ESPN+: coaches pick the top players from the Power 5
Obviously subscription content, but apparently ESPN asked a bunch of P5 coaches who they thought were the best players in their respective conferences.
For the Big Ten, most said that the POY should be Marvin Harrison Jr.
"He's unbelievable," a Big Ten coach said. "He may be the best one they've ever had. He's just so big and he catches everything. His ball skills are ridiculous."
Best RB? Three obvious names came up - Chase Brown, Mo Ibrahim, and Bu-lah-kay Corum.
A defensive coordinator said Brown was the best back he saw "without question." Others mentioned Ibrahim, who returned from a ruptured Achilles' tendon in the 2021 opener to eclipse 100 rushing yards in all but one game. Corum also drew praise, as one Big Ten coach said, "He has that ability to make you miss in the hole, he's so strong. [After Harrison], he's the next player that dominates."
And others who drew praise:
Michigan's offensive line jumped out to coaches for the second straight year. One defensive coordinator listed Wolverines center Olu Oluwatimi, a transfer from Virginia, as the best player he saw all season, edging out Harrison. Another defensive coordinator mentioned Wolverines tackle Karsen Barnhart.
Big Ten adjacent news includes a divide for best QB in the Pac12 between Caleb Williams and Michael "I'm not a Hoosier" Penix:
"Hands down, [Penix] was the best," a Pac-12 defensive coordinator said. "There's no way you could disguise a coverage to get him off his read. If a corner flashes a shoulder one way, he's taking his read. I'd rather face Caleb than this kid. You can get Caleb rattled."
Charbonnet also drew a couple of mentions as top RB. And TIL that Oregon has a RB named Bucky Irving.
There is a lot more on every conference which I didn't bother to mention
November 30th, 2022 at 10:48 AM ^
That's kind of crazy that Blake is the third RB they start talking about in our conference.
November 30th, 2022 at 11:03 AM ^
It's an ESPN take, so, I would call it "uninformed" or "universally stupid" more than I would call it "crazy".
November 30th, 2022 at 11:16 AM ^
Not sure how it's an "ESPN take" when they're just relaying what coaches told them.
November 30th, 2022 at 11:16 AM ^
He's not, but Chase Brown is a legitimately great back. If you see a player of his caliber in a normal year you could easily think he's the best in the conference.
So if you coached in the West and didnt have to face Michigan all year, I can see how you would think that Chase Brown or Mo Ibrahim were the best.
But I guarantee you that none of the coaches that actually had to deal with Blake Corum running the ball down their throat are putting him in third place.
November 30th, 2022 at 11:47 AM ^
Yeah and Blake is going to get penalized in these conversations for playing behind a dominant offensive line. A coach out west (not saying they don't watch film but obviously not comprehensively) is going to see what Brown and Ibrahim do behind offensive lines that are not on Michigan's level and assume they must be more talented.
November 30th, 2022 at 11:52 AM ^
I spoke to a coach who tangentially helps out a Big 10 West team and when I asked about Michigan the only thing he said was that OL is ridiculous. It's head and shoulders above every OL in the conference.
Corum is very good, but Haskins did this last year and Edwards ripped off two runs late 4 days ago and he wasn't even touched.
November 30th, 2022 at 1:57 PM ^
Ibrahim is going to go down as one of the most overlooked RBs in this conference in a long time. He rushed for 15 TDs in 7 games in 2020, then was housing OSU to start last year before he got hurt. Came back this year coming off an ACL injury and didn't look like he missed a beat. Any other year he'd be hands-down the best back in the conference and maybe even in the country.
November 30th, 2022 at 11:02 AM ^
"Hands down, [Penix] was the best"
...
(Man I'm gonna miss that guy when he finally leaves college football)
November 30th, 2022 at 11:09 AM ^
Can’t get enough Penix, eh?
November 30th, 2022 at 11:23 AM ^
As explained in the article, some guys prefer Penix and some don't
November 30th, 2022 at 11:36 AM ^
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
November 30th, 2022 at 12:54 PM ^
Penix has had so many injuries. Great to see him rise up and have a great season. This is huge for Penix.
November 30th, 2022 at 11:23 AM ^
Karsen Barnhart!?!??!?!?!?
November 30th, 2022 at 11:43 AM ^
Majority of the year I thought Harrison Jr should of been a Heisman candidate over Stroud. He was OSU's best player by a large margin IMO. He would be a top 5 pick if eligible.
November 30th, 2022 at 12:11 PM ^
I said this last year about JSN.
November 30th, 2022 at 12:15 PM ^
Couple things:
- Think about that when JSN first went down, Day and OSU were all, "Now what?" for like 2 games. Uh, you didn't realize you had this Marvin guy?
- "You can get Caleb rattled." Eeeeeeeexcellent.
November 30th, 2022 at 12:35 PM ^
I was never a believer in Caleb Williams (and have seen him get rattled and play poorly), but then I watched the UCLA game. He was spectacular. Not sure this coach saw that game.
November 30th, 2022 at 12:56 PM ^
Best defenses USC faced was Utah and Oregon St -- #21 and #24 SP+, so neither elite -- and USC scored 17 points in one and lost the other
UCLA has the #83 defense. Michigan's is #4 and Georgia's is #1.
Even TCU would be the third best defense he's faced all year
November 30th, 2022 at 12:57 PM ^
It's kind of irrelevant, in a way. Every defense will attempt to rattle the QB, every game. It isn't like, "Well, we can't rattle him, so might as well not even try." Um, no.
That said, Saturday was just one game. But I'm with you in the sense that I'd like to see the times he did get rattled. I'm guessing he wasn't super comfy up in Corvallis earlier this season. (They won like 17-14.)
November 30th, 2022 at 12:17 PM ^
My mind immediately went to Oluwatimi. Talk about being the straw that stirs the drink.
November 30th, 2022 at 12:25 PM ^
I wish I had the football intelligence to see why Olu is so good. I mean, I totally believe it. But it's difficult to see the intricacies of his game compared to the flashy WR position where it's all on display -- getting open, catching the ball and running with it. Or QB or RB position for that matter. Defensive line is also somewhat easy to spot greatness. But not OL, for a guy like me.
November 30th, 2022 at 1:18 PM ^
I was of the same mindset regarding OL for much of my life. I saw the obvious pancakes and mobile, athletic linemen pulling to set up big running plays. But I was mostly ignorant and didn't notice the nuanced stuff that typically distinguishes good from great offensive line play.
What changed things? My son is an offensive lineman. I've spent the better part of the last 10 years watching him grow (literally and figuratively) and develop. And it's amazingly fun to better comprehend the magic that often occurs by the OL executing really cool stuff.
November 30th, 2022 at 12:27 PM ^
Oluwatimi is going to be tough to replace.
November 30th, 2022 at 12:28 PM ^
It's too bad Washington managed to lose that game to Arizona State. I've watched a lot of their games and their offense is very good with Penix having an incredible season. A Pac-12 championship game pitting them against USC would have been fun to watch. In a 12 team playoff they would be a team nobody would want to play.