Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
CHICAGO -- The 2007 Big Ten championship ring glistened on Malcolm Jenkins' right hand as he met with reporters Friday. Jenkins' other ring, from Ohio State's 2006 league title, was stowed away in his hotel room.
Most Big Ten players would do anything to have Jenkins' jewelry collection. But for the senior cornerback and his Ohio State teammates, their legacy still hinges on a ring they have yet to earn.
"Nobody ever remembers the losers," Jenkins said. "Besides the last two teams, the four national championships before that, I couldn't name the losers of any of those games. There really isn't any credit in getting there. You can argue against somebody else who didn't get there, but at the end of the day, getting there doesn't matter."
A final run at a national championship after two failed attempts wasn't the overriding reason why Jenkins passed up the NFL and returned to Ohio State. But after back-to-back outright Big Ten titles and 23 wins the last two seasons, he and his fellow seniors have few other goals left on their plate.
Nine starters return on each side of the ball as do both kicking specialists. The team returns as much or more experience than the 2005 squad, which steamrolled through the regular season before flat-lining in the national title game.
"On paper, it looks pretty decent," Jenkins said. "We have all these starters back and all these seniors, a very talented class. But it's all just potential right now. Hopefully, we can turn that into production."
Linebacker James Laurinaitis continues to pick up accolades, being named the Big Ten's preseason Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. The Nagurski Trophy and Butkus Award winner was asked where he ranks among the team's recent defensive standouts.
"I have no idea," Laurinaitis said. "Hopefully, it's not for me to say. There are some guys here that have done way more than I have. You want to be like guys like Mike Doss, those guys that got the ring, too. That's ultimately what matters."
Adam Rittenberg joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four years at the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald, where he covered sports at Notre Dame, Northwestern, DePaul and several other colleges. He lives in Chicago.
