A look at football players in the Big Ten this spring who are poised to have breakout seasons this fall:
TE Kaden Feagin is changing positions after spending his first three years in the program at running back. Depth at that spot has allowed the 6-foot-3, 260-pounder to move to what very well may be his more natural position. He has shown good hands catching balls out of the backfield, so this move makes sense for a team that lost its top two tight
ends.
S Byron Baldwin Jr. missed the first two months of his freshman season because of injury and is being counted on to help fill the void of departed safeties Louis Moore and Devan Boykin. Baldwin had been a four-star prospect and top-20 national DB prospect coming out of Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore. He mostly played special teams when he did get on the field the second half of last season. His role should grow significantly.
WR Tony Diaz was one of the top receivers in the FCS at Texas-Rio Grande Valley, and he turned down an offer from Alabama, among others, to sign with the Hawkeyes. Diaz flashed in spring practice, a promising sign for a receiving corps in desperate need of a playmaker. Diaz could be that guy after catching 68 balls for 875 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Vaqueros.
DL Zion Elee is the Terrapins' highest-ranked recruit ever, according to 247Sports, and ESPN listed the Baltimore native as the No. 2-ranked high school prospect in the country. Naturally, high expectations follow him into his freshman season. The Terps have seasoned pass rushers in Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis, but don't dismiss the possibility of Elee being on the field at the same time with both.
WR JJ Buchanan will have a chance to make an instant impact after following coach Kyle Whittingham to Ann Arbor from Utah, where he had a promising freshman season. Buchanan was the fifth-rated receiver in the transfer portal after he had 26 receptions for 427 yards and five touchdowns. He's poised to become a go-to receiver for Bryce Underwood.
QB Alessio Milivojevic hopes to build off the opportunity he got late last season when he took over for the benched Aidan Chiles. Milivojevic first must beat out sixth-year player Cam Fancher, who has been a starter at three schools. Milivojevic started the last four games and threw for 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns in nine games overall.
DE TJ Bush Jr. had 11½ tackles for loss and 5½ sacks for California last season and gives the Gophers a complement to AP All-Big Ten second-team DE Anthony Smith. Bush, who played his first two seasons at Liberty before his stop at Cal, strengthens a defense that led the conference with 3.0 sacks per game and was second in TFLs with 7.1.
RB Jamal Rule blossomed in the spring and could be a major contributor at a position that lost 1,500-yard rusher Emmett Johnson. The coaching staff was panned by fans for not pursuing a running back in the portal. The staff has been high on Rule all along. The 2026 signee who enrolled in January piled up 136 yards from scrimmage on 11 touches in the spring game, including a 75-yard touchdown run.
LB Kobie McKinzie is a seasoned Oklahoma transfer expected to help fill a big hole left from the departure of Mac Uihlein, who accounted for 185 tackles the last two seasons. McKinzie was hitting his stride as a starter for OU when a groin injury in late October caused him to miss a game, and he returned in a reserve role the rest of the season.
WR Chris Henry Jr. showed during the final week of spring practice why he was the nation’s top-ranked receiver in this year’s recruiting class. Henry shed his black stripe three days before the spring game, signifying he had proven to the coaching staff he understood the expectations of the program. During the spring game, he displayed his ability to be a vertical threat with a 40-yard touchdown. Henry mostly saw time with the second team but should compete for playing time on a receiving group led by Jeremiah Smith.
OL Fox Crader is first in line to take over for Isaiah World at left tackle. The four-star recruit got limited snaps in his second season with the Ducks, except when he played 55 as the starter against Southern California when World was out with an injury. As protector of Dante Moore's blind side, Crader will be a crucial piece to a line replacing three starters.
DE Max Granville had a promising freshman year in 2024 and was set to be a major contributor before an injury caused him to miss last season. With Dani Dennis-Sutton gone and Chaz Coleman having transferred to Tennessee, this is Granville's time. The son of former NFL linebacker Billy Granville has drawn praise from new coach Matt Campbell this spring and is in line to be in the rotation at his position, if not a starter.
DE Jeremy Lewis has been a disruptive force throughout the spring and could be just the guy to take over for edge rusher CJ Nunnally IV. Lewis had nine sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss at Iowa Western CC last season and saved his best performance for last, recording 2.5 sacks and forcing and recovering fumbles in the Division I junior college national championship game.
CB Kevin Levy has the opportunity to play a major role at a spot with no returning starters. He was a four-star prospect out of West Palm Beach, Florida, two years ago, so the talent is there. Coach Greg Schiano has a reputation for developing top defensive backs, and he said Levy has done everything right to position himself for play significant snaps.
DE Jahkeem Stewart is a 6-foot-5 pass rusher who had a solid freshman season despite playing with a stress fracture in his foot, so the Trojans haven’t seen everything he can do. The coaching staff has repeatedly mentioned Stewart’s offseason progress. Stewart and fellow 6-5 end Kameryn Crawford are the foundation of what DC Gary Patterson says could be the biggest and best defensive line of his coaching career.
DL Aiden Gobaira followed coach Bob Chesney from James Madison and is being counted on to improve a pass rush that recorded just 10 sacks, fewest in the nation. Gobaira never played a snap in two-plus seasons at Notre Dame but came on to record four sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss in his one year at JMU.
WR Dezmen Roebuck logged the second-most receiving yards on the team as a freshman, hauling in 42 passes for 560 yards and dropping just one pass. Roebuck, who lined up wide 70% of the time last season, is moving to the slot and should be Demond Williams Jr.'s favorite target with Denzel Boston, last season’s leading receiver, heading to the NFL.
QB Colton Joseph threw for 2,624 yards and 24 touchdowns and ran for 1,007 yards and 13 more scores while helping Old Dominion go 9-3. He didn't play in Cure Bowl. The Badgers need him to stay healthy. QB injuries have decimated Wisconsin throughout Luke Fickell’s coaching tenure. Wisconsin’s intended season-opening starter has been available for the entirety of only 11 of the Badgers’ 37 games the last three years.
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AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham, Dave Campbell, Andrew Destin, Larry Lage, Steve Megargee, Joe Reedy, Andrew Seligman and AP freelancer John Bohnenkamp contributed to this report.
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