Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, January 4, 2016

It was not a big shock to see Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg turn pro (or DT Austin Johnson, for that matter). But it did raise eyebrows when Hackenberg thanked myriad people as he left-but he omitted mentioning James Franklin. Interesting. I wish Hackenberg would have handled it better.

Here is a look back at Hackenberg?s largely unfulfilling career at Penn State. Don?t you wonder how he would look now if Bill O?Brien had never left?

***

Nice story on Ohio State?s Darron Lee, who arrived in Columbus having been a high school QB. Now, two years later, Lee was one of the Big Ten?s top linebackers. Now, he?s headed to the NFL.

Cleveland.com points out that Lee played the least amount of college football that anyone, short of battling a major injury, can play before turning pro. He was in Columbus for three years and redshirted the first season. That's just two years in game action, and, again, for someone who had never played his position before.

***

This will get you caught up on the staff Chris Ash is building at Rutgers. Not bad.

***

What should be Nebraska?s mantra for 2016? The great Steve Sipple of the Lincoln Journal Star likes ?Prove it.? Seems about right to me.

As Sipple points out, if you're a Nebraska fan, you want the Huskers to prove their overall performance during the last four games of 2015 was more representative of the immediate future than the first nine contests. Nebraska was 3-1 in the final stretch, losing only to Iowa 28-20 in a game in which quarterback Tommy Armstrong threw 45 passes, including four interceptions. The point: Promise looms.

***

No time for Michigan State to wallow in its Cotton Bowl loss. It must rebuild quickly, as Ohio State and Michigan are coming.

Mike Griffith of Mlive.com makes some interesting points about why MSU should be concerned. There's plenty of promising talent to restock the defensive line, and the back seven will be solid. But the offense looks barren. It's not that quarterbacks Tyler O'Connor and Damion Terry aren't capable. It?s just, well, neither is Connor Cook.

***

The non-conference season wasn?t great for Michigan. But John Beilein has his team off to a 2-0 start with a big game vs. Purdue looming. The bad news: How badly is Caris LeVert hurt?

The Michigan star, who missed 14 games with a fractured left foot last season, was held out of the Wolverines' 79-56 win over Penn State with yet another lower left leg injury. Mlive.com says that while the decision was made Friday to keep him out of action, the announcement came roughly 30 minutes before tipoff. LeVert suffered the injury in Wednesday's win over Illinois. Stepping on an opposing player's foot, the senior guard appeared to roll his ankle and limped back up the floor. He played the final three minutes of that game, nonetheless. Michigan's release on Saturday described LeVert's status as "day-to-day." He watched the game against Penn State in street clothes with no brace or walking boot on his foot. Hurry back, Caris.

***

If you missed this crazy sequence in the Maryland at Northwestern game, do yourself a favor and watch it. Zany stuff. There were five fast breaks, three blocks, a steal and an alley-oop pass that turned into an inadvertent hoop.

***

With wins vs. No. 1 Michigan State and at No. 14 Purdue, Iowa looks like your Big Ten sleeper. The win at Purdue was especially stunning. The deficit that looked so daunting to everyone else - Iowa was down 19 in the first half and 17 with 18:09 to play in the game - wasn?t something that really bothered the Hawkeyes.

?It just challenged our character,? said senior Anthony Clemmons. ?We all came together, decided to play basketball.?

And how about Jarrod Uthoff? The guy is emerging as one of the Big Ten?s best players. Peter Jok is pretty good, too. FYI: Iowa has not won the Big Ten regular-season title since ? 1979. Look it up.

***

Purdue?s stunning loss to Iowa casts doubt on the Boilers, now 2-2 in their last four. And neither loss was on the road; one was a neutral court defeat, the other in Mackey Arena. So, forget about the 7-footers A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas. Basketball is a guard?s game. And, the Boilermakers? guards are average-at best.