Football might officially be over, but our Big Ten postseason player rankings keep on keeping on. As a reminder, these rankings are based entirely on performance during the 2012 season.
We've reached the Sweet 16, and next up is a guy who talks a good game and plays a great one ...
No. 16: Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State, sophomore, 5-foot-11, 190 pounds
Preseason rank: Not ranked
2012 numbers: Collected 63 tackles, including one sack, and grabbed two interceptions, with 17 pass breakups, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.
Why he's here: You've got to have a lot of confidence to play cornerback in today's football. Confidence is one thing Roby doesn't lack.
The Ohio State star proved that again shortly after the BCS title game, when he tweeted, "Bama played a weak team and got a ring but just know this A SEC team WONT win next year." Strong words, but Roby backed up his strutting with some outstanding play in 2012.
The second-year starter led the FBS in passes defended with 19 and earned first-team All-America honors from ESPN.com. Teams stopped throwing the ball his way at times last season, as he had his area of the field locked down. The only thing missing from Roby's résumé going into the Oct. 6 contest against Nebraska was an interception. He promptly picked off two passes that game.
One of the fastest players in the Big Ten, the redshirt sophomore contemplated entering the NFL draft this offseason. But Roby decided to come back to Columbus, which was great news for the Buckeyes, and not-so-great news for the league's top receivers.
The countdown
No. 25: Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan
No. 24: Michael Carter, CB, Minnesota
No. 23: Kain Colter, QB, Northwestern
No. 22: Spencer Long, G, Nebraska
No. 21: Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio State
No. 20: Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska
No. 19: Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State
No. 18: Mike Taylor, LB, Wisconsin
