Big Ten gets ready for gridiron in springtime

As football helmets and pads are being dusted off for spring practice, coaches not only will teach and prepare players for the 1997 season but also teach them one important thing: Say hello to their new coach.

This year will be a season of change in the Big Ten, as four new head coaches look to perform similar magic Gary Barnett worked at Northwestern.

Ron Turner of Illinois, Cam Cameron of Indiana, Glen Mason of Minnesota and Joe Tiller of Purdue each will begin implementing their new schemes during the next few weeks.

Each new coach is a break from the other coaches in the Big Ten. Unlike Iowa coach Hayden Fry (68 years old) and Penn State coach Joe Paterno (70), the new regime consist of younger blood, like Turner (43) and Cameron (35).

Instead of defensive masterminds like Michigan State coach Nick Saban and Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, all four of the new coaches are offensive-minded. Turner and Cameron each served as offensive coordinators of NFL teams last season, with Turner guiding the Chicago Bears and Cameron the Washington Redskins.

The other new coaches have had success building teams after years of frustration. Mason turned around Kansas from 1-10 in 1988 to 10-2 in 1995, the first time the Jayhawks had a 10-plus winning season since 1905.

Tiller led Wyoming to a 10-2 mark and No. 22 ranking last season, leading the Cowboys to one of their best seasons in history.

The other Big Ten teams also are trying to fit pieces of the puzzle into their mix as well. Michigan State and Wisconsin have star tailbacks to build their teams around.

Spartan Sedrick Irvin had a surprise freshman year, gaining 1,067 yards, the most by a freshman in Michigan State history. But Saban wants a stronger performance from his other tailbacks to keep the pressure off Irvin.

"Obviously, Sedrick Irvin is the guy you build the running game around," Saban said. "We have a couple of capable fullbacks in Garret Gould and Travis Reece. There's depth at tailback, but somebody needs to step forward and prove his dependability."

The most popular person in Wisconsin who doesn't wear Packers green and gold is Badger phenom Ron Dayne. The 5-foot-10 New Jersey native gained 2,109 yards his freshman year, the best performance ever by a freshman in NCAA history. Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez already is saying the H-word about Dayne.

"I think his stats speak for themselves, and that's the best way to talk about Ron Dayne," Alvarez said. "He can hit the home run for you. He can catch the ball and also be a vicious blocker. He's the total package.

"I'm not the one that pushes people for awards, but his statistics say he should be considered as one of the leading candidates for the 1997 Heisman Trophy."

In Ann Arbor, Carr doesn't have it so easy. He not only has to keep his defense in tact but also solve a quarterback controversy between Scott Dreisbach and Brian Griese.

"We will probably not get a feel for who our starting quarterback will be after the end of the spring practices," Carr said. "I think that our quarterback situation is very strong, and I think that competition is going to go on over the summertime and into fall ball."

Iowa made strides in improving its team defense last year, but Fry feels the team has lost more than people think.

"We didn't lose a lot of players, but we lost some quality and leadership," he said. "We have the potential for another very good football team, but until we replace the graduating seniors, I'm going to be nervous."

With Ohio State and Penn State dominating the conference recruiting wars, most Big Ten coaches sense a bit of desperation to win and win now. But they still feel confident they can make an impact in the national picture.

"We have some definite goals and objectives that we're working towards -- like winning Big Ten championships and developing a consistent top 25 football program," Saban said. "We haven't reached those goals yet, but I haven't put a time-certain on reaching those goals."