Mike Taylor - Wisconsin, 6'2" 222 LBS SR
It's hard to imagine a LB with 150 tackles, third in the country, flying under the radar, but Taylor did. Ask some fans from the South who Mike Taylor is and you probably receive a shoulder shrug and head shake. Taylor was an all Big - Ten selection with no surprise, tallying 60 solo's, 90 ast, 2 sacks, 3 FF's, 2 int's, 9 TFL's and 2 FR's. Taylor had a huge game against Oregon in the rose bowl and also racked up 22 tackles in a loss to ohio.
Chris Borland - Wisconsin, 5'11" 245 LBS JR
Above is Borland on film and who would have thought that Wisconsin would be the LB producer for 2012 in the conference? Borland was a first team all Big - Ten selection by the coach's and media. Borland is a Kettering, Ohio native and a tackling machine to say the least. Borland had 64 solo's and 79 ast to total 143 tackles last year. Borland also racked up an impressive 19 TFL's ( tackles for loss ), 5 FF's and 2 int's. Borland, like Taylor isn't your freakish athlete transitioning into the LB position. Borland is a boring, throwback LB that racks up ridiculous numbers, what else does a coach want from a LB than 143 stops?
Jonathan Brown - Illinois, 6'1" 235 LBS JR
Brown is another head scratcher for some who don't follow Big - Ten football. Brown was a second team all Big - Ten selection last year after putting together a very productive season, maybe the most impressive of all the LB's when it comes to stats. Brown tallied 108 tackles but 62 of his were solo's and only 46 ast. Brown also had 6 sacks and 19.5 TFl's (sixth in the country ). Illinois was a surprising no.2 in total D in the conference last season, NO.1 against pass and NO.2 against the run. Brown also had 2 FR's, 1 int and 4 PBU's.
Gerald Hodges - Penn State, 6'2" 235 LBS SR
There has been questions of what program is the real " Linebacker U ", but year in and year out Penn State has another stud in the making. Hodges is the next PSU LB who is a difference maker. By the way, Miami is Linebacker U folks. Hodges was a first team all Big - Ten selection last season by the coaches and his 106 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 10 TFl were the reason why. Hodges also had 1int, 4 PBU's, 2 FF and a 19 tackle outing against Illinois. Hodges was actually a safety who transitioned over to LB and should have a stellar 2012 season.
Denicos Allen - Michigan State, 5'10" 220 LBS JR
Look folks, Denicos Allen just may be the best and most explosive athlete in the conference. I do think he is a SS playing the LB position, he reminds me of ( I might take heat here because it seems a stretch ) Polamalu. Allen had 83 tackles and was second in the conference with 11 sacks. He was a second team media selection in the Big - Ten and also had 18.5 TFL. Denicos Allen has All - American potential and MSU is a top five defense in the country.
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