🏈 🔵 My Top Three Takeaways From Big Ten Media Days
Last week, I covered the fresh-look Big Ten in Indianapolis heading into the conference's flagship campaign. Here's what I learned.
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My Top Three Takeaways From Big Ten Media Days
Hey friends,
The 18-team Big Ten is finally here.
Last week, I traveled to Naptown in Indianapolis, Indiana to cover the conference’s three-day media spectacle ahead of its landmark campaign highlighted by four West Coast additions.
While many will point to the overhauled “Maps” commercial as the biggest victory from media day, every head coach took the stand with exciting roster news and new perspectives with the offseason coming to a close.
Throughout my time in Lucas Oil Stadium, I was able to generate three main takeaways heading into the season, which begins for the league on Thursday, August 29 when Rutgers takes on Howard.
Without further ado, let’s jump into it.
Here’s what struck me the most stemming from Big Ten Media Days:
Dillion Gabriel Puts His Leadership Qualities On Full Display
While college football’s coaching carousel highlighted the hectic offseason, the evolving quarterback market proved to be just as dynamic.
Playoff contenders like Florida State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State all added veteran gunslingers to their depth charts. Still, none of the prized additions above boast a resume that stacks up with Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel.
The Hawaii native is entering his sixth season, with his stop at Oregon being his third, and final, destination. Last year, the gamer posted a career-high in passing yards and yards per completion with Oklahoma, garnering first-team All-Big 12 honors.
Despite Gabriel’s instant impact with the Sooners, he felt his skillset could be best utilized elsewhere.
“[Coming to] Oregon was a very easy decision for me,” Gabriel said at Big Ten Media Day. “[It was] probably the easiest decision of my life.”
Ahead of the NFL Combine, Gabriel was widely given a late-round grade by scouts, with most suggesting becoming an undrafted free agent could be his most likely path.
Instead of pursuing the next level, Gabriel said his “alignment” with Dan Lanning and Ducks’ offensive coordinator Will Stein made the transition a can’t-miss opportunity.
“The conversations that we had immediately, it wasn’t a matter of if, it was just how we were going to make it happen,” Gabriel reiterated.
With less than a month remaining until Oregon kicks off against Idaho, Gabriel’s maturity and charisma have taken the locker room by storm.
In early July, Gabriel organized a team-bonding experience coined “Dime Time Retreat,” where players connected over first-class meals and unique workouts.
Aside from Gabriel’s off-field characteristics, his hype on the gridiron continues to mount.
In most sportsbooks, he’s the Heisman Trophy front-runner. Within the USA Today’s preseason award selections, he picked up unanimous Big Ten Player of the Year honors.
For all, the noise is loud. In Gabriel’s head, however, he can’t hear a thing.
“Hype is cheap, talk is cheap,” he said. “… I’m focused on the now, on the moment, to be the best version of myself for these guys in Eugene right now.”
James Franklin Reiterates Penn State’s Need To Win Big
Penn State has entered 21 of out its last 25 matchups as favorites over the past two seasons, excluding the Peach Bowl.
It’s record during that span? 21-4 — winning all of the contests as favorites, and dropping the battles as underdogs.
This season, James Franklin’s squad should be favored in 11 of 12 total games, with the Nittany Lions’ November 2 clash against Ohio State being the lone exception.
Most programs, aside from the typical College Football Playoff mainstays aren’t immune to such high expectations on an annual basis.
Instead of running from it, Franklin says he and his team have “embraced” the target on their backs.
“You’re talking about a program that you can win 10 or 11 games, and people are not happy or satisfied,” Franklin said at the podium last week. “That’s inside the Lasch Building, and that’s outside the Lasch Building. We totally get that and embrace that.”’
Since the College Football Playoff’s inception, the Nittany Lions have the most wins of any team lacking an appearance within the original four-team bracket.
With the first year of postseason expansion looming, an 11-win campaign would certainly put Penn State in the dance.
Aside from coordinator turnover in all three, major roles, the Nittany Lions rank fourth in the Big Ten with 16 returning starters — more than Ohio State, Oregon, and Michigan.
If play-caller Andy Kotelnicki can find creative ways to involve his backfield of game wreckers in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen to lighten gunslinger Drew Allar’s lofty load, the Nittany Lions should be poised to turn heads this fall.
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New-Look Conference, New-Look Huskies
Conversely from the Nittany Lions, Jedd Fisch’s Washington squad is host to hardly any familiarity compared to its national championship group from a year ago.
The Huskies return just three starters from a year ago, with zero (0!) returning production hailing from the offensive side of the ball.
Fisch, a quarterback whisper who climbed the ranks as an NFL quarterback coach, added 46 new scholarship players to his roster, one of which being former Mississippi State signal caller Will Rogers.
Despite battling an injury for much of his fourth year with the Bulldogs, Rogers threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 35 touchdowns as a junior in 2022.
With a flurry of new route runners and weapons to boot, Fisch is excited to watch his experienced quarterback thrive in a new system.
“It’s a true reboot, but so is college football,” Fisch said. “… Everything we’re doing now with revenue sharing and NIL, with all the changes and the roster size, we believe this is the perfect time to rebrand and reboot.”
During the spring transfer period alone, the Huskies were busy on the recruiting trail, adding 14 players via the late window.
Across the board, Washington’s depth chart largely consists of unproven commodities. Consequently, the Huskies’ collective spirit has risen to the occasion.
“We’re a program that doesn’t have a two-deep,” Fisch said. “If you want to come and impact the program, you should come.”
Even with the drastic changes, Washington still received 123 votes in the newly-released USA Today Coaches Poll, slotting the Huskies one spot outside the Top 25.
Coaches across the country, who know better than analysts nationwide, know what the Big Ten is about to find out — nobody wants to play the Huskies.
If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by email at adam@brenemanmedia.com.
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Shoutout to Connor Krause for helping to write this newsletter and putting it together!
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