Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, July 10, 2013
With the 2013 MLB All-Star Game less than a week away, I recently got to thinking about a Big Ten football all-star game. You know, a game that pits the Leaders Division's best vs. the Legends Division's best. Who would be on the teams, and who would win? See both teams, which were constructed using Phil Steele's 2013 preseason teams, in this post.
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| OFFENSE |
LEGENDS | LEADERS |
| QB | Taylor Martinez, Nebraska | Braxton Miller, Ohio State |
| RB | Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska | Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin |
| RB | Venric Mark, Northwestern | Carlos Hyde, Ohio State |
| WR | Kenny Bell, Nebraska | Allen Robinson, Penn State |
| WR | Jeremy Gallon, Michigan | Jared Abbrederis, Wisconsin |
| TE | C.J. Fiedorowicz, Iowa | Jacob Pedersen, Wisconsin |
| C | Brandon Vitable, Northwestern | Corey Linsley, Ohio State |
| G | Spencer Long, Nebraska | Andrew Norwell, Ohio State |
| G | Jack Allen, Michigan State | John Urschel, Penn State |
| T | Taylor Lewan, Michigan | Jack Mewhort, Ohio State |
| T | Jeremiah Sirles, Nebraska | Rob Havenstein, Wisconsin |
| K | Jeff Budzien, Northwestern | Drew Basil, Ohio State |
QB: Leaders. Braxton Miller is the best playmaker in the Big Ten, if not the nation.
RB: Legends. Hyde-Gordon is a scary tandem, but Abdullah-Mark is better.
WR: Legends. While Robinson is Big Ten's best WR, Bell and Gallon are explosive playmakers.
TE: Leaders. Give Fiedorowicz a proven quarterback, and this one might go to the Legends.
OL: Legends. This is an intimidating front, highlighted by Lewan, a should-be NFLer.
K: Legends. Budzien was Mr. Automatic last year, missing just one kick.
| DEFENSE |
LEGENDS | LEADERS |
| E | Marcus Rush, Michigan State | Adolphus Washington, Ohio State |
| T | Ra?Shede Hageman, Minnesota | Beau Allen, Wisconsin |
| T | Carl Davis, Iowa | Bruce Gaston, Purdue |
| E | Tyler Scott, Northwestern | Deion Barnes, Penn State |
| LB | Max Bullough, Michigan State | Ryan Shazier, Ohio State |
| LB | James Morris, Iowa | Chris Borland, Wisconsin |
| LB | Denicos Allen, Michigan State | Jonathan Brown, Illinois |
| LB | Chi Chi Ariguzo, Northwestern | Glenn Carson, Penn State |
| CB | Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State | Bradley Roby, Ohio State |
| CB | Ciante Evans, Nebraska | Ricardo Allen, Purdue |
| S | Isaiah Lewis, Michigan State | Christian Bryant, Ohio State |
| S | Ibraheim Campbell, Northwestern | C.J. Barnett, Ohio State |
| P | Mike Sadler, Michigan State | Justin DuVernois, Illinois |
DL: Legends. Scott put up numbers last year equal to John Simon, the 2012 Big Ten DPOY.
LB: Leaders. Shazier and Borland very well could be the Big Ten's top two LBs.
DB: Leaders. Roby and Allen would form quite the cornerback tandem, wouldn't they?
P: Legends. Punters don't have huge impact in games like this, but Sadler is the best of the best.
Who wins? I'll take the Legends in a close one. How about you?
| About Brent Yarina | BTN.com web editor Brent Yarina covers football and men's basketball for BTN.com. He writes the popular uniform feature "Clothes Call," which also focuses on the latest cosmetic changes across Big Ten arenas and stadiums. Read all of his work here. You can subscribe to Yarina's RSS feed and follow him on Twitter @BTNBrentYarina. |
