We had a pretty “by-the-books” day one of Big 10 Football Media Days. These are not going to be the coaches who are going to be the talk of the media world for the next week with some larger-than-life statements. Within the Big 10 they are seen as symbolic of the conference itself; composed and collected. That is probably why, even with 14 teams in the conference, the media days can be done over two days. The coaches opening statement is generally all of 2-3 sentences, they are at the podium for 10-12 minutes and there is only a two minute break in between coach presentations. Still there were two new coaches coming today so the anticipation level was comparatively high.
Big 10 Football Media Days; Day 2
Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh hasn’t coached a college game since 2011, but that did not stop the buzz about his return to his alma mater. Of course, his highest priority was to pay tribute to his old college coach, the late Bo Schembechler. “To have his work ethic, to run the program the way he did, would be something to aspire to.” From there we were treated to Harbaugh showing off the new Mike Ditka jersey he got while in Chicago for this event, and a circuitous, if not somewhat rambling, remembrance of how three decades ago the Big 10 used to have a media caravan. Buses would take the reporters from one Big 10 training camp to another. Harbaugh reflected on how Woody Hayes was prone to throw chairs at the reporters. He claimed to have no significant knowledge of recent student boycotts or low attendance figures that have plagued Michigan football, and he deflected any notion that his being hired would bring back the crowds to Michigan Stadium. “I’m not trying to be popular or anything. I’m just coaching football.” He gave little insight as to the QB competition or depth at any position, saying he had to get into training camp to get down to that. “You can observe a lot just by watching,” Harbaugh said. Frankly, I don’t even know how to top that one, so we will just move on.
Jerry Kill has already been deep in the planning stages for his Minnesota Golden Gopher’s season. They open the season at home against #2 TCU. “We’re going to bring in a little artificial snow and see how they handle that snow in September.” Last season Minnesota had two lightweight games before getting hammered by TCU in Fort Worth. Kill likes the tough game earlier. He said it changed the mood of the offseason for his players. “It’s made our offseason more productive and more intense because we are stepping it up a notch right away.” Kill said he was pleased with improvement in last year’s team that went 8-5 overall and 5-3 in conference, but said the loss to Wisconsin hurt. “We got three trophies last year, but we didn’t get the axe,” referring to the Paul Bunyan Axe trophy that the two teams compete for every year.
Kyle Flood enters his fourth season at Rutgers but only his second in the Big 10. He said the change in conference has been an asset on the recruiting trail. “When you play in what we believe is the premier athletic and academic conference in the country, if you are recruiting the right kind of players, they want to play that kind of football.” After a 3-5 conference finish in 2014, he said his biggest learning curve is figuring out how to get the players to be on their game every week. “In this conference, the one thing that jumps out at you is that margin for error is so slim.” Three of Rutgers’ first four games are non-conference home games against teams that are not likely to frighten too many coaches, so that should help his margin of error.
Pat Fitzgerald got all the same questions as everyone else with regards to QB play, depth charts and the impact of Jim Harbaugh on the visibility of the conference. But the 10th year Northwestern coach spent most of his time addressing the questions of scheduling. “How your league is perceived is based on who you play in non-conference.” Next year the Big 10 will return to the traditional nine conference games and three OOC’s. In the meantime though, like the SEC and ACC, they have four non-conference games to work with. Northwestern opted to make two of them formidable with games against Duke and Stanford. “I don’t think we’re going to get the same credit if we beat Eastern Illinois and Ball State. That’s what shapes the narrative of the conference is those individual Power 5 conference matchup games.”
Mike Riley is the other new coach in the conference, taking over at Nebraska after two stints at Oregon State that totaled 13 years. Riley said he was prepared to spend the rest of his career coaching in Corvallis, but when he was offered the Nebraska job he and his wife decided, “We have time for one more big adventure in our life.” He talked about his first impression at the Nebraska Spring scrimmage, which drew a much bigger crowd than any similar event at Oregon State. “It looked like a huge family picnic.” Riley’s biggest challenge this season will be fitting his pro-style offense to the talent he inherited from the former staff. “We have to do a lot of studying and we look at the big picture and then determine and then we will determine what we need to prep in camp.”
Darrell Hazell had one win in his first season at Purdue and three wins in year two. He said the biggest offseason effort for the Boilermakers came with the strength and conditioning coach. “You look at our team and we look like a Big 10 football team.” Part of what set Purdue back last year was having to rely on so many inexperienced freshmen and sophomores. “We are the oldest young team in college football.” Hazell said that by using so many youngsters last year, he has a deeper team this season and as a result will be going to running back by committee with at least three different returning players getting significant carries.
This is a different kind of off season for Penn State’s James Franklin. The NCAA lifted its scholarship restrictions that were imposed as part of the Jerry Sandusky investigation. Franklin said, “We are going into this season with nothing floating over our heads.” He said the team has gone back to practicing in the more traditional methods. “We aren’t having to limit reps and worry about injuries too much now that we have more bodies.” Of course the biggest asset for Franklin isn’t new. It’s the return of two starting QB Christian Hackenberg. He said he has no concerns at the position so will focus his attention on all the parts around Hackenberg. Franklin was also asked about the SEC’s claim that their tough conference schedule puts them at a disadvantage for postseason play. “We play a tough Big 10 schedule and we don’t play any FCS teams,” Franklin concluded.
Clearly, there is much to look forward this season, so we will leave with the thoughts of philosopher Jim Harbaugh. You can observe a lot just by watching.
Main Photo: DETROIT, MI – JUNE 30: University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh looks on while talking to the media prior to the Major League Baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on June 30, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
