The Big Ten has always been a league known for producing big bruising tailbacks. Last season was no exception.

In 2008, several of the nation's best running backs did battle in the conference that houses the jewels of the Midwest.

The only problem is, most of that talent is gone now, hoping to score their next touchdowns in NFL stadiums across the country. Many feel the Big Ten will be weak this season across the board. After all, five of the conference's top six running backs have moved on. Shonn Greene left Iowa early, Ohio State's Chris "Beanie" Wells did too. Michigan State's Javon Ringer has graduated along with Kory Sheets of Purdue. And then there is P.J. Hill, who left school early but didn't get drafted.

Wherever their next steps take them, it won't be the college gridiron in 2009, where a new crop of Big Ten backs hopes to step right into their departed footsteps. Except, this season, it might be two quarterbacks, both of whom can do plenty of damage on the ground, that draw the most Fantasy attention.

Top Players to Target

Juice Williams, QB, Illinois: Perhaps the top quarterback returning in the Big Ten this season, the Ron Zook-coached Williams is a highlight reel behind center. The Big Ten's leader in total offense by almost 80 yards per game last season with 324.3, Williams is returning for his senior year ready to lead the Illini to a BCS bowl game. Williams threw for 3,173 yards to lead the conference and finished eighth in rushing yards with 719. He scored five touchdowns on the ground, threw for 22 and his only real downside came with 16 interceptions, which also led the conference. Zook's team throws the ball and Williams brings back top receiving option Arrelious Benn. Together they should once again finish atop the Big Ten, making Williams a top option for any Fantasy league.

Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio State: There is only one quarterback in the Big Ten who could compete with Illinois' Williams in terms of athletic ability, and that is OSU's Pryor. As just a freshman last season, splitting time behind center with Todd Boeckman, Pryor finished ninth in the conference in total offense with almost 150 yards per game. The most highly recruited college player in years before he got to Columbus, Pryor finished 10th in passing with over 100 yards per game and accounted for 18 total touchdowns and only four interceptions. Boeckman is gone now and the team is 100 percent Pryor's. What he does with it remains to be seen, however, you can expect him to be among the top Fantasy options in the country. He'll need to refine that passing game, but that should come. Pryor might not be the best Fantasy option in the Big Ten, but he has the most upside.

Evan Royster, RB, Penn State: The leading returning rusher in the Big Ten is Penn State's Royster, who finished third in the conference with 1,236 yards and averaged 95.1 per game with 12 touchdowns. Entering his junior season, Royster, a former high school lacrosse standout, will look to team with quarterback Daryll Clark and get coach Joe Paterno one more BCS bowl win. In his first season as the Lions' top back, Royster racked up five 100-yard games and scored a touchdown in eight out of the 13 contests. He also proved capable of catching passes, something the team will ask him to do more of in 2009. Royster should lead the way as far as Big Ten running backs go and should be taken very early on Draft Day.

John Clay, RB, Wisconsin: Clay returns to the Badgers after a very productive freshman season a year ago, totaling 68 yards per game on the ground. Clay, however, didn't even lead his own team. P.J. Hill was the team's starter and rushed for 89.3 yards per contest to finish sixth in the conference. Hill left early for the NFL Draft -- and didn't get drafted -- and all the running duties now fall on Clay. He rushed for nine touchdowns and saved his best for the end of the season, rushing for 100 or more yards in three of his last five games. His first 1,000-yard season is almost assured barring injury and we think he might be better than Hill ever was for Wisconsin. Royster may be the prize of the Big Ten at the outset, but Clay has the ability to pass him like he's standing still.

Daryll Clark, QB, Penn State: Clark and the rest of the quarterbacks in the Big Ten all fall below the elite levels of Juice Williams and Terrelle Pryor, but that doesn't mean Clark won't do big things for PSU. Clark was the fifth-best passer in the conference last season with just under 200 yards per game and was also in the top five in total yards as well. The senior was second in the league with 19 touchdown passes and only six interceptions. What set Clark apart from other Big Ten quarterbacks was his 10 rushing touchdowns. The problem with this is that Clark is not expected to do much running in 2009, especially with the likes of Evan Royster around, and the fact that Joe Paterno wants him to a pass-first guy. He'll score a few on the ground, but 10 is probably unlikely. Also, the Nittany Lions are replacing much of their offensive line and receiving corps. Still, Clark will fight through that and continue to be among the best signal callers in the Big Ten in 2009.

Adam Weber, QB, Minnesota: Weber should once again be one of the most consistent options at quarterback in the Big Ten. Having taken every snap from center over the previous two seasons, Minnesota hopes 2009 sees more of the same after he finished fourth in the conference in passing with 212 yards per game and second in yards with 2,761 with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Weber also scored four times on the ground. This season could be different, however, as Weber underwent offseason shoulder surgery. Still, he made a quick recovery and figures to continue to be the Gophers' rock this year. Minnesota will no longer play in a dome, which means the weather element gets thrown into play. Plus, freshman MarQueis Gray will methodically be worked into the offense to get his feet wet. Those two issues could hurt his value somewhat, but Weber will continue to be one of the best signal callers the Big Ten has to offer.

Arrelious Benn, WR, Illinois: Benn wasn't the best receiver in the Big Ten last season in terms of numbers. That distinction goes to Minnesota's Eric Decker. Still, what Benn brings to the table, and the reason he's more highly regarded -- only slightly -- than Decker heading into 2009, is his ridiculous athletic ability and the fact that the junior is a monster at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds. Benn could have been a top NFL draft pick and likely will be after this season as he caught 67 passes for 1,055 yards and finished in the top 20 nationally. Benn also rushed for over 100 yards and scored five total touchdowns. He'll team with top Big Ten quarterback Juice Williams, who clearly sees Benn as his favorite receiver, once again and should put up gaudy numbers in what figures to be his last season in Champaign.

Eric Decker, WR, Minnesota: Decker actually finished 2008 statistically better than Benn at Illinois. Decker caught 84 passes for 1,074 yards as a junior to lead the conference and finish in the top 20 nationally, one spot ahead of Benn, in fact. Decker, who caught seven touchdown passes to lead the conference, will once again team up with Adam Weber, who is also expected to put up monster numbers. The combination of Decker and Weber should be right up there with Benn and Williams of the Illini as the best pass-catch duos in the conference and two of the best in the entire nation.

Mike Kafka, QB, Northwestern: Normally when a team, especially a team not necessarily know for its football, breaks in a new quarterback, it isn't a recipe for Fantasy stardom. This is not a normal situation. The starter for the first four games in 2006, Kafka injured himself and relinquished the job to C.J. Bacher and never saw it again. He heads into his senior year as the No. 1 guy once again and that could mean big things for the Wildcats. Kafka showed what he could do last season at Minnesota. In that game, he went 12 of 16 for 143 yards through the air and two touchdowns and added a Big Ten single-game rushing record for a quarterback with 217 yards on the ground. Kafka is one of the best athletes at the position in the league with only Illinois' Williams and OSU's Pryor as better dual-threat guys, and that makes him one of the best sleepers in the conference.

Jewel Hampton, RB, Iowa: Somebody has to replace leading Big Ten rusher Shonn Greene, who amassed over 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns last season, as the top tailback in Iowa City. Greene will be playing on Sundays for the New York Jets this season and so the top job falls to last year's backup, Hampton. As a freshman behind Greene last season, Hampton carried 91 times for 463 yards and seven touchdowns. His showcase game came in October at Indiana when he carried 22 times for 114 yards and three scores. The Hawkeyes will continue to run plenty this season and it will be Hampton leaving defenders in his wake instead of Greene. He has the ability to pick up right where Greene left off and should be among the best backs in the Big Ten, and likely the nation, this season.

Top Sleeper: Ralph Bolden, RB, Purdue

The Purdue Boilermakers have had no trouble running the football in recent years, regardless of the name on the back of the tailback's jersey. Last season, filling in for injured intended starter Jaycen Taylor, senior Kory Sheets broke 1,000 yards and finished fifth in the conference in rushing. Purdue uses a spread offense that is perfect for sprinter-type backs with great speed and elusiveness and that shouldn't change under new head coach Danny Hope. Hope will likely have Taylor back this year but he was still recovering from the ACL tear during the spring and the sophomore Bolden stepped up in a big way. Bolden rushed for 420 yards and four scores on 66 carries over four spring scrimmages and at 5-foot-9, 194 pounds, he resembles the prototypical back for the spread offense. Bolden still has loads to prove but has the upside to finish among the top tailbacks in the Big Ten.

Biggest Bust: DeLeon Eskridge, RB, Minnesota

As a true freshman in 2008, Eskridge did everything coach Tim Brewster could have asked of him and more. Eskridge led the Gophers with 678 rushing yards and seven touchdowns and only had four carries for 12 yards after the first two games of the season. He took over for Duane Bennett and established himself as one of the best backs in the conference almost immediately. So why do we consider him a possible bust? First of all, he was injured for much of the spring, though he's expected to be 100 percent for the season. Despite his successes last year, Minnesota still finished 104th in the nation in rushing offense and is very much a passing team with the solid pass-catch duo of Adam Weber and Eric Decker. Also, Weber and backup MarQueis Gray, a freshman who figures to see plenty of reps, are threats on the ground, which will take carries away. The final reason we consider him a possible bust is the spring emergence of freshman Kevin Whaley, who should see carries as well. For a team that doesn't rely heavily on the run, getting a decent amount of touches per game might be a challenge.

Top Three Freshmen/Newcomers

Tate Forcier, QB, Michigan: We figured somebody had to be of at least some Fantasy value playing for Michigan. Has the school fallen this far to where the only real player worth noting is a true freshman? Alas, yes, that is the case, but the freshman is definitely worth considering in Fantasy. Forcier is an athletic playmaker in the mold of coach Rich Rodriguez's last great stud, Pat White. The 6-foot-1 native of San Diego enrolled in school early to get a leg up on the competition after posting 1,266 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns over his final two seasons in high school. He's the perfect guy to run Rodriguez's no-huddle spread offense. That said, he'll have to battle back Nick Sheridan and Denard Robinson. Still, he shouldn't have trouble doing that and could end up being the man who helped turn the Wolverines back into a winning program.

Edwin Baker, RB, Michigan State: Michigan State has a gaping hole at tailback about the size of 126 yards per game and 22 touchdowns now that Javon Ringer has moved on to the NFL. To fill that void, the Spartans are expecting to turn to a true freshman. Baker, similar in size to Ringer at 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds, is projected by many to be the top guy for the Spartans in 2009. He'll have to compete against about six other guys, including sophomores Ashton Leggett and Andre Anderson and true freshman Larry Caper, but Baker appears to have the inside track and the most talent and could explode onto the scene.

Jamaal Berry, RB, Ohio State: With Chris "Beanie" Wells now in the NFL, the Buckeyes were expected to have options to replace him. The top returning candidates are Daniel Herron and Brandon Saine, who are solid, but the most talented guy was expected to be the true freshman Berry, who was one of OSU's top recruits and one of the best tailback recruits in the nation. However, Berry was arrested for felony marijuana possession this offseason, which could keep him off the field in 2009. The good news for Berry is that he reported to summer school, which bodes well for his playing this year. The coaching staff will wait and see, but if Berry is able to play he could immediately head to the top of the depth chart as he's the best suited for the spread option offense that OSU wants to run this season with Terrelle Pryor at the helm.