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Football
Buckeyes Earn Preseason Respect from Big Ten Media
By Tony Gerdeman

Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and Michigan State linebacker Greg Jones have been selected as the Big Ten's preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year by the assorted Big Ten media today.

They have also picked the Buckeyes to win the conference, followed by Iowa and then Wisconsin.

Terrelle Pryor
Photo by Dan Harker

If the Pryor and Jones accolades sound familiar, it's because they are. They also happened to be last year's preseason picks. It's the first time since 1998 that both players have repeated, joining Ohio State linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer and Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne.

It is also the seventh time in the last seven years that at least one Buckeye has been picked to be the preseason Offensive or Defensive Player of the Year. (2009 – Terrelle Pryor, Offense; 2008 – Beanie Wells, Offense and James Laurinaitis, Defense; 2007 – James Laurinaitis, Defense; 2006 – Troy Smith, Offense; 2005 – A.J. Hawk, Defense; 2004 – A.J. Hawk, Defense.)

Pryor's preseason selection last year was probably about a year ahead of schedule, but the voters are obviously now expecting to see the quarterback that they got to see against Oregon in the Rose Bowl last season where he completed a season-high 23 passes in a season-high 37 attempts for a season-high 266 yards passing.

His 72 yards rushing in that game, however, were not a season high. It was only the fifth-best total for him on the year.

With a BCS appearance for Ohio State this season, Pryor would become the only quarterback to ever lead his team to three BCS appearances in his first three seasons. (He's already the only quarterback to do it in his first two seasons.)

Over the last five years, the media has picked the eventual Offensive Player of the Year correctly just once, when they tabbed Troy Smith as their winner in 2006.

Defensively, however, is another story. Only once in that same time frame—when they chose Penn State's Paul Posluszny in 2006—have they gotten the defensive player of the year wrong.

Michigan State's Greg Jones was named last year's preseason Defensive Player of the Year after finishing third in the conference in tackles as a sophomore in 2008. He followed his 127 tackles that year with 154 last season, including nine sacks, which was just 1.5 fewer than Michigan's Brandon Graham.

By earning the conference's Defensive Player of the Year after last season, he became the third straight linebacker to be named preseason Defensive Player of the Year and then follow through by winning the post-season award as well (joining Laurinaitis, who did it in 2007 and 2008).

Also over the last five seasons, the media has incorrectly picked the conference champion twice—both times selecting Michigan in 2007 and 2005.

Ohio State has now been picked as the favorite for the third year in a row. If they win the conference championship for a sixth consecutive season, it will tie the longest streak in Big Ten history (Ohio State 1972-77).

Here are the preseason picks along with the eventual winners since 2005.

2005 Preseason Pick Offense – Drew Tate, QB Iowa
2005 Eventual Winner Offense – Michael Robinson, QB Penn State

2005 Preseason Pick Defense – A.J. Hawk, LB Ohio State
2005 Eventual Winner Defense – A.J. Hawk, LB Ohio State

2005 Preseason Conference Winner – Michigan
2005 Eventual Conference Winner – Ohio State/Penn State

2006 Preseason Pick Offense – Troy Smith, QB Ohio State
2006 Eventual Winner Offense – Troy Smith, QB Ohio State

2006 Preseason Pick Defense – Paul Posluszny, LB Penn State
2006 Eventual Winner Defense – LaMarr Woodley, DE Michigan

2006 Preseason Conference Winner – Ohio State
2006 Eventual Conference Winner – Ohio State

2007 Preseason Pick Offense – Mike Hart, RB Michigan
2007 Eventual Winner Offense – Rashard Mendenhall, RB Illinois

2007 Preseason Pick Defense – James Laurinaitis, LB Ohio State
2007 Eventual Winner Defense – James Laurinaitis, LB Ohio State

2007 Preseason Conference Winner – Michigan
2007 Eventual Conference Winner – Ohio State

2008 Preseason Pick Offense – Beanie Wells, RB Ohio State
2008 Eventual Winner Offense – Shonn Greene, RB Iowa

2008 Preseason Pick Defense – James Laurinaitis, LB Ohio State
2008 Eventual Winner Defense – James Laurinaitis, LB Ohio State

2008 Preseason Conference Winner – Ohio State
2008 Eventual Winner Defense – Ohio State/Penn State

2009 Preseason Pick Offense – Terrelle Pryor, QB Ohio State
2009 Eventual Winner Offense – John Clay, RB Wisconsin

2009 Preseason Pick Defense – Greg Jones, LB Michigan State
2009 Eventual Winner Defense – Greg Jones, LB Michigan State

2009 Preseason Conference Winner – Ohio State
2009 Eventual Conference Winner – Ohio State

2010 Preseason Pick Offense – Terrelle Pryor, QB Ohio State
2010 Preseason Pick Defense – Greg Jones, LB Michigan State
2010 Preseason Conference Winner – Ohio State

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