Around the Big Ten East: 2nd Year Players who will Breakthrough in 2020.

Every year new recruits arrive on campuses around the country with high hopes and dreams of stardom. Fans are ready for them to take college football by storm and the recruits are ready to be the next superstar. Truth is not many true freshmen become impact players in their first season, and need time in the weight room and experience to have an impact. The next year new recruits arrive and last years class is no longer on fans minds. This feature will focus on recruits from the 2019 recruiting class who will breakthrough and make their mark in 2020. Note: All recruiting rankings are referencing the 247 Sports composite.

Indiana

Tiawan Mullen was a three star recruit from Florida in the Hoosiers 2019 recruiting class. He quickly got the attention of the coaching staff and earned a starting spot midway through the season. For the year, the 5’10” 175 lb Mullen totaled 29 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 13 PBU, 2 FF but no interceptions. Mullen is not a big corner but has good speed and quickness that allows him to mirror receivers. He has good acceleration and closes on the football well. Mullen has all the tools to be a great cover corner. Despite all that, he is a smaller corner and will need to continue to bulk up to play more physical receivers and be better in run support. Mullen should continue to grow and develop as a player this coming season.

Indiana’s secondary has good talent and depth with many interchangeable parts. Mullen was able to crack the starting lineup as a true freshman and there is no reason to think he will not continue to start at corner for the Hoosiers. Mullen will return a year improved, a stronger player with experience and better technique. Mullen can develop into the type of talent that can make everyone else’s job easier because he is so good at his. Indiana is headed in the right direction and as the talent around him improves Mullen’s play will only shine brighter. Look for Mullen to become a star in the Hoosiers secondary in 2020.

Maryland

Nick Cross was a top 60 recruit and a major recruiting win for Head Coach Mike Locksley in the 2019 recruiting class. Cross saw playing time as a true freshman in the Maryland secondary and had some success, recording 45 tackles, 1 TFL, 5 PBU and 2 INT last season. Cross has good size at 6’1″ 212 lbs and a world of talent. Cross has excellent speed, he will always be one of the fastest players on the field. That speed combined with his elite acceleration gives Cross great range as a safety. He has good quickness and a strong thick build. Cross has the strength to be a major asset against the run. Cross is a big safety and needs to maintain his flexibility so he can play in man to man coverage at times. Cross is on his way to becoming the star we think he will become.

Maryland’s secondary did not have a good season in 2019. The Terrapins finished last in the Big Ten in passing yards allowed and that needs to improve. Cross has a year under his belt now, which should help his recognition skills, allowing him to read and react to plays quicker. With better understanding of what he’s seeing and less time needed to diagnose the play, Cross will be able to put his physical skills to good use. He has the ability to be a star at the back end of the Maryland defense. With the experience and development from the past year, Cross should blossom into the star we believe he will be.

Michigan

Daxton Hill arrived in Ann Arbor a five star recruit and the top commit in Michigan’s 2019 recruiting class. He played quite a bit as a freshman and had some good moments but some growing pains as well. All told he had 36 tackles, 3 TFL, 3 PBU and 1Int last season. The 6’0″ 190 lb Hill is a very fast player with great workout numbers at high school combines. He has the athleticism to match up with anyone in the country. Hill is a tremendous leaper and has the ability to out leap most receivers on jump balls. Hill is a versatile player who has the athleticism to cover in man to man situations. He could play corner if needed, but his best position is safety. Hill is a bit slender and does not project to bulk up too much but with his speed and range that shouldn’t hold him back much. Hill can be star at free safety for the Wolverines.

Michigan lost senior safety Josh Metellus and that projects as a Hill’s spot in 2020. Hill played quite a bit as a freshman in the nickel and some at safety but it makes sense to play him at his best position this season. At safety he will be able to play over the top of the defense and cover a lot of area to limit big plays, but also man up with receivers in Don Brown’s blitz happy scheme. Hill is an excellent player for a scheme that requires versatile safeties that can cover man to man. Hill gained valuable experience and had his moments as a true freshman, but should breakthrough as a sophomore this coming season.

Michigan State

Julian Barnett was a top 60 recruit in the 2019 recruiting class for the Spartans. He played as a true freshman last season but only played WR, he did have 13 catches for 182 yards in that role but look for him to move to corner in 2020. The 6’2″ 189 lb Barnett is a long corner oozing with potential. Barnett is a physical corner who uses his size and length at the line of scrimmage to disrupt receivers. He has good speed and quickness and moves well for a taller corner. He is a very explosive player who has good recovery speed and leaping ability. Barnett has very good ball skills as well, which he displayed at WR last season. Barnett may not have elite speed, or agility but he has no real weaknesses either, he is good at everything and fits well in Michigan State’s secondary.

New Coach Mel Tucker took over very late which makes this a tough spot to make a pick. The Spartan’s lost both starting corners and are in need of an upgrade at the position. It was announced this spring that Barnett would be moving to corner and it would be foolish to do that unless the plan was for him to play a significant role there. Barnett has the talent to turn the clock back to the no fly zone days in the Spartan secondary. He may have played offense last season but he did adapt to the speed of the game and the quality of the athletes at the collegiate level. Those lessons are valuable even if they were on the other side of the ball. Look for Barnett to be a major contributor in the Michigan State secondary this season.

Ohio State

We didn’t count Garrett Wilson because we felt the #15 WR in our rankings had already broken through last season. There are still many options to choose from for the Buckeyes, but Harry Miller was the pick for us. Miller was a five star recruit in the Buckeyes 2019 recruiting class. He played a reserve role in 2019 and saw a good amount of playing time as the Buckeyes had plenty of blowouts last season. The 6’4″ 310 lb Miller was a five star recruit with good reason, he is a star in the making. Miller has excellent strength and uses it effectively. He is a strong run blocker with the ability to move defenders off their spot. He is a solid pass blocker as well but does need to polish his technique in this regard. He has good length for a guard or center and should develop into a good pass blocker with experience. The year as a reserve gaining valuable experience should pay dividends for Miller and the Buckeyes in 2020.

The Ohio State offense returns a lot of talent in 2020. There is an opening at left guard where Jonah Jackson played last season but has now moved on to the NFL. Miller is already penciled in as the starter at that spot coming into fall camp. Miller is a hard worker and there is no reason to think he will not win the job and be the starter at left guard. Miller is most natural at center and could play there if needed, but he has the ability to play guard as well and that will be his primary role in 2020. Look for Miller to hit the ground running as a starter and become a star on the Buckeye’s offensive line. We would be very surprised if he is not on the top 25 G/C list by the end of the season.

Penn State

Brandon Smith was a five star recruit and the top prospect in Penn State’s 2019 recruiting class. He arrived as a long athletic player who needed to add weight to his frame, but still saw some playing time as a true freshman. He accounted for 14 tackles and 2 TFL in a reserve role in 2019. The 6’3″ 240 lb Smith has now had time to bulk up and will be ready to contribute next season. Smith has great length and athleticism at the linebacker position. He can disengage blockers with his long arms or beat them with his quickness. He has added weight to his frame but will need to continue to get stronger to unlock his immense potential. Smith is a hard hitter who arrives with an attitude when tackling. He will need to improve in coverage but has the speed and length to be an asset there as well. Look for Smith to develop into an impact player in 2020.

Penn State loses two of their three starting line backers but does return all everything star Micah Parsons. Parsons has the ability to play all three linebacker spots allowing the Nittany Lions to find the best two linebackers to go with him and get them on the field. Smith is a freakish talent and should be one of the top two linebackers vying for those spots. He has had a year to mature physically and learn the finer points of the position. Playing next to a player like Parsons will allow Smith to grow into his starting role. With more playing time Smith should become a star in his own right, giving Penn State an impressive one – two punch at linebacker.

Rutgers

This was the toughest team to pick a breakthrough player for. With the flood of incoming transfers and the subpar recruiting the last few seasons we don’t see Greg Schiano playing too many second year players. We settled on CJ Hanson who was a three star recruit in Rutgers 2019 recruiting class. Hanson redshirted last season and played sparingly but was mentioned by the coaches as an up and coming player for the Scarlet Knights. The 6’5″ 295 lb Hanson is a versatile player who can play guard or center for Rutgers. Hanson is a blue collar football player who plays with high effort every snap. Hanson has good strength and can create space in the running game. He is quick enough to be a good pass blocker at guard or center once he improves his technique. Hanson needs to continue to perfect his technique and put on good weight, if he can do that he could provide a boost to the Rutgers offensive line in 2020.

The Scarlet Knights lost three starters from last years offensive line. Greg Schiano and his staff will be looking for replacements who can help in the short term and help shape the program for the future. Hanson could be the answer in both regards. He has the ability to play the center position now and the attitude and work ethic to become a leader for the future of the program. Hanson fits the CHOP mentality that Rutgers is trying to ingrain in their players and will be an asset on and off the field. Look for Hanson to make his mark and emerge as one of the leaders in Greg Schiano’s bid to turn the Rutgers program around.

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