As part of the annual Athlon College Football magazine, coaches around the Big Ten agree to spill the dirt on opponents and their true prospects for next year, occasionally letting loose with a dirty secret or the sad truth boosters have suspected all along.
The preview magazine hits retail racks this week and is also available online, with free shipping. Moonlighting beat writers and subscription site drones produce the content, compiled after spring practice and the close of the spring portal.
Phil Steele reaches Barnes and Noble on the 4th of July.
It turns out that football coaches are as caustic and discursive as middle-aged women under a hair dryer. Among the tidbits of juicy gossip from Big Ten assistants are the following "you don't say" missiles:
About Indiana: “They’re leaning on the portal again in the secondary because they’re still a ways off on true, top-end depth for this league.”
Kirk Ferentz and Iowa take a big risk: "...They’re still really struggling on offense, to the point where [Tim] Lester and that staff have everything riding on a FCS transfer quarterback [Mark Gronowski] who didn’t play in the spring at all.
Maryland has an uphill battle: “It’s nearly impossible to tell what they’re going to look like, but it sure seems like it’s getting harder and harder for these guys. The portal hit them really hard..."
The anonymous opponent regards Minnesota as a consistent winner but "not on an elite level." Nebraska seems to be building toward big expectations but needs a big-play receiver to step up.
Coaches can't find their way to say anything bad about Ohio State, except they might have a small question at defensive tackle. The undercover coach admits,
“Year in and year out, this is the most talented program in the league and one of the most talented in the nation. The question every season is just if they can arrange that talent the right way.”
About Oregon, even anonymously coaches can't bring themselves to diss the Ducks.
“They lost some legit linebackers and a receiver, but this is a reload program, not a rebuilder. Oregon is one of the elite talent-evaluating programs in the country.”
With a year to learn the system Dante More looks like a solid bet at quarterback who should establish himself early, though there's some question about UO's losses at linebacker. All Dan Lanning needs to be recognized as a top coach in the profession is that elusive national championship trophy, though he's close now.
Washington arouses skepticism. "The offensive line was truly bad last year." New coach Jedd Fisch had to rely too heavily on the portal. Sophomore quarterback Demond Williams could be a rising star.
About USC, the measuring stick will be improvement on defense, particularly on the defensive line where freshman Jahkeem Stewart and the transfer portal additions should make them better.
Anonymous Coach thinks James Franklin has the strongest roster he's ever had at Penn State, singling out edge rush Dani Dennis-Sutton, who piled up nine sacks last year in the shadow of Abdul Carter.
It's 98 days until the opening week of Big Ten football.