Day one of Big Ten Media Days is in the books, with talk ranging from the gravity of the Penn State situation to the humor of one coach talking about knowing the exact amount of time he has been married (Bret Bielema (Wisconsin) - 19 weeks and five days).
Following the completion Thursday's press conferences and television interviews, there are 10 things that IU and Big Ten football fans should take away from the day's events:
1. Is it another three-man race for IU at the quarterback position?
Rewind back to the 2011 preseason. Three quarterbacks: sophomores Edward Wright-Baker, Dusty Kiel and true freshman Tre Roberson were all competing for the starting job for the Hoosiers. Today, IU Coach Kevin Wilson said at a television press conference at Big Ten Media Days that the position is wide open once again. With sophomores Tre Roberson, Cam Coffman and true freshman Nate Sudfeld all vying for the starting position according to Wilson, as of right now it looks as if a repeat of the 2011 preseason quarterback competition is quite possible.
2. There are some interesting rule changes this season as far as officiating goes.
Big Ten Coordinator of Officials Bill Carollo announced today five new additions or edits to the Big Ten Rulebook. Two of those are "major" rule additions to the Big Ten.
Firstly, kickoffs this season will be moved to the 35-yard line and touchbacks will be brought out from the 25-yard line. This not only creates the ability for easier touchbacks by kicking teams, but also gives the offense five free yards toward the opposing end zone.
The second new rule Carollo announced was that if a player's helmet gets taken off by a hit from an opposing player, the player without the helmet must sit for the next play. Carollo said that this was coinciding with recent concussion injuries, and that it will be a safety precaution for those situations.
3. Big Ten teams including IU are hesitant to go after Penn State's players - except for a couple.
One of the resounding themes of Thursday's press conference was media members asking the Big Ten coaches how they would deal with the newfound unrestricted ability of current Penn State players to transfer within the Big Ten. The majority of coaches clearly stated they would not actively recruit Penn State players. That includes IU Coach Kevin Wilson: "If that kid wants to transfer, he'll contact you. I don't feel like contacting those guys."
Not every coach within the conference felt the same way. Purdue Coach Danny Hope said "as long as we're compliant, we're going to exercise every opportunity we can to enhance our own football team," while first-year Illinois Coach Tim Beckman was even more direct, saying "We were in State College, but we did not go on campus. We went to two establishments outside campus and called some individuals and if they wanted to come by, it was their opportunity to come by."
4. Kevin Wilson really wants offensive improvement out of his team.
Wilson is obviously a very offensive-minded coach as based on his previous coaching stints, and he made it clear Thursday morning that he was not pleased with last season's performance. He pointed out that last year's team averaged 18.1 points per game, his poorest offensive performance from a team he's coached since 1999.
He also went on to place a lot of pressure for improvement on the quarterback position, saying "We're not going to be a good team in the Big Ten with average quarterback play. That is a fact. We better be one of the better quarterbacks in the league and we better play at a high end if we expect to win and start playing quality Big Ten football."
5. Wilson expects IU to not have one, not two, but at least 12 leaders on this team's roster.
During Thursday's press conference, Wilson said that his staff approached 12 players heading into this summer, young and old, and told them they would become a core group of guys second in command to he and his staff. From Wilson's comments, it looks like he is impressed with the leadership he has seen from multiple players, including but not limited to: Kofi Hughes, Larry Black Jr., Adam Replogle, Nick Sliger, Will Matte, Kenny Mullen, Tre Roberson and Ted Bolser.
Wilson went ahead to say: " I think this year we talked a heck of a lot more about how to lead, how to work, how to act, how to Twitter, how to put things out that winners and Big Ten players put out."
6. The Big Ten will stay at an eight-game conference schedule.
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said today that all 12 conference presidents are unanimous in agreeing to stay at an eight-game conference schedule. This coincides with the Pac-12's decision to part ways with the potential Big 10 collaboration due to the league's nine-game conference football schedule.
Delany cited that a major reason of staying at an eight-game conference season was because of the creation of a four-team playoff. He said that with the playoff, a four-game out of conference schedule provides opportunity for the conference to increase it's strength of schedule, and in turn, gives the league a greater chance of earning a bid to the playoff.
7. Expect the JuCo Transfers to have a big impact on IU's defense.
During Kevin Wilson's press conference Thursday, Wilson made multiple comments regarding the five incoming junior college transfer student-athletes to Indiana's defense:
* "We did address some recruiting issues with six junior college players that we have got set to come in to be a part of our spring practices and been with us through summer. So hopefully some maturity is going to help us with that."
* "A lot more (defensive tackles) play on the edge, and with those JC players at backer and in the secondary, we need to be a lot better."
Based on Wilson's comments, expect JUCO transfers LB David Cooper, LB Jacarri Alexander, DB Tregg Waters and DB Ryan Thompson to get serious looks at their respective positions.
8. Recommendation: Don't say "Off the Record" to Kevin Wilson.
During one of his answers to a question regarding Penn State at the media press conference, Wilson went off on a completely different tangent: "I always like it when one of you guys say off the record, because if I say it, it's not off the record," Wilson said. "So I always tune it out when I get the: Hey, coach, off the record, how was your summer, how was your golf game, I tune that conversation out immediately."
Following that comment, former Michigan star and current ESPN College GameDay analyst Desmond Howard jokingly mocked Wilson's statement, asking him, "Coach, off the record, of course, what's your team's goals coming into this season?" At least Wilson was able to laugh it off.
9. Brady Hoke says Michigan's season last year was a disappointment.
Those who follow Big Ten football know that despite not even making the Big Ten Championship Game last season, Michigan made it to the 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl - and won. For nearly every program in college football, winning a BCS bowl would be considered a solid season's performance. Not at Michigan, apparently.
Michigan Coach Brady Hoke said at today's press conference that "We had a disappointing year a year ago when you do not win the Big Ten championship." Apparently winning the Sugar Bowl wasn't enough, but nonetheless, the Wolverines have been tabbed by the Big Ten media to be preseason favorites to win the conference title.
10. Danny Hope thinks that for the first time, his team is solid going into a football season.
Yes, this is what Purdue Coach Danny Hope said Thursday. The fourth-year head coach at the West Lafayette institution said during his press conference that this season was the "first time since I became the head coach at Purdue we potentially have a very good football team coming back."
It's apparent from Hope's statement that he feels like this season's team has more talent returning than in his three previous years at the school. He has some traction on that accusation. Purdue defensive tackle Kawann Short was named to the Leaders Division Preseason Players to Watch List Thursday morning, as the Boilers return 19 starters from last season. That is the most in the Big Ten. Comparatively, IU will return 16 from last year.
