Chad Henne, QB, Michigan

Top Big Ten Seniors:

QB Chad Henne ~ Michigan

RB Mike Hart ~ Michigan

FB Jehuu Caulcrick ~ Michigan State

WR Dorien Bryant ~ Purdue

WR Paul Hubbard ~ Wisconsin

TE Dustin Keller ~ Purdue

OL Jake Long ~ Michigan

OL Kirk Barton ~ Ohio State

OL Jordan Grimes ~ Purdue

OL Adam Krause ~ Michigan

OL Akim Millington ~ Illinois

DE Bryan Mattison ~ Iowa

DT Nick Hayden ~ Wisconsin

DE Cliff Avril ~ Purdue

DE Kenny Iwebema ~ Iowa

LB Dan Connor ~ Penn State

LB J Leman ~ Illinios

LB Mike Klinkenborg ~ Iowa

LB Shawn Crable ~ Michigan

CB Tracey Porter ~ Indiana

CB Adam Shada ~ Iowa

S Jamar Adams ~ Michigan

James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State

Nine Juniors to Watch Closely [Not Ranked]:

WR Mario Manningham ~ Michigan -- Not real tall, but he's a big time playmaker for the Wolverines. Has averaged almost 18 yards per catch and scored 15 TD's during his young career.

WR James Hardy ~ Indiana -- At 6' 7" and 220 pounds, with speed, hands and athletic ability, Hardy is the type of player defenders fear in the red-zone. Played for the Hoosiers' hoops team as a freshman.

WR Andy Brodell ~ Iowa -- N.F.L. scouts publicly praised his speed and athletic ability after a simply amazing Alamo Bowl, where he smoked Texas' vaunted secondary for 159 yards and 2 TD's.

DT Terrance Taylor ~ Michigan -- Not real tall at, perhaps, a shade over 5' 11", but he's a very stout 315 pound run stuffer, with enough agility and motor skills to improve as an inside rusher.

LB James Laurinaitis ~ Ohio State -- This former high school hockey star looks like a future N.F.L. first round pick. Has all the skills needed to excel in the N.F.L., but needs to add some bulk before he makes the jump.

CB Justin King ~ Penn State -- Great all-around athlete, who is the closest thing to Ted Ginn Jr. in college football. Reportedly runs a 4.35 and can excel at wide receiver or cornerback and can be an absolute terror returning kicks!

CB Malcolm Jenkins ~ Ohio State -- An elite, shut-down cornerback, who could have N.F.L. scouts in a frenzy when he's done at Ohio State. At this point, he's more polished than King at cornerback, because he's got more experience at the spot.

CB Jack Ikegwuonu ~ Wisconsin -- Another very highly regarded Big 10 corner, who has the type of size (6' 1", 200) and speed pro scouts look for. Is very tough in coverage and is not scared to mix it up pysically against the run.

FS Anthony Scirrotto ~ Penn State -- This former pro baseball prospect showed he was an elite Big Ten safety in 2006. Unfortunately, he ran into trouble recently, because 3 men allegedly attacked him on the street because a "girl" was arguing with them. The courageous trio then ran away and hid behind closed doors when Scirotto got some friends to even up the sides.

DD.com Mailbag [Charles]:

I Think you should have included Wisconsin's Travis Beckum in your junior rankings for the Big Ten. Pretty sure he's their best receiving threat right now and possibly the best tight end in the Big ten.

DD.com Reply: Thank you for the input Charles, it's much appreciated. Obviously, Beckum (a junior) did not qualify for our list of top Big Ten seniors. We mentioned nine juniors to "watch closely", but that group is not ranked from one to nine. It's just a random look at nine players that we are expecting big things from. While we readily acknowledge that Beckum is very worthy of being on a list like that, we must point out that in a talent laden conference like the Big 10 there are so many great prospects in each class and you have to cut the list off somewhere.

Other Big Ten juniors that would be very worthy of being on that list would include:

William VanDeSteeg, DE, Minnesota

Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio State

Sean Lee, LB, Penn State

Tyrell Sutton, RB, Northwesten

Derrick Williams, WR, Penn State

Mitch King, DL, Iowa

By the way, the two toughest prospects for us to leave off the senior list, where Michigan State OLB/S Sir Darean Adams and Wisconsin wide receiver Luke Swan. Adams is a bit of a linebacker/outside linebacker "tweener", but if the hard-hitting athlete has a strong senior season and fares well in workouts, he could follow former Spartan play-alike Eric Smith into the N.F.L.

Swan is widely regarded by members of the media as an overachieving, former walk-on with limited athletic ability and great hands. But the reality is he was a big time playmaker for Badgers in 2006 (averaged 17 ypc) and he is athletic enough to have broken current N.F.L. star Lee Evans' school record for the fastest time ever in the pro-agility drill. So he has great sideline to sideline quickness (ala Wayne Chrebet) and, at the very least, he is a prospect to keep a close eye on as a senior.

Justin King, CB, Penn State