On presumed starting QB Noah Kim: “Noah is a tremendously talented young man. He’s a winner. He’s got a lot of arm talent, he’s very poised, very athletic. He’s one of the fastest players on our team… When he went into games last year he made it look easy. He’s got the demeanor we’re looking for.”
“We have competition at every single position and no doubt the most talent that we’ve had top to bottom on our roster. We needed more quality depth on our roster and we addressed that this off-season.”
On his defense: “We’re a lot healthier now, we’re at full strength. We really addressed some issues with our front-seven. We needed to get bigger. We’ve added three 6’5” 300+ DTs that have all played major college football. We added four defensive ends, three of them four-stars… I think our front-seven is more stout which is going to help us stop the run and make teams more one-dimensional and help us in the back end.”
Brett Bielema, Illinois
On the addition of Jim Leonhard to the coaching staff: “He’ll be a senior analyst for us and he’ll handle responsibilities that really touch all 3 phases of the game… Jimmy was a really good special teams player as well, so I’m going to use him in all 3 phases. He won’t be with us on gamedays when we’re away. He’ll kind of be in the office on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then he’ll go be with his family on the weekends.”
“We’ve got a lot of unfinished business. Last year we were an 8-5 team but it broke up into a 7-1 team and 1-4 team. And I focus myself on the 1-4 more than any time in my career. Obviously it all happened at the end of the year so there had to be some contributing factors that are on me as a coach… I like where we’re at. I love some of the young influx of talent… I’ve never felt more engaged with our roster, the way that they’re being developed, the way they’re being coached, and the way that they react to our coaches. It’s pretty cool.”
On the QB competition: “Luke has come into this program and I think what we do is completely different from what he had been a part of his leadership skills and his communication with the team has really jumped. But Donovan Leary looks as good as he’s ever looked. John Paddock has made a great impression on our players… So the competition room in that quarterback room is as good as we ever had it.“
Greg Schiano, Rutgers
“I can honestly tell you that I’ve never been more excited to be the head coach at Rutgers University. I love what we’re doing. I love the culture we’re building in our program. I love our players, our coaching staff. I’m excited about the way we’re handling business both on the field and off.”
“We’re a developmental program… We’re not getting a ton of guys that are walking in the door ready to perform in the Big Ten Conference… As we build and build and build, the pipeline starts to become full. And we’re approaching that now. Where we have 22, 21, 23 year olds that are grown men. When those guys are your best players and they play their best football at 22 years old, that’s when you start to have success at a place like Rutgers. That’s what we did the first time and that certainly is the plan going forward this time.”
On 1 thing he’d like to change about NIL: “Somehow, if the universities could control more of the NIL so there is more uniformity and we don’t have all the 3rd parties that are involved. How you do that, there is going to have to be people that decide that other than me… I have a saying under my desk: ‘if you don’t like it, change it or change the way you think about it.’ I’m not going to change it single-handedly so I have to change the way I think about it.”
David Braun, Northwestern
“I never could have imagined, nor did I desire, to become a head coach under these types of circumstances. That said, I am honored to lead this group moving forward. With a dad from Ohio, born in the north suburbs on Chicago, and moving to Wisconsin in elementary school, my childhood was filled with Big Ten football… It was part of my life… But there was a great deal of appreciation built up for what Big Ten football is. The ultimate student athlete experience. Top notch academics. And high-end football on Saturdays… I dreamt of playing in the Big Ten. That never became a reality but an opportunity to work in the Big Ten, coach in the Big Ten, and mentor these men is something that I don’t take lightly.”
“Very excited about what we have coming back on the offensive side of the ball. There’s a great deal of depth at all positions. The loss of Peter Skoronski will certainly be a big hit. But I truly believe under our offensive staff our o-line has a chance to show that depth, play with depth, and find ways to establish the run in the Big Ten. The tight end groups is one of deeper tight end groups I’ve been around and that is saying a lot after coming from North Dakota State. Excited about our running back room and the return of Cam Porter. And Armon Binns our wide receivers coach has done a tremendous job… The quarterback battle is something that will be fun to see as the fall moves forward. The addition of Ben Bryant, the return of Brendan Sullivan, and a young man from the south side of Chicago Jack Lausch will provide a great deal of competition in fall camp.“
“Defensively, we look forward to a d-line room that coach Smith has done a tremendous job of building… a veteran linebacker room, a ton of depth in the safety room, and an athletic cornerback room that is inexperienced but has a great leader in Garnett Hollis as we move forward.”
“We have an opportunity to either run or an opportunity to truly stare that adversity in the face, stare it down, and go attack this opportunity to make this fall an incredible story that truly embodies what this team is all about… They have responded to that challenge in an absolutely inspiring way.”
Tom Allen, Indiana
“We had eight games last season that were decided in the 4th quarter. So for the past seven months we have been building our toughness and developing this football team to finish in those opportunities. We have a strong nucleus returning and we had great success in the portal. We were very focused on identifying young men across this country that were the best football players that fit our culture. That wanted to be at Indiana.”
On Big Ten realignment in 2024: “Bottom line is new opportunities, great time to be in this conference. You’re going to see equitable schedules where teams are going to be playing teams more equally across the conference which I think is a great thing… There’s a lot of great football teams in this conference. Everyone’s schedule is going to be tough and I’m excited for the future of this conference.”
Mike Locksley, Maryland
“Our program is at a point finally where we can say we are here to compete for Big Ten championships. You haven’t heard me say that the previous four times I’v been in front of you guys but I think now is the time. But we’re not going to let goals like winning championships get in the way of doing the work and our players understand that.
“To win in the Big Ten, good teams don’t beat themselves. There are a lot of things when you look at last season that some of those games where we were close and we didn’t necessarily do the things or take control of the things that we can control. And it’s going to be important if we want to take the next step – which is to compete for Big Ten championships – it’s going to start with us and by us.
PJ Fleck, Minnesota
On the recent allegations, consisting of a “Fleck Bank” which allowed some players to violate team rules: “First of all, the “Fleck Bank” – mostly used in 2017-18 – was an analogy in a team meeting talking about the more you invest in a program, the better experience you’re going to get out of it… There was no currency ever exchanged. There was no coins that ever existed. It was an analogy simply to explain investment for life… We have full support of our athletic director Mark Coyle and our university leadership… We also have around a half dozen anonymous reporting avenues within our football program that players can go to if they have an issue… Our athletic director Mark Coyle gives his cell phone number to every single football player to call them if they have any issue. And to this date there have been zero claims on this issue… Our program and culture is proven to work on and off the field… There are tons of testimonials from past, present, and even future Gophers to support and prove that.”
On protected rivalries in the Big Ten: “We have so many rivals in the Big Ten being one of it’s oldest members… It’s incredibly important for our fan base. It’s important for our tradition, the pageantry of college football. And I think the Big Ten got it right.”
Ryan Walters, Purdue
On RB Devin Mockobee: “Kudos to Coach Rowe and our strength staff. Devin Mockobee looks like a different player. He has transformed his body. Obviously he has the talent and skillset to have success in this conference. That’s proven. We’re excited about his growth and his maturation with the scheme and his ability to run the football and break tackles.”
“We’re going to air it out and be creative in the run game on offense. We’ll be aggressive and strategic and try to create chaos for the quarterback on defense to try to eliminate explosive plays and keep points off the board. Hopefully that’ll be a formula for winning football.”
On OC Graham Harrell: “Graham was a no-brainer. He’s been a home-run thus far. Obviously haven’t played a down of competitive football but I’ve been really impressed with his approach to teaching and motivating and holding everyone accountable on the offensive side of the ball… We’ve developed a great chemistry and rapport.”
James Franklin, Penn State
“Last year coming into the season I felt like we had better depth than we had probably since COVID. We were back to more of a healthy roster that we are used to. And now I think we’re in a position to give us the best chance to compete in our conference and nationally... Just less question marks across the board.”
“I think we have a chance to be better up front with our defensive line. We are bigger, we are more athletic, we are physical… We have a veteran linebacker unit that is experienced and ready to play. Obviously the one question mark we have is in the secondary… but we have played a ton of players in the secondary with experience, talent, and depth. So I think we’re going to be in a good position there.”
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
On QB Cade McNamara: “He’s been outstanding… When the opportunity opened itself up, we were very enthused about it and we’re thrilled he’s with us. As excited as I was back in December, I’m more excited now because he has been with us. I’ve seen the impact he’s already had. He’s a strong leader, a positive leader, a vocal leader, who has a lot of courage, and he comes with a resume where he’s really respected and he has been a great addition. We’ll see how he does on the field, but I’m confident he’ll play really well.”
On the offensive line: “The biggest thing for us has been upfront. We haven’t been at the level we’d like to be. I love our guys. That’s not the problem, but you can’t microwave that. George Barnett is an awesome coach. I know he gets beat up on social media. I’m a little discriminative about line coaches and George is an unbelievable line coach. I think we have the right people in place and the right competition. We have to stay healthy and we have to improve. Everyone has to improve on our team for us to be where we want to be. I’m excited about it.”
On the running back rotation: “We’ll see how it plays out. Leshon Williams has done a great job and Jaziun Patterson is a good prospect, too. That’s typical story for young running backs. Blocking is probably the biggest challenge.”
Ryan Day, Ohio State
On moving ‘The Game’ to avoid a Big Ten Championship rematch: “It’s worth a long discussion on where that game should be placed. If it was the same as it was this past year, we’d be playing back-to-back games and, who knows, maybe playing them again in the playoffs, so I think that needs to be taken into consideration.”
On giving Brian Hartline play-calling duties: “Once we get into the teeth of the season, I know how it’s going to go probably for me. I’m going to end up being right involved with it again, but that being said, as the season wears on, I have to be conscious this year of not getting too locked into the offense and making sure that I have a handle on everything that’s going on.”
On Devin Brown & Kyle McCord: “They both had very good summers. They both have shown leadership. Mick (Mariotti) has really put them in situations to do that. Now it’s going to be time to put it out on the field and we’d obviously would like for someone to emerge here quickly, but we kinda have to see once we put it on the field.”
On question marks at guard & center: “I’m excited about some of our options there. Josh Fryar looks good, he cut weight. Tegra (Tshabola), we also added Josh Simmons… Luke Montgomery has been in the mix. He’s had a very good summer. We have Vic Cutler. We have some good pieces there, but they just haven’t played. So that’s where this offseason has been important, but now in August gonna it’s critical for them to build chemistry and solidify themselves as starters.”
Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
On JJ McCarthy: “He’s a once-in-a-generational type of quarterback at Michigan, and his progress continues to grow. Daily he’s at the top of his game right now, really in all aspects. Everything that he does athletically, everything that he does throwing the football are at the elite level, and then I think the thing that makes him the most special, differentiating good and great, is that he’s willing to do anything for his teammates, anything for his team.”
“I think our team’s as healthy as you could ask for. Very talented and extremely hard work ethic, and not one of them wants to hear about what they did last year or the last two years; it’s always: Coach, we’re doing it again, doing it now, and now is the time that matters. That’s the kind of attitude and effort and talent we’re taking into the start of this training camp.”
Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
“We have one objective and that’s to play for a championship. That won’t ever change… Nobody outside the walls of our team will define what success looks like for us.”
“Witnessing the culture of young men that we have in our program by far exceeds anything that I’ve learned. Because of that, I must give a lot of recognition to those that have come before me. To recognize Coach Alvarez, Coach Bielema, Coach Leonhard, and Coach Chryst. The foundation that those guys had laid and built over the last 20-something years is really evident, and it’s deep-rooted… and to them, I owe a lot for what I’m walking into.”
“There’s a very strong misconception that Phil Longo doesn’t want to run the ball. At North Carolina, he had two 1,000-yard rushers his second year. We’re going to run the ball. Our running back room with Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen is definitely going to have their hands full with the ball.”
Matt Rhule, Nebraska
“I want people to respect when they see that white helmet with that red N on it. I want our fans to respect us when they pay their money to come watch us to play. And I want our opponents to respect us. And I want all of college football to respect the way Nebraska plays the game. And most importantly I want our players to respect what it means to be a Cornhusker and playing at Nebraska. This season for me is all about us, not just earning, but taking back respect and bringing back respect to Nebraska football.”
“I think we have a responsibility as coaches to prepare our guys obviously for life but also for pro football. When you watch the way teams play in the Big Ten, the way they play defense, the way they play up front, the schemes you see, it prepares them for the next level… There’s a lot of new coaches. There will be more diversity in terms of the offenses. We’re bringing in a 3-3-5 defense that not many teams are running. You’ll see some differences. But to thrive in a conference as prestigious as the Big Ten, you have to be a little different and you have to evolve.”
