hastingstribune
CHICAGO — The final act of Big Ten football media days belonged to Indiana's Curt Cignetti, who took the stage Thursday at the Hilton Chicago to a packed room, quipping, 'Everybody ready to get out of here and get home?' The three-day event wrapped up with coaches heading into a busy month of training camps, with the season kicking off Aug. 29 for some teams and the following weekend for others.
Throughout the sessions, coaches discussed their squads, the conference's landscape, and the stunning rise of Cignetti's Hoosiers, who went from perennial also-rans to a 16-0 national championship in his second season. Illinois' Bret Bielema labeled it 'the most impressive story that I've witnessed in my college career,' while Purdue's Barry Odom noted it offers hope across the sport, crediting the transfer portal, revenue sharing, and NIL compensation for accelerating such turnarounds. Bielema, whose team lost 63-10 to Indiana, added, 'It is inspiring because you see something that I've known forever... to see Indiana become what they are is pretty impressive.'
Michigan's Kyle Whittingham, who arrived in December after 21 seasons at Utah, addressed the program's recent turmoil, saying, 'There has been a lot of drama. We hope that we've come to the end of that and we're ready to proceed just with the business of playing football.' He praised his players' work ethic over the past seven months and stressed a focus on football and academics. Whittingham is one of four new Big Ten coaches, alongside Penn State's Matt Campbell, Michigan State's Pat Fitzgerald, and UCLA's Bob Chesney.
Quarterback Storylines
Whittingham also discussed sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood, the former No. 1 recruit who threw for 2,428 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a freshman. While acknowledging room for improvement, he expressed confidence in Underwood's future, citing his physical tools—6-foot-4, 230 pounds, a 4.6 40-yard dash—and a 'very high ceiling.'
Across the state, Michigan State's Pat Fitzgerald named Alessio Milivojevic the starter after observing his toughness in a game last year, noting the quarterback 'got his lips absolutely freaking knocked off' but kept getting up. Fitzgerald praised Milivojevic's leadership, saying, 'He's our unequivocal team leader.'
Northwestern's David Braun responded to Fitzgerald's jab about having a home-field advantage at Michigan State, saying he's 'excited to have a home-field advantage at new Ryan Field too.' The $875 million stadium opens Oct. 2 against Penn State, and players like running back Caleb Komolafe described it as 'literally like a gladiator stadium.'
Stadium Upgrades and SEC-Big Ten Debate
Illinois unveiled a massive 17,300-square-foot video board at Memorial Stadium, the largest in college football, with a public debut featuring the movie 'Air Bud' on Aug. 8. Coach Bielema called it 'crazy' and noted it could affect players, saying, 'You're running a 15-yard comeback... all of a sudden you turn around and there's the screen with you maybe on it.'
Ohio State's Ryan Day said quarterback Julian Sayin has 'a different look in his eye' this season, with a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith. Day remarked, 'When you go from coaching Aaron Rodgers to a college quarterback, you can certainly imagine what that has been like for Arthur. Man, Julian keeps up.'
Finally, Cignetti closed the media days by declaring the Big Ten the best conference, saying, 'We don't run a hype machine up here in the Midwest. We believe everything is earned, not given... That's why we're the best.'
Originally reported by hastingstribune.