Eleven Big Ten players were asked to name the player they would choose to start a team. The clear winner was Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn.
Adrian Clayborn of Iowa: Big Ten players think he's something else.CHICAGO -- There's an obvious game-changer among the best football players in the Big Ten, and he's not Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor. He's the antidote to Terrelle Pryor.
At the Big Ten meetings in Chicago early this week, 11 players were asked which conference player they would choose to start a team, and Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn was the obvious winner, picking up seven votes.
Pryor earned two votes, and Wisconsin running back John Clay gained the other two.
It's the presence of Clayborn leading one of the best defensive lines in the nation that makes the Hawkeyes maybe the most dangerous challenger to Ohio State's run at a sixth straight Big Ten title.
"He's a big play waiting to happen," said Illinois cornerback Tavon Wilson, who answered Clayborn without hesitation. "He gets after the quarterback. He's a really intense player, and I love his game and just love watching him play."
Clayborn had a career-high 12 tackles in Iowa's overtime loss to Ohio State last season, but no team saw Clayborn change a game more than Penn State. In the Hawkeyes' 21-10 win at Beaver Stadium, Clayborn blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown.
"That turned our game around," Penn State offensive lineman Stephen Wisniewski said. "And he's really disruptive on defense. He almost single-handedly blew us up last year."
First pick
Eleven Big Ten players were asked to pick which conference player they would choose to start a team. The winner was clear:
Adrian Clayborn, Iowa DE 7 votes
Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State QB 2
John Clay, Wisconsin RB 2
"To have a rush D-end like that who's that elite of a player, he can be game-changer," Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber said. "So if you start on defense, that's the way you've got to go."
That was an edge for Clayborn, because most players in the Big Ten decided they needed to start on defense with their No. 1 pick. Even Clayborn -- who didn't get an official vote in the poll, cast his lot with Michigan State linebacker Greg Jones -- who was actually named the preseason defensive player of the year by Big Ten media.
For those who went offense, it was a choice between quarterback or running back, both with atypical size.
Purdue defensive end Ryan Kerrigan voted for Pryor. "He's 6-6 and 240 pounds and runs like a gazelle, and he can throw it well, too. He's such a unique player, and you can really build a team around him."
"He's just a freak of an athlete," Minnesota defensive tackle Brandon Kirksey said, explaining his Pryor vote. "He can run, he can throw, he can juke. And he has an attitude about him, that -- I mean, his attitude can be good or bad, but I like his attitude."
Wisconsin 250-pound running back John Clay, the league's postseason offensive player of the year in 2009, earned his votes from Indiana linebacker Tyler Replogle and Purdue receiver Keith Smith for the same reasons Pryor earned his -- because there aren't many guys like them.
"To have that run threat, it would open up the passing game so much more," Smith said. "He has the total package."
Clayborn has the same thing on defense, and has Ohio State defensive lineman Cameron Heyward (who was not asked for an official vote) among his fans. Heyward and Clayborn met for the first time at breakfast in Chicago, with Heyward noticing that he and Clayborn are quiet guys who turn it on when they hit the field.
"You can definitely tell he's a humble guy and really good competitor for his team," Heyward said. "He does it all."
Clayborn, projected by many draft analysts as a top-five pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, wasn't sure how to take the news that he'd be the first pick of his peers in a Big Ten draft.
"That's an honor, obviously," Clayborn said, "but you can take any of the guys in this room and put us together and make an all-star team."