Breakout candidates for each Big Ten football team in 2024

Oregon: Matthew Bedford, OG

With a handful of key returnees and top-five recruiting and transfer portal classes — from Dillon Gabriel to Evan Stewart to Jabbar Muhammad — there are a ton of X-factor players in Eugene. But I’m going to focus on the interior of the offensive line, which is going to be crucial in dictating the running game and keeping oft-injured quarterback Gabriel healthy.

The Oregon offensive front will still be very good, but losing a top-50 NFL draft pick in center Jackson Powers-Johnson and first-team All-Pac-12 guard Steven Jones calls for a reload. This pushed head coach Dan Lanning to add Indiana guard Matthew Bedford from the portal. At 6-foot-6, 314 pounds, Bedford brings elite size to the guard position and is an all-around quality lineman who allowed only one sack in 755 snaps in 2023 and has 41 career starts under his belt. That’s an ideal replacement in the interior line for a serious national title contender.

Penn State: AJ Harris, CB

The Nittany Lion secondary dazzled in 2023, finishing 11th in the FBS in passing yards allowed per game (181.2) for a defense that was one of the nation’s best. However, Penn State lost several key pieces in the unit, including cornerbacks Kalen King and Johnny Dixon. 

In comes former five-star recruit AJ Harris, who transferred in from Georgia and has four years of eligibility remaining. According to 247 Sports, Harris was the No. 2-rated cornerback transfer and the No. 13 overall player in the portal this past offseason. With the raw talent and upside already there, a player of Harris’ caliber could instantly ignite new defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s unit in the back end.