Penn State (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
TE – George Kittle, Iowa (San Francisco 49ers)
Flex – Saquon Barkley, Penn State (New York Giants)
OT – Ryan Ramczyk, Wisconsin (Saints)
G – Rodger Saffold, Indiana (Tennessee Titans)
C – Pat Elflein, Ohio State (Minnesota Vikings)
G – Brandon Scherff, Iowa (Washington Redskins)
OT – Taylor Lewan, Michigan (Titans)
DEFENSE
Edge – Joey Bosa, Ohio State (Los Angeles Chargers)
DT – Cameron Heyward, Ohio State (Pittsburgh Steelers)
DT – Kawann Short, Purdue (Carolina Panthers)
Edge – Nick Bosa, Ohio State (49ers)
LB – Lavonte David, Nebraska (Bucs)
LB – Devin Bush, Michigan (Steelers)
Flex – J.J. Watt, Wisconsin (Houston Texans)
CB – Marshon Lattimore, Ohio State (Saints)
CB – Denzel Ward, Ohio State (Cleveland Browns)
S – Devin McCourty, Rutgers (New England Patriots)
S – Micah Hyde, Iowa (Buffalo Bills)
That’s a pretty elite squad. A couple of the panelists also weighed in on why the Big Ten’s collection of talent was superior to the other conferences.
Next … Why B1G All-Conference NFL starting team was tops
What the ESPN panelists said about the B1G team
What Jake Trotter said
“Just how good is Team Big Ten? Neither Tom Brady nor Drew Brees even made the cut. In addition to starring Wilson at quarterback, the Big Ten got my vote for two primary reasons: the absolutely elite contingent at the offensive skill positions (Elliott, Barkley, Thomas, Godwin and Kittle!) and a Bosa-heavy pass rush that matches up with any other conference.”
What Field Yates said
“Honestly, I looked at it like this. You can’t say, ‘Here are the strengths of the roster.’ Because they all have strengths, right? They’re all incredibly loaded. So it’s as simple as, ‘All right, where is a weakness?’ Now, in some conferences it would be hard for me to point to a real major weakness. But if I were to nitpick, you had more players that are ascending and in the prime of their career in the Big Ten, like Michael Thomas and Chris Godwin, as opposed to someone like Larry Fitzgerald, who’s probably year to year at this point.”
Even more proof that the Big Ten has come way back from the slide and downturn it had while the SEC was rattling off seven straight national titles from 2006 to 2012. Now, all the conference in the heartland has to do add another one to what Ohio State did in 2014.
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