MSU football senior linebacker Greg Jones and junior quarterback Kirk Cousins talk about using their experience to try to improve on last season as they enter the 2010 campaign. Jones also talks about the amount of work he’s seen Cousins and the offense put in this offseason and how that can help him.
After Big Ten coaches had a chance express their opinions on the future of the conference with Nebraska as a new member, it was the players’ turn to chime in Tuesday at Big Ten 2010 Football Media Days at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago.
Much like the coaches the day before, the players’ response to the Cornhuskers joining the Big Ten was overwhelmingly positive.
MSU junior quarterback Kirk Cousins said he was too young to remember the last time the Big Ten expanded in 1990, when Penn State became the 11th member of the conference, but knows it was good for the Big Ten. Cousins said he expects the same will be said down the line about Nebraska and its addition to the conference.
“I definitely think it’s going to be a good thing,” Cousins said. “I think it’s great for the conference if it can provide us with a championship game and a much clearer way to decide a champion.”
That new possibility for a championship game has been one of the most discussed stories throughout media days.
Coaches and players who talked about the championship game were excited at the chance of having one. Conference commissioner Jim Delany said Monday he expects the first Big Ten Championship Game to be played in December of 2011. The main struggle for putting a game in place, Delany said, is deciding where it will be located.
In spite of potential Arctic-like conditions in the Midwest in December, a few of the conference’s players said they don’t think playing outside would be much of a problem.
“I don’t think it would be that big of a deal,” Penn State running back Evan Royster said. “The weather up here in November isn’t much different than in December. It’s bitter cold, you just have to get used to it.”
Royster, a senior, doesn’t have to worry about getting used to it, as he graduates after this season — before a championship game will be installed.
However, entering his first season starting at Northwestern, junior quarterback Dan Persa likely will be around when the Big Ten finally has its first championship game. Although he said playing in a domed field is much easier than playing outside in adverse conditions, he agreed with Royster that playing outdoors tends to not have a big affect on Big Ten players.
“It doesn’t really bother us too much,” Persa said. “We’re used to it, we’re from up here. I like playing in a dome, but I like playing outside too, and I even like it to be cold.”
Royster, who said he wished he could have the chance to experience a Big Ten championship game while still at Penn State, also added that the possibility of playing in a December blizzard would just add an element of excitement to the game.
“I think it would be cool to have a snow game for the Big Ten Championship,” Royster said. “It would be cool to watch, and it shows who can battle through all types of conditions to win a game.”
Staying out of trouble
Two of the best players in the Big Ten last season — Royster and MSU senior linebacker Greg Jones — decided to pass on the NFL after their junior seasons to come back to school for one more year.
Having tested professional waters, both players said they’ve had to deal with agents trying to contact them, which has been a big story throughout this offseason with the NCAA investigating the roles of agents at North Carolina and several Southeastern Conference schools.
“At the end of last year when I was looking at what I wanted to do, a couple people tried to talk to me and talked to my parents,” Jones said. “After I made my decision, I was like, ‘Hey I’m off limits, I’m going back to college,’ and that was that.”
Royster and Jones said said they haven’t been tempted to talk to agents before they are allowed to according to NCAA rules. For Jones, it was just a matter of being focused on playing for MSU. Royster agreed and added that it was made clear to him breaking the rule could be a big mistake.
“It was never much of a problem with me because we have a really good compliance program at Penn State,” Royster said smiling. “They really let us know there’s consequences for talking with anyone like that.”
Multi-talented
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The NFL wasn’t the only avenue of competition Royster considered in the past year. A lacrosse player in high school, arguably the best running back in the Big Ten said he considered playing the sport for Penn State in the spring.
“I didn’t make the decision not to play until the end of their season this past year,” Royster said. “Their coach said I could come out and play in their last game if I wanted to. I seriously sat in my considered that, but it wasn’t worth the risk.”
Royster said when he was being recruited by the Nittany Lions, they told him he could play lacrosse if he wanted, but he chose to stick with football, his first love.
“I was close to playing, but I wasn’t close to taking it over football,” he said. “If I would have done it, it would have been because I was playing both.”
Best way to the next level
One of six starting quarterbacks in the Big Ten returning to their team in 2010, Minnesota’s Adam Weber said he’s proud to play in a conference as rich in the tradition of great quarterbacks as the Big Ten. And in spite of often being known for playing smash-mouth football, Weber said the Big Ten is the best conference in the country for quarterbacks who want to play professionally.
“Our style of play in the Big Ten carries over to the NFL very well,” Weber said. “When you look at other guys in the past who have come from spreads or predominantly throwing offenses, you don’t see a lot of their names in the NFL. Whereas guys who have more of a traditional conference, you hear about them quite about. I feel like there’s a good carry over.”
