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Check out our Big Ten 2016 Position Rankings, from Wide Receivers to Defensive Ends.
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Remarkably, McDowell and Wormley are the only returnees. That speaks to the strength of 1) B1G defensive lines in 2015 and 2) the magic of having veterans stick around to dominate and teach younger players. So who's next?
1) Malik McDowell, MSU
He's fast. He's disruptive. He watches film religiously and learned from Shilique Calhoun. He's a 5-star recruit who probably didn't work as hard as he needed to in 2014, so when his monstrous talent came to the surface in all its glory during 2015, it was a sight to behold! He's Malik McDowell and he's here to destroy your running back/quarterback.
I was front row at that Maryland game when he crushed the souls of all who dared find their way into the interior line. He picked up a bunch of false start penalties, but that was probably just to let the Terrapin offensive line know he was coming. He's Malik McDowell and he will probably be Preseason 1st Team All-American.
2) Ryan Glasgow, Michigan
A walk-on??! A walk on. Amazing physical durability, violent wrestler-type tendencies, tremendous every-down consistency. Described by MGo as the linchpin of the dominant Wolverine line, which is probably true, and when he went down with a season-ending injury, the line got murder-crushed against Indiana and OSU.
3) Everyone Else
The basic research that I put in showed three things: 1) Defensive Tackles do not play the sexiest position, unless you find taking on two monster offensive linemen with a fullback chipping you "sexy", and then yes, very exciting times in the trenches. 2) Many B1G defenses are built so that DT's take up blocks/space and everyone else makes plays and gets on SportsCenter; Wisconsin being a good example. 3) All the stunningly talented DT's in the B1G left after 2015, either because their eligibility was up or the NFL beckoned. So we have fresh faces which I'm sure the comment section will account for, names like:
Jaleel Johnson, Iowa
Mo Hurst, Michigan
Michael Hill, OSU
Chunky Clements, Illinois
Steven Richardson, Minnesota