Scrolling through ESPN's top 100 newcomers list and I'm already cross-referencing it with our 2026 board and the same old pattern is jumping out at me. We need interior defensive liemen in the worst way. I have been saying this for two cycles now, the 247 composite shows us loading up at skill positions every single class but the trenches are where we keep getting exposed. Three years in the Big Ten and we still haven't figured out that games are won by the guys who can push the pocket and eat double teams.
The crystal ball movement on some of these portal DTs has been frustrating to watch because we keep swinging and missing on the big fish. Hearing noise from sources close to the program that the staff is prioritizing the position this summer dead period but I need to see it translate to actual commits and OVs before I get my hopes up. Every time we get into a battle with Oregon or Ohio State for a top interior guy we end up as the runner up and it's getting old. The bag game has to show up here or we are gonna keep watching our linebackers get washed out by Big Ten offensive lines in November.
This is the year the staff has to prove they can evaluate and develop portal DTs because the high school croots at the position are already locked in elsewhere. If we go another year without a difference maker in the middle of the defense the playoff talk is just noise. The 247 composite class ranking looks great on paper but the tape tells the real story.