Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, August 12, 2013

We?re 17 days from the 2013 football season kicking off. Indiana (Indiana State) and Minnesota (UNLV) get things started for the Big Ten on Thursday, Aug. 29 on BTN/BTN2Go. To help count down the days to kickoff, BTN.com is ranking the top 25 players. Join us as we count it down, from 25-1, every day.

No. 17: Kain Colter, QB, Northwestern

How dynamic is Northwestern's do-it-all star? Put it this way: Colter has the athleticism, speed, agility and hands to also be one of the Big Ten's better running backs or receivers – if need be. But Pat Fitzgerald likes to use his versatile and unselfish athlete under center, where he can use his legs and improving arm to hurt foes. The fact Fitzgerald rotates strong-armed Trevor Siemian at quarterback is no knock on Colter, either. In fact, the rotation makes the offense that much more dangerous and unpredictable, as Siemian is the superior passer and the set-up allows Colter to flash his other skills. Like, for example, as a rusher (1,691 yards, 23 TDs) or a receiver (667 yards, 3 TDs). Add it all up, and Colter is one of the Big Ten's most versatile players in recent history.

View Colter's career passing stats:

Year Team G Cmp Att Comp % Yds Yd/A TDs Int Sacked Yds
2010 NW 3 3 9 33.3 38 4.2 0 1
2011 NW 13 55 82 67.1 673 8.2 6 1 9 72
2012 NW 13 101 149 67.8 872 5.9 8 4 11 65
Career 29 159 240 66.3 1583 6.6 14 6 20 137

And his rushing/receiving stats:

Year Team G Rush Yds Yd/Rush TDs Rec Yds Yd/Rec TDs
2010 NW 3 29 143 4.9 2 1 32 32.0 0
2011 NW 13 135 654 4.8 9 43 466 10.8 3
2012 NW 13 170 894 5.3 12 16 169 10.6 0
Career 29 334 1691 5.1 23 60 667 11.1 3

BTN.com?s top 25 players of 2013
1.
Aug. 28
2.
Aug. 27
3.
Aug. 26
4.
Aug. 25
5.
Aug. 24
6.
Aug. 23
7.
Aug. 22
8.
Aug. 21
9.
Aug. 20
10.
Aug. 19
11.
Aug. 18
12.
Aug. 17
13.
Aug. 16
14.
Aug. 15
15.
Aug. 14
16.
Aug. 13
17.
Kain Colter, QB, Northwestern
18.
Jared Abbrederis, WR, Wisconsin
19. Spencer Long, G, Nebraska
20. Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State
21.
Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
22.
Deion Barnes, DE, Penn State
23.
Isaiah Lewis, S, Michigan State
24. James White, RB, Wisconsin
25.
Anthony Hitchens, LB, Iowa