In this episode of The Big Ten Huddle, hosts JR and Jeff tackle an in-depth analysis of the top 5 players for each Big Ten team in the 2025 college football season. JR has curated a list of the top 5 players for every team, focusing on their expected impact for the upcoming season rather than their NFL draft potential. Jeff then takes these lists and ranks the players from 1 to 5 based on their perceived talent and importance to their respective teams. The episode covers all 18 Big Ten teams, from Illinois to Wisconsin, in alphabetical order, providing a comprehensive look at the conference’s standout athletes.

Key Topics Discussed
Player Rankings: JR shares his top 5 players for each Big Ten team, highlighting key performers like Gabe Yakis (Illinois), Mikel Kamara (Indiana), Logan Jones (Iowa), Jaleel Farouk (Maryland), and more. Jeff provides his rankings, often referencing insights from Lindy’s magazine and AllAccessFootball.com for additional context.

Team Analysis: The hosts discuss the strengths of each team’s roster, emphasizing the importance of linemen, safeties, and other key positions. For example, Iowa’s dominance in the trenches and the Big Ten’s exceptional safety talent are recurring themes.

Fan Engagement: JR and Jeff interact with fan comments, addressing feedback from USC, Wisconsin, and other fanbases. They discuss players like Caden Robinson’s eligibility concerns (UCLA) and potential breakout stars like Elijah Page (USC).

Big Ten’s Competitive Landscape: The episode touches on the Big Ten’s ambition to surpass the SEC as the top conference, bolstered by the addition of four former Pac-12 teams (UCLA, USC, Washington, Oregon).

Additional The Big Ten Huddle Channels:
@TheBigTenHuddleBasketball
@TheOhioStateHuddle

More from JR:
Personal Twitter: https://x.com/jrs_rankings
Big Ten Twitter: https://x.com/TheBigTenHuddle
Read JR's Ohio State coverage: https://scarletandgame.com/author/jrhoades1
Read JR's Illinois coverage: https://writingillini.com/author/jrhoades1

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Catch The Big Ten Huddle Football Episodes 3 times a week. Here is when to catch our live or premiere episodes that are about an hour long (eastern time):

• Sunday at 9 PM w/ Zack
• Tuesday at 9 PM w/ Zack
• Thursday at 9 PM w/ Jeff

You can also expect videos by JR throughout the week covering news and interesting topics.

*All times are Eastern time

AUDIO ONLY PLATFORMS
The Big Ten Huddle is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon.
LISTEN: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/TheBigTenHuddle
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STREAM on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4tMaraKvafFzjUrXGq2c4w

The Big Ten Huddle is a podcast dedicated to providing honest, humorous, and insightful analysis of Big Ten football and basketball. With a focus on challenging the national bias, especially against the SEC, hosts JR and Zack offer unfiltered discussions that engage fans of all Big Ten teams. Though critical at times, they always aim to defend the conference and give credit where it’s due, bringing humor and deep analysis together for a unique listening experience.

Rooted in values of integrity, passion, and community, The Big Ten Huddle strives to become the go-to voice for Big Ten sports fans.

There is no show out there like The Big Ten Huddle!