Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, August 2, 2015
The Big Ten welcomes back five of its six top passing yards leaders, including last year's winner (Michigan State's Connor Cook).
[ MORE: Sacks leader? | Interceptions leader? | Scoring leader? ]
The only player among the 2014 leaders no longer in school: Rutgers' Gary Nova.
So, will Cook make it two consecutive seasons atop the Big Ten passing yards leaderboard?
Check out our panel's picks below:
PASSING YARDS
2014 leader: Connor Cook, Michigan State – 3,214
2015 returning leader: Connor Cook, Michigan State – 3,214
How did we do last year? None of us picked Cook.
Tom Dienhart: Christian Hackenberg, Penn State. Hack is going to throw the ball … and then, he's going to throw it some more to a fine collection of receivers and tight ends. Go ahead and pencil him in for at least 3,000 yards, assuming health.
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Sean Merriman: Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State. Cook enters his third season as the Spartans? starting quarterback, sporting a 23-3 record. He led the Big Ten with 3,214 passing yards last season, and should improve on that number this year. This is a guy who could be a Heisman Trophy finalist.
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Brent Yarina: Connor Cook, Michigan State. Cook lost two receivers to the NFL, including the Big Ten's leading receiver (Tony Lippett). No worries, the consistently great and healthy signal-caller will find new favorite targets, most likely Macgarrett Kings Jr., Aaron Burbridge and Josiah Price, and be among the nation's elite.
