his offensive coordinator. More recently, Rutgers ditched pro-style coach Kyle Flood for Meyer disciple Chris Ash, and hired an OC who will run the spread. New Maryland head coach DJ Durkin did the same, and Penn State's James Franklin further established his spread bona fides by hiring Fordham's Joe Moorhead as OC.

In the West, Nebraska went the pro-style route by hiring Mike Riley to replace Pelini. Wisconsin had been pro-style for years, then hired spread-based Gary Andersen, which was a culture clash with athletic director Barry Alvarez. The Badgers went back to pro-style native son Paul Chryst. Illinois hired Tim Beckman, who ran a spread offense, but he brought in a pro-style offensive coordinator in Bill Cubit, and was eventually replaced by Cubit.

So, why the stark contrast? It'sprecisely because of Delany's "live in two regions" mantra. The East is filled with better athletes at the skill positions, while the West has bred players for the trenches. Over the last three recruiting classes, of the top five players in each of the East states (Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey), only 24 percent were offensive linemen or tight ends, according to the 247Sports composite. On the other hand, 42 percent of top players in the West states (Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska) played one of those positions. (Indiana was declared neutral territory).

The only outliers in each division make a bit of sense. Northwestern recruits from Chicago, which has mostly skill position players, while the rest of the West has easy access to Iowa, Wisconsin