Big Ten Media Day Thread!

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Stan

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Big Ten media starts!! Looking forward to seeing some good quotes and insight on the Gophers.
 

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Go Gophers!!
 


per Joe:

Big Ten media days start Monday in Chicago, and there will be heavy hearts after Nebraska punter Sam Foltz and former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler were killed in a car crash Saturday. Nebraska announced that its contingent will miss the event, but six other teams will appear Monday, including the Gophers. Here are five story lines to follow:

1. Tracy Claeys’ debut

He has game experience as the Gophers head coach, after going 2-4 following Jerry Kill’s resignation last October. But this will be Claeys’ first taste of media days. He takes the podium for a 15-minute news conference televised live at 1 p.m. Monday on Big Ten Network. It will be interesting to see what tone Claeys sets for a team coming off a 6-7 finish.

2. College football’s future

The Big 12 is in flux, saying it is finally ready to expand. But the plates shifted when the ACC announced plans to launch its own TV network, just as the Big Ten, SEC and Pacific-12 have done. Will Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany stand pat? Or will he pull another coup and steal Texas and Kansas from the Big 12?

3. East/West disparity

The Big Ten West’s inferior status remains a national story line. The eastern powers — Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State — have distanced themselves in recruiting. Iowa offered hope last year, starting 12-0 and losing a close battle to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game. But the Rose Bowl wasn’t good for the Big Ten West’s image, because Stanford crushed the Hawkeyes 45-16.

4. Playoff worthy?

Ohio State won the 2014 national title, and Michigan State got pummeled by Alabama in last season’s national semis. Those two teams have lost a ton of talent. Will that create an opening for Michigan? Will Iowa or Nebraska create an opportunity like the Hawkeyes had last year? Or, will the Big Ten be left out of the College Football Playoff for the first time in three years?

5. Perception of Gophers

Quarterback Mitch Leidner will be making his third appearance at media days. He will be joined by Gophers seniors Damarius Travis and Jack Lynn. Last week, the media picked the Gophers to finish fifth in the West behind Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Northwestern, though the Gophers were given one of the 39 first-place votes. Gophers players can sound off on their own expectations.

http://www.startribune.com/big-ten-football-talking-about-it-anyway-starts-monday/388085642/

Go Gophers!!
 




Just win baby, just win...who cares about the fancy quotes.
 

Harbaugh only coach not to mention Foltz, Sadler?

Inexcusable oversight by Jim Harbaugh if he truly was the only coach not to mention Sam Foltz and Mike Sadler during his time on the podium today. BTN showed footage of every coach there today (Ash, Claeys, Fitzgerald, Franklin, and Hazell) paying their respects to Foltz and Sadler (and their universities), but did not include any footage of Harbaugh.

If Harbaugh did pay his respects but BTN didn't show it, that's a gross oversight, as well. Makes Harbaugh look bad.
 

The Big Ten West is 15-13 vs the East in the two years the divisions have been aligned this way. 15-15 if you count the two title games. And let's be honest, last year's title game came down to about 1 yard and 20 seconds.

There is not a disparity between the divisions, only a fan/media-created perception of one.
 



WanderingGopher said:
The Big Ten West is 15-13 vs the East in the two years the divisions have been aligned this way. 15-15 if you count the two title games. And let's be honest, last year's title game came down to about 1 yard and 20 seconds.

There is not a disparity between the divisions, only a fan/media-created perception of one.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. The Big10 divisions are much more even than people like to admit (or, say, that of the SEC). Ohio State is a different animal that would tip the scales wherever they ended up. If you take them out of the equation, MSU, Mich, PSU + absolute trash is really not that much different than Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, NW, MN + absolute trash. Now, if Harbaugh turns Michigan into what the media has pre-ordained - then the East gets a little more dominant (although I think that ultimately hurts MSU so it may even out).

At this point, I might even argue that the West has a tiny bit more depth - as in teams that won't simply roll over and play dead.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Inexcusable oversight by Jim Harbaugh if he truly was the only coach not to mention Sam Foltz and Mike Sadler during his time on the podium today. BTN showed footage of every coach there today (Ash, Claeys, Fitzgerald, Franklin, and Hazell) paying their respects to Foltz and Sadler (and their universities), but did not include any footage of Harbaugh.

If Harbaugh did pay his respects but BTN didn't show it, that's a gross oversight, as well. Makes Harbaugh look bad.
Click to expand...

Overanalysis. Even if Jim didn't mention it, it doesn't make him a bad person or mean he doesn't care or mean he doesn't view it as a sad tragedy. Inexcusable? Come on man. And FTR, few people on this earth dislike JH more than I do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

I agree it doesn't make him a bad person, or uncaring. Needs to be a little more self-aware of what's going on around him in this situation.
 





SelectionSunday said:
Inexcusable oversight by Jim Harbaugh if he truly was the only coach not to mention Sam Foltz and Mike Sadler during his time on the podium today. BTN showed footage of every coach there today (Ash, Claeys, Fitzgerald, Franklin, and Hazell) paying their respects to Foltz and Sadler (and their universities), but did not include any footage of Harbaugh.

If Harbaugh did pay his respects but BTN didn't show it, that's a gross oversight, as well. Makes Harbaugh look bad.
Click to expand...

What the hell did even talk about.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Inexcusable oversight by Jim Harbaugh if he truly was the only coach not to mention Sam Foltz and Mike Sadler during his time on the podium today. BTN showed footage of every coach there today (Ash, Claeys, Fitzgerald, Franklin, and Hazell) paying their respects to Foltz and Sadler (and their universities), but did not include any footage of Harbaugh.

If Harbaugh did pay his respects but BTN didn't show it, that's a gross oversight, as well. Makes Harbaugh look bad.
Click to expand...

Looking for something to be outraged about today?
 

gopherjay said:
What the hell did even talk about.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what he talked about but I bet the media asked him things like "what does it feel like to take your shirt off at camps?" and "what is your favorite movie to watch when you have sleepovers with recruits?" They seemed to be obsessed with these kinds of things for some reason. I swear if Harbaugh announced what kind of toilet paper he uses someone would do a story on it.
 


I love Tracy, but who the hell is his tailor?! That suit coat hung on him like a horse blanket.
 

GopherJack said:
I love Tracy, but who the hell is his tailor?! That suit coat hung on him like a horse blanket.
Click to expand...

Well after watching Bill Belichick for many years, I'm glad to report that fashion doesn't correlate with coaching acumen.
 

As long as he can coach and bring us some B1G trophies, I will not yell the Emperor has no (fashionable) clothes.
 


Four things we learned Monday at Big Ten media days

2 The Gophers medical staff will have a new look.

As previously reported, former Vikings head physician Joel Boyd will replace Pat Smith as Gophers team physician this season. The university’s medical school made that decision.

Meanwhile, Ed Lochrie, who had served as head football trainer since 2002, resigned this summer. The athletics department still is in the process of replacing him.

“Those are decisions that are made above me,” Gophers coach Tracy Claeys said. “Doc Smith’s a great person, a great doctor. He did some good things, but the university made a decision to do things a little bit differently.”

3 Claeys won’t hold Travis back.

Besides being a standout safety, Gophers senior Damarius Travis plays on all four special teams. But the team missed him dearly after he suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in last year’s season opener against TCU. The NCAA granted him a medical hardship waiver so that he could play for the Gophers in 2016.

Now that Travis is healthy, do the Gophers need to scale back his workload?

“Just got to let him go,” Claeys said. “Be careful in fall camp. But I think he’s went through the rehab the way he should, and he’s been a very durable player.”

4 Claeys is open to a kickoff ban.

With a nod toward player safety, the Ivy League adopted an experimental rule to kick off from the 40-yard line this season, with touchbacks at the 20. The rest of the NCAA will continue kicking off from the 35, with touchbacks at the 35.

The results will be analyzed and reported to the NCAA rules committee.

“We haven’t talked about it as Big Ten coaches,” Claeys said. “My own personal belief is if that play obviously is causing that many injuries and it’s that obvious from the data, then we need to replace it.”

http://www.startribune.com/four-things-we-learned-monday-at-big-ten-media-days/388212972/

Go Gophers!!
 

per The Courier:

Minnesota, which threw a 40-35 scare at Iowa last season, is working to move beyond the program’s 6-7 record during a transition-filled season that included a win over Central Michigan in the Quick Lane Bowl.

“It was good for us to win a bowl game for the first time in seven years, but that’s not our goal,’’ Claeys said. “We had so many injuries, but that has now given us additional experience. We feel we have a group in place that is capable of taking that next step. The pieces are in place.’’

Minnesota, which last played in the Rose Bowl in 1962, isn’t getting ahead of itself.

Safety Damarius Travis said the Golden Gophers have been encouraged to dream a little bit.

“If you don’t expect big things of yourself, nobody else will,’’ Travis said. “It’s that motivation that gets you up in the morning to go train in January and keeps you going in the spring and summer and through the grind of fall camp.’’

Claeys said his team’s bowl success has provided a starting point for a team he labels the best Minnesota team he has been part of since following Jerry Kill from Northern Illinois to the Twin Cities six years ago.

http://wcfcourier.com/sports/footba...cle_5bacd3a5-9333-5e9d-934e-506a5658c872.html

Go Gophers!!
 


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Go Gophers!!
 

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Go Gophers!!
 


<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Go Gophers!!
 

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Go Gophers!!
 

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