Hello everyone and welcome back to the 30 Day Countdown. It’s Day 27 and it’s time once again for me to draft a Big Ten offensive player to potentially help the Dawgs. We all know the stipulations, no postseason awards or honors of any kind! So, without further ado, let’s get to drafting, shall we?
RB Lee Beebe Jr., Indiana
2025 Stats: 27 carries, 209 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 catch, 7 yards
At first glance, you might think me crazy. “Why add another cook to the running back kitchen”, I hear you say! You have a point, the Dawgs
indeed do have running back transfers from all over the map, from Troy to Oregon! But, Beebe brings a wealth of experience over from UAB, rushing for 1245 yards and 11 touchdowns in his final 2 seasons as a Dragon! This outpaces Trey Cooley by about 200 yards, and would bring valuable experience to a running back room looking for it, after the departures of Jonah Coleman and Adam Mohammad, and the injury to Jordan Washington. Though he didn’t play much last year (3 games due to a torn ACL suffered against Indiana State), he was doing a good job carrying the load as a starter for the Hoosiers, with a 90 yard game against Kennesaw State being his best performance.
It’s easy to wonder “what if” with a guy like this, and I would wager that if he was healthy, he would’ve at least matched his output from 2024, if not exceeded it! Behind that IU offensive line, it’s certainly a possibility! Though the UW offensive line isn’t as stacked, it’s still a good unit, and undoubtedly would help Beebe gash defenses on the ground!
WR Jalen Smith, Minnesota
2025 Stats: 28 receptions, 419 yards, 4 touchdowns, 15 YPC
Similar to the running back room, the Huskies did not secure a true WR1 when it came time for portal season. Perhaps there are reasons for that: Roebuck could be WR1, Jedd and receivers coach Kevin Cummings could believe in some of the younger talent, such as Jordan Clay, or they feel confident that Rashid Williams can finally take that next step and ramp up his production. Me, I want somebody with a high ceiling, and Jalen Smith provides that, with plenty of production already. He had a 4 catch, 103 yard performance against Rutgers, adding a touchdown to that total, after having a 2 catch, 76 yard day against Buffalo the week prior.
But his most impressive performance came in the Rate Bowl against New Mexico. 6 catches for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a walkoff:
Great dive, great hands and great body control on that play! That’s the kind of WR2 that I want on my team, so maybe I’ll draft him, who knows?
TE Zack Marshall, Michigan
2025 Stats: 16 receptions, 199 yards, 1 touchdown
The Huskies have a lot of unproven options at tight end, with the graduation of Quentin Moore necessitating another blocking tight end. It remains to be seen whether Kade Eldridge will be fully healthy, or whether Baron Naone could step in, but I might have a fallback option in the form of Michigan’s Zack Marshall. Dawg fans might remember Marshall from his 5 catch, 72 yard performance against the Huskies in Michigan’s 24-7 win. That is precisely why I want him on the team. And I can hear you say, “we already have Degraaf, why do we need another tight end in his mold”? The answer, dear reader, lies in personnel packages. If I am to put my coordinator hat on, imagine 2 tight end packages in the red zone. The defense can’t account for all those options that Demond would have out there, inevitably leading to a score, whether Marshall is on the receiving end or not.
I could be reaching, and if I am, please let me know, but I like to have options!
My Choice: Give me Jalen Smith, the Golden Gopher! Others might have better numbers, but I’m thinking solely from a fit standpoint, and looking at his numbers, he could be a really good slot guy to add on to a pretty good receiving corps. Plus, our pecking order is relatively set, with Williams and Moss the experienced vets and Roebuck leading a solid young group of Dawgs. I feel like adding a number one guy would disrupt that, so Smith would fit in really nicely! But what do you think? Sound off in the comments below!
