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Thursday Morning Brews: Looking For Sunshine

By Nick Bodanyi
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Hitting the Links Can Spell 'Saltalamacchia'

Recruiting Overview, Post-Spring

A great post from MGoBlog, with a 100% daily value of bold prediction-making, which is a staple of any good diet.

Ty Wheatley Is Recruiting Very, Very Well

Everyone knows how much NFL experience this staff has, but the recruiting chops are similarly impressive. Greg Mattison, Chris Partridge, Jim Harbaugh, and Jedd Fisch are excellent recruiters, and everyone else has pulled their weight. We'll see how Brian Smith does - his youth and no-nonsense approach should mesh very well with recruits.

Grant Newsome Continues To Grow

There have been good vibes surrounding Newsome as he transitions to a starting role, and playing as a true freshman was certainly a great sign of his potential as a prospect.

But while the mental side of playing the position has been a seamless transition, as detailed above, some of the physical challenges haven't been hurdled quite yet. Newsome struggled at times last year against stronger, more experienced players, and this spring brought news of him getting beaten in practice by Chase Winovich and Lawrence Marshall.

That's not a great sign, but it's important to remember that Newsome is still really young and learning the ropes. There's a full summer ahead in which he can bulk up. Plus, his coach is Tim Drevno. We'll see how he does come August and, especially, November.

Recruiting Notes: Oklahoma DT Leaning Toward Michigan

Deontre Thomas has gotten sparse recognition from the recruiting services, but he has some great quickness for a bigger dude.

B1G Mailbag: Hot Seat At Penn State, Michigan Floor/Ceiling

Brian Bennett is bullish on Michigan's chances next year - he has the Wolverines winning the Big Ten and reaching the College Football Playoff.

Jabrill Peppers At Home In His New Role

This may be looking a little too far down the road, but all these position changes leave me very curious where Jabrill will actually end up in the NFL.

Presser Bullets: Ohio State

Bad news about the growth of the defensive line is good news for the rest of the Big Ten. Same goes for J.T. Barrett, too.

What To Expect From Maryland's New D.C. | Quotes From Buh, Durkin

Make no mistake that this will ultimately be Durkin's defense. Andy Buh will be an understudy.

Also, Testudo Times has a great depth chart put together now that spring practice is winding down, and the Baltimore Sun has a spring practice report.

Iowa Spring Practice Questions, Storylines

Open practices are becoming more common, and Iowa is joining the trend. This post, which looks at the main questions fans have at the moment, is a little on the heavy side, but it does a good job of balancing a lot of names with an organized approach.

Checking In On Rutgers' Defensive Line

I'm optimistic Rutgers will finally put Big Ten-sized D-linemen on the field, thanks to Chris Ash's emphasis on weight lifting. They were way too small the last two years.

Ten Burning Questions For Penn State

I'm kind of expecting a "surprise" season for the Nittany Lions next year. No Christian Hackenberg, an improving offensive line, and tons of talent on offense. Less pressure, while Michigan and Ohio State get most of the attention. We'll see how much the loss of Bob Shoop hurts the defense, though.

I haven't touched on Big Ten recruiting much, but Northwestern has a very good class coming together in 2017. The program is doing well under Fitzgerald; they're not a 'marquee' program like Florida, Texas, or Tennessee, but they're probably in better shape than some of those other schools despite the lack of blue-blood status. Hats off to them.

Mikey Dudek Injured, Again

No details on how severe the knee injury is. Could be nothing, could be something.

Urban Meyer vs. Landon Young

I don't particularly want to cover this, since Young has since apologized and said things were overblown. But there were some incendiary things said in this little spat, and it's the off-season. Also, Ohio State sucks.

Nebraska vs. Bo Pelini, Round 17

Hey, uh... oh, forget it.