College Football

Prepping for the NFL: How Big Ten coaches fare at developing pros on offense

Published May. 22, 2023 10:25 a.m. ET

As the nation's longest-tenured head coach at the FBS level, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz has seen a ton of changes in college football over the years. Just recently that's included NIL, the transfer portal and not one, but two, iterations of the College Football Playoff, all of which have helped transform the sport that gets millions of fans excited about each fall.

At its core, though, college football remains mostly driven by the underlying principle of having better players than your opponent. Before you even get to the X's and O's that are on display each Saturday, having the Jimmy and the Joe's tends to be the best prognosticator of success on the field.

Ferentz knows this well. At the draft in Kansas City this year, his program extended its streak of having at least one player drafted by the NFL for the 45th year in a row — an impressive accomplishment bested in the Big Ten only by Michigan.

Such a note underscores why a place like Iowa City has become a must-stop for general managers and scouts across the league every spring during pro day, just as it is in the fall for big games at Kinnick Stadium.

But just how good are Ferentz, and, particularly his younger peers, when it comes to finding all those good players?

Following the 2023 NFL Draft, FOX Sports pulled decades worth of recruiting data and looked into just how productive (or not) each active Power 5 coach was at both recruiting and developing players for the NFL, and which positions they were most successful at doing so.

In the first part of an extensive series, we'll start with taking a look at Big Ten coaches and how they've fared at producing offensive talent:

QUARTERBACKS

The best: Ryan Day, Ohio State
Others of note: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa; Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern; James Franklin, Penn State; Bret Bielema, Illinois
Surprisingly disappointing: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

As has been the case for a long time now, Ohio State simply operates at another level than the rest of the Big Ten when it comes to recruiting and developing high-level players. Nowhere is that reinforced in such stark ways than by looking at the most important position on the field.

Day has only been a head coach for a little over four seasons and has impressively called plays for three different signal-callers who all wound up becoming not just first-rounders, but top-15 picks. That includes his most recent QB, C.J. Stroud, who went No. 2 overall to the Houston Texans in late April.

Historically it gets even more impressive as Day, who first became a head coach in 2018, has been responsible for every first-round quarterback from the Big Ten in the past 28 years. For added perspective: Day was a junior in high school the last time a signal-caller from the conference not coached by him was drafted in the first round.

The median draft slot for a Day-coached QB is No. 11 overall in the first round. The only active head coach with a track record that is even close to comparable is future Big Ten peer Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma and USC).

C.J. Stroud: The next great Ohio State superstar

It's also notable to contrast Day's ability to develop quarterbacks with that of his conference peers.

Take the current thorn in Ohio State's side, Jim Harbaugh. The Michigan head coach has earned a reputation as a bit of a quarterback whisperer, but has, in fact, failed to fully recruit and completely develop a signal-caller into a draft pick over the course of his college tenure. He ended up leaving Stanford before some guy named Andrew Luck was selected first overall, and sixth-round pick Jake Rudock, an Iowa transfer, has so far been the only player drafted at the position with the maize and blue. Zach Gentry did originally arrive in Ann Arbor as a QB and was drafted under Harbaugh — but did so as a tight end.

Gentry, by the way, is one of 10 four-star signal-callers through the class of 2020 that Harbaugh has signed out of high school during his time as head coach and the only one other than Luck to eventually get drafted. A total of 15 four- and three-stars listed at the position signed with Harbaugh dating back to his time at Stanford, and remarkably Luck is the only one to not transfer out or change positions.

The track record for others is only slightly better, though the length of tenure does seem to have a notable impact on developing QBs as Kirk Ferentz (29 seasons as a head coach), Pat Fitzgerald (17), James Franklin (12) and Bret Bielema (14) are the only Big Ten coaches other than Day to have more than one quarterback drafted. All of Ferentz's three signal-callers were former three-stars, while interestingly Franklin has been the only one to develop a five-, four- and three-star out of high school into an NFL pick.

RUNNING BACKS

The most: Bret Bielema, Illinois
The highest-median pick: James Franklin, Penn State

Despite a well-earned reputation as a hard-nosed running league, Big Ten coaches have not been as prolific as you would expect at turning running backs into pros.

Bielema has been the best in terms of overall numbers, with the Cincinnati Bengals this spring making Chase Brown the seventh tailback tutored by the veteran head coach to be drafted. While Brown was a former two-star who arrived in Champaign by way of Western Michigan, Bielema has particularly done a quality job in terms of converting the higher-end recruits he's gotten ahold of, having recruited seven four-star running backs out of high school and had three of them drafted (43%). Throw in South Carolina transfer David Williams getting picked in 2018 and Bielema has averaged one four-star running back drafted just over every three years he's coached.

At the high end, it might be Franklin who takes the cake. He is responsible for the highest-drafted player at the position since a certain Reggie Bush was taken in 2006, after Saquon Barkley went No. 2 overall. Those who've played for the current PSU head coach have been drafted with a median pick of No. 53 overall, also the highest in the Big Ten.

Watch: Illinois' Chase Brown dominates Minnesota

WIDE RECEIVERS

The best: Ryan Day, Ohio State
Others of note: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota; James Franklin, Penn State; Mel Tucker, Michigan State

Much like the quarterback spot, wide receiver shows a clear dividing line between Day and the rest of the league.

This past draft, Jaxon Smith-Njigba became the third first-round receiver the Ohio State coach sent to the league across four full seasons. With a hat tip to assistant Brian Hartline, five of the six receivers drafted under Day have been taken in the top 100, and players who arrive in Columbus right now can expect to be taken with a median selection in the draft of No. 40 overall (just outside the first round on Day 2).

With future top-10 picks like Marvin Harrison Jr. still on the Buckeyes roster, something says the eye-popping draft numbers will continue to impress when it's time to call out names in Detroit next year, too.

Considering he's a former college pass-catcher and coached the position in the league with Tampa Bay, receiver has also been a bright spot for guys to develop under Minnesota's P.J. Fleck. Corey Davis was a little-known two-star prior to arriving at Western Michigan and eventually became the FBS' all-time career leader in receiving yards and a top-five pick in 2017.

While low-rated recruits turning into NFL players has been a part of Fleck's track record, so too is his ability to maximize the more talented players he brings into the program. A full 50% of overall four-stars recruited by Fleck have gone on to the NFL, a figure that includes first-rounder Rashod Bateman in 2021.

The hit rate since Franklin arrived in Happy Valley at the position has been quite notable, too. He's had six pass-catchers (WR/TE) go in the first two rounds — all but one of which were four-stars — and the median pick for receivers under Franklin has been 65th overall. A Penn State receiver who played for Franklin was selected in five of the past seven drafts, and nearly 40% of those recruited out of high school as five- or four-stars turned into draft picks.

While Mel Tucker's tenure as a head coach can best be labeled an incomplete given its length, there's been some notable successes under his tenure when it comes to receiver. That is highlighted by the fact that two players (Laviska Shenault at Colorado, Jayden Reed at MSU) wound up as top-50 picks in the draft, and he has as many total offensive skill position players taken in the top 50 of the draft as in-state rival Harbaugh has produced in a much longer timeframe.

Marvin Harrison Jr. among top 10 NFL Draft prospects for 2024

Tight Ends

The best: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Others of note: James Franklin, Penn State; Bret Bielema, Illinois, Luke Fickell, Wisconsin

When it comes to tight end, Ferentz is the only natural place to go. Under Ferentz, Iowa has produced 12 NFL Draft picks at tight end — representing a full third of all draft picks combined by active Big Ten coaches at the position.

The track record remains doubly impressive for somebody whose early NFL selections pre-dated much of the internet recruiting era — starting all the back with the first draft pick Ferentz coached in Austin Wheatley, a tight end/punter recruited by Hayden Fry who was taken in the fifth round by the Saints. 2003 first-round pick Dallas Clark began his college career as a walk-on, while the past three Hawkeyes tight ends (Sam LaPorta, Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson) were all off the board by early in the second round after arriving in school as three-star recruits. The same is true of the best of the bunch in George Kittle before San Francisco drafted him in the fifth round a few years prior.

Having recruited 32 players through the 2020 class just at tight end, having 38% wind up drafted is a pretty good clip considering how it is used in both the college and pro games.

While not quite as prolific as his Iowa counterpart, it's worth noting that Franklin and Bielema have an excellent track record as well. Tight ends under the Penn State coach have been drafted with a median overall pick of No. 58, and a full quarter of those players recruited at the position have wound up hearing their name called in late April.

Six tight ends under Bielema have also been drafted (an equal number from Wisconsin and Arkansas) and roughly a third of those recruited at the position go on to the NFL. Speaking of the Badgers, current coach Luke Fickell could be on a similar track after having two tight ends drafted during his six years at Cincinnati, including a former three- and two-star recruit.

Watch: Spencer Petras throws dart to Sam LaPorta

Offensive Line

The best: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Others of note: Bret Bielema, Illinois; Jim Harbaugh, Michigan; Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern; P.J. Fleck, Minnesota

To nobody's surprise in terms of both quantity and quality, Iowa has a central role in terms of offensive linemen being developed by Big Ten coaches.

All told, 19 offensive linemen total have been drafted out of the school since Ferentz's arrival, including recent first-rounders like Tyler Linderbaum (three-stars), Tristen Wirfs (four-stars) and Brandon Scherff (three-stars). Breaking things down further, eight of the 19 Hawkeyes were offensive tackles and were taken with a median pick inside the first round (No. 23 overall).

Notably, Ferentz seems to have a slightly better track record with those more underrated along the line coming out of high school than the highly regarded talent he's gotten to work with. Wirfs is among the 33% of OL who were considered four-stars or up recruited by Ferentz to wind up being drafted, but the average star rating of Iowa's drafted offensive linemen actually comes in at a tick under three stars (2.7 to be exact) when factoring in so many former walk-ons or those regarded as two- or zero-stars who made it to the league.

Across stints at three different Power 5 schools, Iowa alum Bielema has also lived up to his reputation as a quality recruiter who particularly has a keen eye for good linemen. A Hayden Fry disciple who was once coached by and for Ferentz, the current Illini head coach has sent more offensive linemen to the league than any Big Ten coach save his old boss in Iowa City (14) — including a remarkable six centers alone.

Also notable is how the median pick for an offensive lineman coached by Bielema is in the top 100 at both tackle (No. 99 overall) and in the interior (No. 76 overall). He's had seven first-rounders total across 14 seasons and five of them played in the offensive trenches, dating back to No. 3 overall selection and future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas in 2007.

Given his offensive system and how long he's coached, it's also not surprising to see Harbaugh reach double-digits in terms of offensive linemen drafted, with seven coming at either guard or center over the years. He's had four different recruiting classes produce multiple offensive line draft picks and has done a solid job at tackle where the median selection at the position is within the top 100 draft slots.

While the overall quantity isn't close to some of his Big Ten rivals, it's worth pointing out that offensive tackle Peter Skoronski became the highest-drafted player this past spring under Fitzgerald and the median pick of Northwestern players drafted at the position is a hard-to-fathom 12th overall as both went in the top 15.

Skoronski is also one of four players drafted under Fitzgerald who started out as four-star prospects, which isn't a bad hit rate on higher-than-average talent (36%) considering the program has only brought in 11 players with that star rating total across recruiting classes from 2006-2020.

Finally, Fleck might be able to earn an honorable mention as well, as 20% of the draft picks he's produced have been offensive linemen, including a pair of second-rounders like Taylor Morton and John Michael Schmitz who arrived in college rated three-stars or fewer.

Bryan Fischer is a college football writer for FOX Sports. He has been covering college athletics for nearly two decades at outlets such as NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and NFL.com among others. Follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.

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