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Bo Pelini had his 15 minutes of ballroom podium fame at Big Ten media days Thursday afternoon. Here are quick-hit highlights:
>> The offseason theme, as Husker fans already know, was developing leadership: “We tried to up the level of accountability, up the level to the attention of detail. I think that’s been good. I like what it’s done to kind of set us up for the fall.”
>> Pelini called senior linebacker Will Compton — here in Chicago — the “undisputed leader” of the Nebraska defense.
“He has a lot of personality,” Pelini said. “You see a lot of people talking about his personality. He’s a fun guy, but he’s a guy that last year I thought really started taking his game to another …
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Turn the page. Penn State coach Bill O’Brien Thursday preached the mantra repeatedly in 15 minutes at Big Ten Media Days.
Turn the page from the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal that’s overshadowed the program since November. Turn the page from a cover-up of Sandusky’s crimes alleged by the Freeh Report. Turn the page from the NCAA sanctions that stemmed from the report, which includes a four-year postseason ban and a dramatic loss of scholarships.
“We have a bunch of kids back in State College that are sticking together,” said O’Brien, the tall, balding former New England Patriots offensive coordinator who takes over for the late Joe Paterno, one of the Penn State university officials most implicated in the Freeh Report. “Our fans need …
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As the Big Ten Media Days’ opening speaker, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema was appropriately chuffed and optimistic for the 2012 season.
Of course he is. He’s a newlywed, for one thing.
“Nineteen weeks and five days,” the 42-year-old joked of his marriage to 27-year-old Jen Bielema. “I get a reminder on a daily basis.”
On the field, his Badgers have played in the last two Rose Bowls. It’s easier to wax ecstatic about the Big Ten Championship — “that game in particular stands out more than anything else (in my career) — when you win it. And when running back Montee Ball has a legitimate shot at the Heisman Trophy, it’s easier, too.
“Everybody in our program is going to try to help him win …
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Even by the lake, they’re getting hit with the heat. Chicago hasn’t been immune to the triple digit temperatures that defined July — and probably August — here in Nebraska.
But as Big Ten Media Days kicks into gear Thursday, the Windy City gets a break. Well, sort of.
Thunderstorms are in the forecast.
That’s fitting for a league in the midst of a tempest. One of the Big Ten’s premier programs, Penn State, has been practically stripped bare by NCAA and league sanctions in the wake of the Sandusky scandal. Ohio State is ineligible for the postseason thanks to its own NCAA penalties levied last year. The Big Ten’s won Rose Bowl since 2000. Commissioner Jim Delany, careful to project of an image …
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New Penn State coach Bill O’Brien had somewhat surprisingly grabbed a robust number of impressive 2013 commits during the spring and summer while the school conducted its own internal investigation of the Sandusky Scandal.
The resulting Freeh Report was grim, and with the NCAA ready to announce harsh penalties Monday — it appears to be some combination of scholarship reductions and bowl bans, at least — the class could easily fall apart.
One Nittany Lion commit — four-star Avon (Ohio) defensive back Ross Douglas — visited Nebraska this weekend. According to 247 Sports, he’ll visit Wisconsin next weekend.
Recruiting switcheroos are a minor subplot to the magnitude of what’s happened at Penn State in the last year. But just as Nebraska and PSU played a …
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It’s little secret that a good chunk of next week’s Big Ten Media Days would be spent asking league officials, coaches and even players about the ongoing Sandusky scandal at Penn State, a cover-up that appears more labyrinthine by the week. But just how much material reporters would have to chew on was uncertain.
Not now.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported Thursday that Big Ten boss Jim Delany has crafted an 18-page plan that seeks to address the level of moral mismanagement at Penn State, and coach/administrator/booster chicanery of the less damaging variety. Per the Chronicle, the plan includes giving Delany and the Big Ten Presidents to fire an individual – yes, a coach – who greatly harms the reputation of the league.
It goes deeper. …
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We’ve hit the end of June, when the college camps wind down and the recruiting sites and corporate sponsors start wooing kids to their camps. A lot of coaches generally take a quick breather in July before conference media days and fall camp begins. Since I’ll be knee-deep in swim stuff, I thought I’d roll out an early Big Ten update you can chew over all week.
Here are where Big Ten teams fit into the national rankings thus far according to 247Sports:
2. Michigan (22 commits/90.50 avg. rating per recruit) Read more »
10. Ohio State (12/91.17)
12. Penn State (12/90.00)
20. Iowa (15/81.87)
27. Illinois (13/82.31)
28. Nebraska (11/86.00)
46. Wisconsin (8/85.38)
47. Michigan State (8/84.88)
58. Northwestern (7/82.86)
77. Minnesota (4/82.25)
86. Purdue (3/88.67)
100. …
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini released a statement Sunday afternoon in response to the news of Joe Paterno’s death.
Paterno, the long-time Penn State coach, was 85. Pelini’s comments are below…
“My condolences go out to Coach Paterno’s family and the Penn State community. I have so much respect for what Coach Paterno accomplished at Penn State both on and off the field. He wasn’t just a legendary coach, but a class individual and his record speaks for itself. I had the honor of getting a few chances to spend time with him since we joined the Big Ten, and those were special opportunities for me as a relatively young head coach in this profession.”
Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne also released a statement Sunday, though …
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Just a quick statistical compilation here, highlighting the ever-important third down situations during Nebraska’s 2011 football season.
To the stat geeks of the world: Enjoy.
OFFENSE
>> When the Huskers needed 3 yards or fewer, they converted 65.6 percent of their third downs.
>> When they needed at least 8 yards — which was 41 percent of their third down scenarios in 2011 — the conversion rate dropped to 28.6 percent.
>> Get this: In Nebraska’s final four games, the Huskers faced third-and-8 or longer on 28 different occasions. They converted four of those. To make matters worse, those 28 attempts accounted for 65 percent of their total third downs during that stretch (Penn State, Michigan, Iowa and South Carolina). … So in other words, …
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The newest member of Nebraska’s coaching staff spoke with reporters for nearly 20 minutes after practice Friday in Orlando, Fla. — a conversation we’ll break into story form for Saturday’s edition of the World-Herald.
For now, here are a few highlights from Rick Kaczenski, the 36-year-old defensive line coach who joined the team this week after seven seasons (two as a GA) at Iowa.
>> Kaczenski said he’s been good friends with NU strength and conditioning coach James Dobson ever since the two worked together at Iowa a few years back. Dobson helped coordinate certain aspects of the hiring process, though coach Bo Pelini confirmed Friday that he did talk to Kaczenski last year.
>> The timeline of the last few weeks remains a bit …
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