Ranking the Big Ten: Return specialist

Many questions remain for what the 2020 college football season will look like, but that doesn't mean we still can't evaluate some of the top players to watch in the Big Ten Conference.

We continue our annual Ranking the Big Ten series today with a look at the league's top return specialists coming back this season.

Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG | C | DE | DT | ILB | OLB | CB | S | P | K

A player who has led the Big Ten in kickoff return average the last two seasons, Iowa's Ihmir Smith-Marsette was one of the best in that role in all of college football last year.

Smith-Marsette's average of 29.6 yards per return led the conference and ranked fourth nationally, while his two runbacks for touchdowns also topped the league and put him in a tie for second in FBS.

He was at his best at the end of 2019, when he capped the regular season with a 95-yard touchdown return vs. Nebraska and then took one 98 yards to the house in the Holiday Bowl vs. USC.

Smith-Marsette set Holiday Bowl records with 150 kickoff return yards on a 47.3-yard average to win the game's Most Valuable Player award, and now he's been tabbed a preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection by Athlon.

Aron Cruickshank established himself as one of the most dynamic return men in the Big Ten last season at Wisconsin, earning consensus second-team all-conference honors.

Then he abruptly left the Badgers and transferred to Rutgers in January.

Cruickshank went step for step with Smith-Marsette in 2019, ranking just behind in kickoff return average (29.3, 5th nationally) and equalling the two touchdowns.

It remains to be seen whether the New York native will be as dynamic with the Scarlet Knights as he was in Madison, and he also still needs an NCAA waiver to be eligible to play this season.

Even so, Athlon had him as a preseason second-team All-Big Ten pick.

It's crazy to think that one of the most dynamic all-purpose weapons in college football would only be third on this list, but much of that is a result of Rondale Moore only playing in four games last season due to injury.

When healthy, Moore is one of the most electric playmakers in the country. Despite returning just nine kickoffs for 151 yards and five punts for 36 yards for Purdue last year, Moore was still named a Walter Camp preseason first-team All-American as a kickoff returner.

The big question going forward is how willing the Boilermakers are going to be to put their invaluable junior on the field as a kickoff and/or punt returner? His workload on special teams will obviously impact his value as a return man.

Because of the number of top-level return specialists in the Big Ten last season, Michigan's Giles Jackson probably didn't get as much attention as he deserved.

Jackson ranked 19th nationally with an average of 25.9 yards on 24 kickoff returns and added a touchdown, earning honorable-mention all-conference honors from the coaches and media and being named to PFF's third-team All-Big Ten.

One of two Michigan freshmen to score touchdowns via rushing, receiving, and kick return, Jackson enters his sophomore year as a third-team all-league pick by Athlon.

Once an unknown walk-on, Jack Dunn worked his way up to become Wisconsin's No. 1 punt returner by the end of last season.

He's not the biggest, fastest, or most dynamic returner out there, but all Dunn did was find a way to lead the Big Ten and rank 22nd nationally with an 8.3-yard average on 24 punt returns.

Dunn led the conference in both average and total punt return yards (200) among players with at least 10 attempts. Now he's listed as a preseason first-team all-league selection by Athlon.