big ten – MDHQ

The Rise of JJ Watt Continues

D. Wash — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:59:00 +0000

Just a week ago many people in the draft community were excited over the play of Wisconsin’s Junior DE JJ Watt in their win over Ohio State. Watt was virtually unblockable in that game and constantly pressured Terrelle Pryor throughout the contest.

Many people began to say JJ Watt could be a first rounder off that game alone, and Watt even began to pop up in the first round on a couple mocks here on MDHQ. Though it seemed like hype to begin, Watt’s continuing to dominate Big Ten competition.

Against the Iowa Hawkeyes Watt’s nonstop motor once again became a focal point of the opposition’s pass protection. And again, there was little they could do to outright block the man. Watt for the second week in a row ended the game with a QB pressure.

Will Watt end up in the first round? A week ago it seemed like all hype. But if he continues to play at this pace, there will be no denying that NFL scouts will be salivating should JJ decide to enter the pros early.

Let's Get to Know: JJ Watt (@JJWatt99)

D. Wash — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:02:26 +0000

If you saw the Wisconsin-Ohio State game on Saturday, there was one thing really, really, clear. Ohio State had no one on their roster that could block JJ Watt. Watt was the main reason why the Badgers were able to thwart off OSU’s comeback attempts as he got to Terrelle Pryor multiple times during the last few drives.

A few draft bloggers went as far to jump the gun and claim that Watt was going in the first round (really guys, you gotta stop with the hype). However, it is no secret that Watt probably did really help himself in the draft. He probably made himself a few hundred thousand dollars worth of draft stock in just that one game. It pays to come up big on the national stage.

But who is Mr. Watt?

Here are his vitals:

Has a Twitter account (@JJWatt99)
Favorite quote is “Dream Big, Work Hard: No dream is too big if you have the right attitude. Always stay Hungry & Humble.”
Was a transfer from Central Michigan in 2007.
Made academic All-Big Ten in 2009
Credited with 8 career sacks in two seasons

We’ll definitely keep up with Mr. Watt and we will be seeing him on Sundays in the next year or two. If you’re a Big Ten quarterback you’ll probably be seeing him a little earlier.

Denard Robinson Starts to Fizzle

D. Wash — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 02:06:37 +0000

A lot of people were hyping Denard Robinson as he was running over, around, and by the likes of UConn and Notre Dame and were crowing him not only the greatest player in the FBS but one of the greatest players of all time. Denard’s yardage totals were eye-popping but I was not ready to go crazy over his eye totals.

My eyes were on that tough Big Ten schedule.

Michigan still has to play Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and just took a loss from Michigan State. All pretty stout defenses compared to the cupcakes Indiana, UConn and Notre Dame.

In the MSU game Robinson mustered up just 86 rushing yards (compared to his average of over 120) and threw 3 interceptions.

There are already articles in the the Detroit Press saying that Robinson is doing too much by himself. Many analysts have also dropped Robinson out their Hesiman watch as his numbers cool and LaMichael James and Taylor Martinez start to heat up.