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ESPN B1G Blog: Kirk Cousins #9 Player of 2011 Season

  • Cousins led the Big Ten in passing yards and finished his career as the Spartans' all-time leader in passing touchdowns, passing yards, completions, passing efficiency rating and total offense. And you can't underestimate the leadership he brought to the team as the face of the program, a big key in Michigan State's 11-win campaign.

    There's not much more you could have asked from Kirk Cousins in 2011.

    No. 10: Rex Burkhead, RB, Nebraska
    No. 11: Mike Martin, DT, Michigan
    No. 12: Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska
    No. 13: Riley Reiff, LT, Iowa
    No. 14: B.J. Cunningham, WR, Michigan State
    No. 15: John Simon, DL, Ohio State
    No. 16: Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan
    No. 17: Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin
    No. 18: A.J. Jenkins, WR, Illinois
    No. 19: Gerald Hodges, LB, Penn State
    No. 20: Kevin Zeitler, G, Wisconsin
    No. 21: Marcus Coker, RB, Iowa
    No. 22: Silas Redd, RB, Penn State
    No. 23: Kawann Short, DT, Purdue
    No. 24: Mike Taylor, LB, Wisconsin
    No. 25: Fitz Toussaint, RB, Michigan

    This post was edited by Just1Spartan on 2/29/2012 at 8:32 AM

    Big Ten rankings: No. 9, Kirk Cousins - Big Ten Blog - ESPN

    Our Big Ten top 25 player countdown rolls on, and we've reached the truly upper-echelon guys at this point, the ones with single-digit numbers next to

    espn.go.com

    Just1Spartan

  • Just1Spartan said...

    Preseason rank: #6

    So if there's not much more you could have asked out of him, who are the 8 guys ahead of him? I assume:

    Montee Ball
    Russell Wilson
    Whitney Mercilus
    Jerel Worthy
    Lavonte David
    LB Brown (from IL)
    Marvin McNutt

    I'm having problems coming up with the 8th?

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky ●

  • Thought he would be higher. Not sure how you can say Worthy (who I am assuming is still to come) is better than Cousins, other than going by pro potential, which is dumb.

    Remind yourself. Nobody built like you, you design yourself.

    izzone89 ●

  • SpartanRocky said...

    So if there's not much more you could have asked out of him, who are the 8 guys ahead of him? I assume:

    Montee Ball Russell Wilson Whitney Mercilus Jerel Worthy Lavonte David LB Brown (from IL) Marvin McNutt

    I'm having problems coming up with the 8th?

    Devon Still

    Zeke4H

  • Zeke4H said...

    Devon Still

    There ya go.

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky ●

  • izzone89 said...

    Thought he would be higher. Not sure how you can say Worthy (who I am assuming is still to come) is better than Cousins, other than going by pro potential, which is dumb.

    The summary says they did not weigh pro potential. I could understand them putting Worthy higher, because our elite defense was arguably a more key component of our success, and Worthy was the leader of that unit (I suppose).

    ARW Lasers20025

  • The only preseason knock on Cousins was that he forced things in big games. They acknowledge that he didn't do that, and wrote "There's not much more you could have asked from Kirk Cousins in 2011" and then they lowered him from his #6 preseason ranking?

    huh

    Don't think -- it can only hurt the ballclub

    LA_Spartan

  • For the record, Montee Ball is the most overrated player in the B1G. Larry Caper could have 38 touchdowns behind that offensive line. He'll be a huge bust in the NFL.

    signature image signature image signature image

    markdantonibro

  • markdantonibro said...

    For the record, Montee Ball is the most overrated player in the B1G. Larry Caper could have 38 touchdowns behind that offensive line. He'll be a huge bust in the NFL.

    It's Michigan RB Syndrome. Average to above average RBs behind an elite OL = huge college production and NFL busts. See Hart, Mike; thomas, anthony; Biakabatuka, Tim; Calhoun, Brian; Dayne, Ron; Hill, P.J., etc.

    There's a reason Ball came back for his SR year. He got a 3rd or 4th round draft grade AFTER scoring 38 TDs.

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky ●

  • LA_Spartan said...

    The only preseason knock on Cousins was that he forced things in big games. They acknowledge that he didn't do that, and wrote "There's not much more you could have asked from Kirk Cousins in 2011" and then they lowered him from his #6 preseason ranking?

    I know Rittenberg has a crush on Iowa, but if McNutt is seriously rated above Cousins it will just be laughable.

    Zeke4H

  • markdantonibro said...

    For the record, Montee Ball is the most overrated player in the B1G. Larry Caper could have 38 touchdowns behind that offensive line. He'll be a huge bust in the NFL.

    I've been going back and forth on this one. On one hand it just doesn't seem like he has the speed, power or agility to be an ncaa TD record holder. On the other, its hard to ignore the fact that he did tear apart opposing run defenses...including ours. He's at least the best in the big ten. Putting Bell behind that line would be pretty awesome.

    FarmLaneWalkSig

  • Zeke4H said...

    I know Rittenberg has a crush on Iowa, but if McNutt is seriously rated above Cousins it will just be laughable.

    It's going to happen; McNutt has slightly better #s than BJ and Jenkins, who are on the list. I still think BJ was the better WR, but I bet McNutt gets #8.

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky ●

  • Zeke4H said...

    I know Rittenberg has a crush on Iowa, but if McNutt is seriously rated above Cousins it will just be laughable.

    Not necessarily. McNutt was the toughest matchup at WR in the big ten. The dude is enormous and averaged over 100 ypg with a fairly pedestrian QB. That catch he had against us was unbelievable. Great combination of size and hands.

    Kirk was very solid but not outstanding, so I don't disagree with rittenberg in this case.

    FarmLaneWalkSig

  • I wouldn't be too ruffled by much of anything in a list like that (how do you compare a QB with a safety?), but how on earth is Gholston not on that list?

    signature image

    ashamanAJSV ●

  • Toussaint is not a top 25 player in the big ten. He would not have been on our 2 deep this year, maybe not even 3rd string.

    FarmLaneWalkSig

  • FarmLaneWalkSig said...

    Toussaint is not a top 25 player in the big ten. He would not have been on our 2 deep this year, maybe not even 3rd string.

    1000 yard rusher who came on strong at the end of the year.

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky ●

  • ashamanAJSV said...

    I wouldn't be too ruffled by much of anything in a list like that (how do you compare a QB with a safety?), but how on earth is Gholston not on that list?

    As good as he was, I don't really have a problem with those guys listed in front of him.

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky ●

  • SpartanRocky said...

    1000 yard rusher who came on strong at the end of the year.

    My points were... he is not a top 25 player and would not be above bell or baker on our depth chart. Are you disagreeing? I don't understand what that statement establishes.

    FarmLaneWalkSig

  • FarmLaneWalkSig said...

    My points were... he is not a top 25 player and would not be above bell or baker on our depth chart. Are you disagreeing? I don't understand what that statement establishes.

    Well, in some respects, it's a similar argument to Denard Robinson. We can truthfully state that he wouldn't be anywhere on our depth chart at QB, but that's because our system has absolutely no place for him. That doesn't mean he won't be ranked by someone looking at the entire conference. With Toussaint, he might very well not work for our offense, but he does seem to be a nice complement to a running QB.

    signature image

    ashamanAJSV ●

  • FarmLaneWalkSig said...

    My points were... he is not a top 25 player and would not be above bell or baker on our depth chart. Are you disagreeing? I don't understand what that statement establishes.

    Whether or not a guy fits on State's depth chart is a poor argument. He ran for 5.6 YPC and really helped UM down the stretch (at least 120 yards in the last 3 regular season games). Is he "really" the 25th best player in the conference? I don't know, but I don't disagree with him being in the discussion.

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky ●

  • SpartanRocky said...

    Whether or not a guy fits on State's depth chart is a poor argument. He ran for 5.6 YPC and really helped UM down the stretch (at least 120 yards in the last 3 regular season games). Is he "really" the 25th best player in the conference? I don't know, but I don't disagree with him being in the discussion.

    He's not. I'm not arguing that since he doesn't "fit" into our system he shouldn't be higher than baker or bell, but rather that those two are simply better backs. If a Michigan fan told you they'd prefer Toussaint over either of those two in their system, they'd be lying.

    FarmLaneWalkSig

  • FarmLaneWalkSig said...

    He's not. I'm not arguing that since he doesn't "fit" into our system he shouldn't be higher than baker or bell, but rather that those two are simply better backs. If a Michigan fan told you they'd prefer Toussaint over either of those two in their system, they'd be lying.

    I think you're right. Rittenberg must be going purely on numbers if Bell is not on the list and Coker, Redd, and Fitz are.

    signature image signature image signature image

    Hide yo quarterbackz, hide yo kidz, the MSU defense is here

    tBell Tolls ●

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