7

Comments

1. 
   Greg Shoemaker
   

   16/06/2010

   You’re an idiot. Penn State started Big 10 competition in 1992, and Larry Johnson didn’t graduate and get drafted until 2002…. where did you get your information from?

   And it’s not that I totally disagree with you, but you haven’t even mentioned the bright spots and two biggest upside running back for this year: Beanie Wells and Shonn Greene. Both Big 10 alums might I remind you…. Can I please play in your fantasy leagues for money so that I can draft Wells and Green later while you bypass on them completely based on what college conference they played for?

2. 
   Greg Shoemaker
   

   16/06/2010

   P.S. Rashard Mendenhall went to Illinois… so did Pierre Thomas. Ryan Grant (ND), LeSean McCoy (Pitt)….

   Let me guess, you grew up in the south (either Texas or Georgia) and believe that only good football players come from the south too, right? Tom Brady (michigan), Tony Romo (e. ill.), Ray Rice (rutgers), Joe Flacco (delaware), Matt Ryan (bc), Donovan McNabb (syr), Larry Fitzgerald (pitt), …. the list goes on.

   Even Curtis Martin (who’s on your list TWICE, why?) when to Pitt. Last I checked that’s in Big Ten country, who gives a crap if it wasn’t the Big Ten? What college you went to, let alone what conference you were in, make NO DIFFERENCE to what kind of NFL player you’re going to be.

3. 
   Booee R. Slein
   

   16/06/2010

   Mr Shoemaker:

   Thank you for bringing to our attention the Big-10 error. Actually the data originally written was correct (Johnson entering in 2002 and Penn St beginning in 1992), however, I provided some idiot math in the parentheses. This has since been updated in the article.

   We also added Pierre Thomas to the Illinois list. That was an oversight made as a result of using data that provided a draft list of Big 10 running backs. Since Thomas went undrafted, he accidentally didn’t make the list. Also now updated in the article.

   One last note…This article was edited and written prior to any of the expansion (and/or talks of expansion), and thus only includes the Big-10/11 teams. This is why Grant and McCoy are not discussed.

   Other comments…
   It should be noted that this author (me) was born in Iowa, graduated from the University of Iowa, and has been living in Wisconsin for the last 10 years.
   So maybe this attributes to some of the biases. After seeing so many RB busts come from these schools (and having drafted a few onto my fantasy team), I have since grown a tainted view of them.

   You are right that a lot of quality players come from the Big-10, but this article was talking about the disappointments from the RB position (in terms of fantasy production). The reason the McCoy, Mendenhall, Wells, and Greene were left out of discussion was precisely the point for writing the article. It is that these new comers / slightly-unproven players may just deserve a little reconsideration when going into your 2010 fantasy draft.

   In conclusion…In 5 years when Mendenhall has wracked up 75 touchdowns, and there are 15 teams in the Big-10, I’ll be sure to write an new article called “Why the Big 15 produces such Awesome Backs / Why Booee R. Slein was so Wrong”. Or maybe McCoy, Wells, and Greene will play out to be the next Nick Bell / Ron Daynes of the league, and the article will be called “See I told you I was Right / Why Booee R. Slein is so Awesome”.

4. 
   Greg Shoemaker
   

   16/06/2010

   well done booee, thanks for the update. i think you have a point that there are alot of backs from the big ten that have busted. no doubt. but if you do back ground on the sec, big 12, etc. you might find similar results. maybe not? i’d be interested to see a brief 100 word update if similar busts occurred out of those other conference. may the article should’ve been called “why successful college running backs don’t always make fantasy superstars.” then the big ten is not called out for something that happens at every level–most likely because of differing level of competition, offensive line dominance at the college level, general gaps in talent betwee college teams, etc. it might be that you find a bigger trend–fantasy stars have little to do with college pedigree, and more to do with 1) opportunity to be successful (see ray rice, chris johnson, shonn greene), and 2) overall athletic ability (see peterson, gore, steven jackson, etc.)

5. 
   Booee R. Slein
   

   16/06/2010

   So glad you brought up the idea of extending the article/research to other conferences. As I mentioned in the beginning of the article, I first created this little hypothesis many years ago. It was a period when Florida (SEC) alone produced Emmitt Smith, Fred Taylor, John L Williams, and Neal Anderson within a fairly short period of time. Meanwhile the Big 10′s Michigan produced 3 1st round picks — all of whom were busts. However, times are a changin’ now, and those RB producing machines (i.e. Florida and Nebraska) just don’t exist any more. Even more so, the attributes that once defined the Big 10 are slowly transforming.

   I love your idea, and will see that this is next in queue for articles/research-reports coming from myself. Thanks a bunch!

   On a side note…
   You and many of our readers may really enjoy this resource provided by NFL.com:
   http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?type=school

6. 
   Bryan Letner
   

   25/06/2010

   I think Ohio State had a few good running backs over the last few years. Their later round draft picks haven’t done much but their top picks over the last 20 years haven’t been too bad. I.E. Eddie George, Robert Smith, Raymont Harris….I mean Eddie George wasn’t even mentioned in this article…You sure make known all the so called “busts” in the Big 10 but left out some pretty good players too! ….As far as I know other conferences recruit these same players also. I guess if they would play in the SEC or Big 12 it would be totally different. The Big 10 ruins them. It all comes back to the conference they play in. What a bunch of hogwash!! Thank you though for your vast knowledge on the Big 10. All that wonderful research you have done in your mothers basement….I will definately move Beanie Wells down on board now. If he plays anything like Eddie George it would just be a total wasted pick. So thank you Mr. Slein I will definately stay away!!

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