Another day, another milestone as we inch closer to kickoff in the 'Shoe.
Trudging through the dog days of summer only recently expedited by the tsunami of news coming out of State College, things finally start to get real this morning as the B1G Media Day begins in Chicago, signaling just 37 more sunrises until kickoff in the 'Shoe. Lucky you, 11W has you covered as both Kyle and Chad will be onsite bringing you the goods.
Attending the event last year completely shifted my mindset from off-season meh to pre-season chub thanks to noteworthy pressers by a strikingly confident Brady Hoke and a totally pissed off Emperor Delany - all unfolding under the shadow of The Man Who Wasn't There.
Having already capitalized on the recruiting trail partially thanks to the absence of Tressel and the accompanying pre-Savior-Meyer malaise engulfing Columbus, Hoke was very matter of fact when touting his success in picking up elite prospects proclaiming, ""This might sound arrogant, and if it is, it is. We're Michigan."
I remember telling myself two things as I watched Hoke speak. First was, I bet he bleeds gravy followed by something to the effect of, Michigan will be back quickly because this dude gets it.
Delaney spoke of a closed door meeting he held with conference coaches to candidly share his displeasure of the black eyes delivered to the B1G in the form of Michigan's NCAA probation and Ohio State's then-upcoming meeting with the Committee of Infractions. He was clearly miffed by the state of things in the conference so I can only imagine how he feels these days.
Of course, admidst the NCAA troubles in Ann Arbor and Columbus, a fraud named Joe Paterno was being celebrated as the legend at Penn State celebrating his 46th season at the helm - all free of major violations. When asked about his squeaky clean program, Paterno coyly offered:
"I'm proud of that. But I'm not going around gloating about it."
How noble of you, Joe.
Unreal.
PARTY FIGHT AT THE MOONTOWER. The man who took over for Paterno, Bill O'Brien, has had himself a busy few days. First, he had chin replacement surgery after it shattered on the floor following the near-death blow delivered by Mark Emmert. Since then, O'Brien has seen his contract automatically extended for years in between speeches aimed at keeping his players from bolting and trying to jedi mind trick potential commits into believing that participating in a bowl game experience and competing at the highest level for championships are both woefully overrated endeavors because, well, he's going to get them drafted.
Don't get me wrong, I admire his...wait for it...moxie but I struggle to believe a wave of blue chippers are going to flood Happy Valley so they can play for a program with zero depth and no shot of winning anything of value just because the head coach came from the NFL. In reality, all the recruit has to do is look around the country and realize he can play for a boatload of programs with a proven track record of putting kids in the NFL, all while having a great chance of playing on a great team, competing for championships and enjoying a plush winter vacation.
That's not what this bullet is supposed to be about so let's move on. What I wanted to get to was the news that while at the airport, O'Brien passed a contingent of Illini coaches on their way to Penn State's campus to recruit his kids. Now, I get that the NCAA has indirectly declared it open season on PSU's roster in a good faith gesture toward the kids but I can't get behind a staff - in conference, no less - approaching kids outside Penn State's football complex.
It will be interesting to see if O'Brien comes correct with a verbal assault during his presser or if Tim Beckman or any other coaches/administrators chime in on the subject this afternoon in Chicago.
B1G BEAT WRITERS MAKE THEIR PICKS. Ahead of the meetings today, a poll of 24 conference beat writers weighed in on divisional standings and players of the year.
Not surprisingly, Michigan was tabbed to take the Legends Division with 16 first-place votes followed by Sparty, Nebraska, Iowa, Northwestern and Minnesota.
Over in the Leaders Division, Wisconsin was the runaway choice with 19 first-place votes followed by Ohio State (5), Purdue, Illinois, Penn State and Indiana.
Eleven voters then had Michigan taking down Wisky in the conference championship game while seven believe Sparty will defeat the Badgers for the crown.
Switching to individual honors, William Gholston locked up DPOY honors while Montee Ball was selected as the OPOY. John Simon, Big Hank and Braxton all received votes.
RIP, George. Enjoy that great dry cleaner in the skyANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER POSITION PLAYER BREAKDOWN. Though Gholston may have won the B1G beat writer vote for defensive player of the year honors, Simon is still getting love.
ESPN's Brian Bennett took a stab at ranking the individual DL performers in conference and Simon is listed as his number one choice, citing his versatility and work ethic.
Purdue's Kawann Short placed 2nd with Gholston 3rd. Big Hank was next in line giving the Buckeyes two of the top four DL's in the league.
Simon was also listed as the 33rd best player in college football by Yahoo's Mike Huguenin who notes Simon is set to be one of just seven two-time captains in OSU history. Thirty-seven days...
CONLEY FLUFF IS GOOD FLUFF. SLAM Magazine recently sat down with Mike Conley to discuss his career to date and as you can imagine, the kid from Indy comes off as cool and collected as he did while directing the Buckeyes to a national championship game appearance in his one and done season in Columbus.
Despite criticism starting as early as draft night when he was the 6th pick of the Grizzlies to as late as when he took a five year extension worth $40 mil, Conley has evolved into a top shelf NBA point guard on a playoff team.
Surprising to some, Conley has become, by far, the most successful professional player from the '07 Buckeye squad comprised of the Thad Five (Oden, Cook, Conley, Lighty, Hunter) plus holdovers like Ron Lewis, Ivan Harris, Jamar Butler and the terminally underrated Matt Terwilliger.
The grounded Conley is, of course, taking it in stride:
“I wouldn’t say it surprises me, but I didn’t expect it. I didn’t expect, with all the hype around Greg, and Daequan and David Lighty—guys that, rightfully, were in the spotlight—to be the one to be having the career I’m having now.”
As SLAM notes, last summer Conley spent the off-season improving as a defender and it paid off this season as he ranked 2nd in the NBA in Steals per Game with 2.2 a night. Now, he's working on his long range J. The league better watch out if Mike adds a wet jumper to his arsenal.
LET ME TELL YOU WHAT MELBA TOAST IS PACKIN' HERE, ALL RIGHT. In the name of progress... Eddie Heisman joins Fox as college football studio analyst... Notre Dame hasn't come remotely close to doing this since 1993... Just rebuilding the towers, that's all... Emmert continues his destruction tour with a stop in South Bend.
