Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, February 22, 2016

Good to see former Wisconsin star DB Jim Leonhard return to Madison as DB coach.

Leonhard will replace Daronte Jones, who left Wisconsin earlier this month to take an assistant defensive backs coach position with the Miami Dolphins. Leonhard, 33, began his Badgers career as a walk-on in 2001 and went on to play 10 years in the NFL before retiring after the 2014 season. He is a classic Badger.

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Michigan?s offensive line should be pretty good next season. But there?s a big hole at center with Graham Glasgow gone. A possible solution: moving left tackle Mason Cole to the spot. Interesting.

"We'll look at that, we'll look at that right off the bat," Jim Harbaugh told Mlive.com. "He's a talented player. He can play tackle, guard or center. And he's one of our top linemen.
"We'll look at it, see what the best fit is. Get the best five (out there up front)."

I think this unit has a shot to be pretty good in 2016.

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Speaking of Michigan and spring drills ? the NCAA prez Mark Emmert isn?t a fan of the Wolverines having practices in Florida. Big Ten commish Jim Delany? He has been mum on this subject.

Asked by The State in South Carolina if there's anything the NCAA can do to stop Jim Harbaugh's scheduled plans for 2016, Emmert said "no, I'm sure not." He did say, though, that the conferences do have the power to make a proposal to stop any spring break practice trips for 2017 and beyond.

It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out. I have a feeling this will be outlawed eventually.

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This is interesting: Rutgers will hire Toby Neinas as director of player personnel.

Neinas? dad is Chuck, who conducted coaching searches for school for years and was the Big Eight commissioner. Neinas and Chris Ash worked together at San Diego State from 2007-08. Ash was the Aztecs' defensive backs coach, while Neinas was the special teams/outside linebackers coach in 2007 and the special teams/tight ends coach in 2008 under Chuck Long.

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The troubles continue for former Nebraska DE Randy Gregory.

Gregory received a four-game suspension recently from the NFL for violating the league?s drug policy. Let?s hope this guy finds a solution to a problem that is threatening not just his career ? but his life.

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If it?s Monday, that means we are one day closer to the NFL draft. Let?s see where the Ohio State players are projected to go. I think we all know who will be first. His initials are J.B. He plays defensive end. He?s really, really good.

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Next time you?re out to eat with Mark Dantonio, make him pick up the check. The guy just inked a new deal worth $4.3 mil per year. Oh, he?s worth it. In fact, he may be underpaid.

Dantonio?s previous total compensation was $3.67 million. The contract is a six-year rolling deal, meaning a new year is added after each one expires. Dantonio last signed a new contract in 2014. Under the new contract, Dantonio's base salary is bumped from $2 million to $2.26 million. His annual bonus also jumps, from $286,000 to $700,000. A $4.3 million total compensation would have made Dantonio the 11th-highest paid coach in college football in 2015, according to USA Today. In the Big Ten, he continues to have the fourth-largest compensation package behind Jim Harbaugh ($7 million), Urban Meyer ($5.8 million) and James Franklin ($4.4 million).

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Iowa needs some scoring help for Peter Jok and Jarrod Uthoff.

HawkCentral.com notes that in the last two games against Minnesota and Penn State, Jok and Uthoff have combined for 98 of Iowa?s 150 points. That?s 65.3 percent of the output. Iowa?s third-leading scorers against Penn State had six points.

?We?ve got to get some other people stepping up,? Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said.

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Good read from the great Steve Sipple of the Lincoln Journal Star, who says the narrative on Tim Miles will change next year. It will be time to win at a bigger rate as he enters his fifth season.

This program has it all in place to become a consistent NCAA tourney team. But the results have lagged.

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