Quotables: Big Ten coaches at media days

Strongest statement: “I’m not striving to create any buzz. I’m just striving to coach the football team. Not trying to be popular or anything. Anyone who is popular is bound to be disliked.”

Attempt at humor: “Were you around when the Big Ten had the press caravan on the bus? Has anybody here ever done that, or is everybody too young? My favorite story: The caravan went to Columbus and reporters got out of the bus, and they have chairs and sandwiches set up on the sideline for all the reporters. And things weren’t going well in (Ohio State) practice, and Coach (Woody) Hayes got upset and kicked everybody out. Threw a couple chairs. And all the reporters got on to their next destination a little bit earlier. I read about that. I would have loved to have been there.”

On the quarterback battle between Jake Rudock and Shane Morris and perhaps others: “(Jake) has a bounce in his step, some real pizzazz. Shane Morris and Jake are both very serious, focused but loose and confident at the same time.”

On Mike Ditka, who coached him for the Bears: “It’s your coach. When you’re a player, your coach is like family. Sometimes there’s a favorite teacher you had growing up, grade school or high school. There’s sometimes a neighbor you were very close to. Maybe somebody in the church or the clergy and your coach ... I had a chance to spend the evening with Coach last night at his restaurant. And (Ditka’s wife) Diana was there and (wife) Sarah was there and it was just really, really special to be with my coach. In fact, I picked up a Ditka jersey from the restaurant. And I’ll be proud to wear that.”

Strongest statement: Regarding the suspension of four players for the opener at Virginia Tech: “The athletic department has policies that we’re 100 percent supportive of. Whether it’s a sprained ankle or stuff, we’re trying to create a culture where (we) know how to move forward.”

Attempt at humor: None. Called an SI.com report about Braxton Miller moving to receiver “somewhat premature.” But there’s no doubt it will happen.

On quarterback battle between J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones: “We are basically keeping score of everything.” He said that includes leadership, weightlifting, academics from spring ball to fall camp.

On whether he’s wary of the quarterback battle dividing the locker room: “I’m not. I shouldn’t say that. I am. But I like the culture of our team right now, and we’re going to play the guy that helps us win.”

Strongest statement, on why he left Oregon State to take the job: “The timing of the call … (my wife) said this is something we should talk about. We love our life together in football. (We decided) we have time for one more big adventure in our life, and here we are.”

Attempt at humor, on his team’s play during spring practice: “Some of it looked like football.”

On his starting quarterback, Tommy Armstrong: “He’s able to run the zone read, and his ability outside the pocket is good. He has made us get out of our own box and look at what is good for the players. What we (as coaches) want to do sometimes is not necessarily best for the team.”

On his ‘nice guy’ rep: “I’m a guy who loves what he does … Personalities are different (among coaches) and all can be successful, from Tony Dungy to Jon Gruden. My dad taught me to be myself. Players see through phonies.”

Strongest statement: “We’re excited to have the progress (to be) where we’re at. There’s a lot of difference from four years ago.”

Attempt at humor: Regarding opener against TCU: “We’re going to bring in a little bit of artificial snow in there in September.”

On the starting quarterback: “Mitch (Leidner) has had an outstanding offseason. He’s a year older. He went to Peyton Manning camp, which I think was good for him.”

Feeling good: “I’ve been great. I’ve been seizure-free now for over a year and a half. I feel great.”

Strongest statement: “If your second-team offensive line cannot block your second-team defensive line, you can’t develop the backup quarterback. You can’t develop the wide receivers. You can’t develop the corners.

“When you have to reduce practice reps to keep people healthy, it just has an effect. You’re talking about that effect over three years. So being able to go back to more of a traditional model and the way we’re going to practice ¿¿ it’s not necessarily about the banging. It’s just about the reps.”

Attempt at humor: “I think our offensive line has a chip on their shoulder. I think they worked like that all offseason. So I would really appreciate if any of you guys are willing to write some nasty article about them to continue to motivate them to continue to push them throughout the season.”

On starting quarterback Christian Hackenberg: “The storyline is the same as it was last year. I told everybody our concern wasn’t with Christian Hackenberg, it was all the pieces of the puzzle around Christian.

“Hack’s had a great summer and spring. He was on the quarterback circuit. Did some things this summer and had some unique experiences, which were awesome as well.”

Closing statement: “So many positive things falling into place. Penn State being able to get the scholarships back, having an opportunity to go to bowl games, the way recruiting is going. … We’re coming into this season with nothing floating over our head.”

Strongest statement: “I think when you attach yourself to a brand like the Big Ten and you play in what we believe is the premiere athletic, academic conference in the country and in the most competitive division in all of college football, if you’re recruiting the right kind of players, they want to play that kind of football. And I really believe there’s no doubt it’s elevated our recruiting over the last two years.”

Attempt at humor: “If I answered the second part of that, I’d have to kill you. Can’t give away all the secrets before we even get started.

On how involved new offensive coordinator Ben McDaniels was last season as wide receivers coach: “No, we’ve changed offensive coordinators. … Every coach on offense is involved in game planning. Ben was the guy speaking directly to the quarterback during the season.”

On returning wide receiver Leonte Carroo: “The football coach in you is so excited when a player of his caliber comes back because you know what he does for your football team. He elevates everybody around him because of the attention he draws. … It showed a maturity in him that he was able to look at his situation and say, ‘There’s things that I want to work on to be a better football player. There’s things that I came to Rutgers to do that I haven’t accomplished yet. Because of that, I’m going to come back.’”

Closing statement: “The one thing I would tell you that really jumps out when you play in the Big Ten, and certainly the Big Ten East (Division), is the margin for error is so slim. Not only you have to be ready to play every week, but then when you do have that win that’s really exciting for your team and your fan base or maybe you have a disappointing day, you better be ready to turn the page because that next game is coming and it’s only seven days away.”

Strongest statement: “We’ve come a long way since (first) coming here in 2007, (winning) four consecutive bowl games and two Big Ten championships and top-5 things of that nature. But our focus is always trying to reach higher.”

Attempt at humor: None really, but on receiver R.J. Shelton: “He’s 210 pounds … hopefully.”

On his starting quarterback, Connor Cook: “He has done an extraordinary job. Very few times was he sacked he did not throw a lot of interceptions (eight). But there’s always room for improvement. He has come back (for his final season) with the idea that there are still things to prove. He has high expectations from the staff and very high expectations from himself.”

In closing: Unprompted, Dantonio indirectly mentioned how well he is recruiting in Chicago: “A shoutout to all of our players coming and currently from the city of Chicago.”

Strongest statement: “It’s a great feeling after 2 ½ years to finally have the locker room where we want it to be.”

On the quarterback battle between Austin Appleby and redshirt freshman David Blough: “The biggest thing is can the guy step into the huddle and demand respect from (teammates). Will those guys follow him? But it all comes back to play making. If you can’t make the plays, you can’t play quarterback.”

On non-conference schedule: “The key to our success this year will be the month of September. We have to get off to a good start.”

Big boys: “They just look like a Big Ten football team. They put on 420 pounds of lean muscle mass since January.”

Strongest statement: “You better be able to control the line of scrimmage if you’re going to give yourself a chance to win.”

Attempt at humor: “Well, weren’t real successful (in the 3-4 defense).”

On his starting quarterback: “Now we’ve finally cleared that last hurdle, so Daxx (Garman) is eligible and ready to go. ... Very smart; very cerebral. Throws a very catchable and accurate ball, so he’s coming in, and he’s challenging Caleb Rowe and Perry Hills for the quarterback job. ... We basically have three guys, in Caleb, Daxx and Perry, who have won games in a Power 5 conference, so at least we have experience, and it’s going to be neat to see the competition unfold in the preseason.”

In closing: “We found out that it was really a linemen league. You had to be able to win in the trenches if you were going to be successful week in, week out; year in and year out. ... Anytime you can beat teams on the field, it helps you in recruiting. The proximity between the two schools (Maryland and Penn State) can develop into a rivalry, because I think those things are good. Those things do take time, but the only way you can create a rival is by beating teams on the field.”

Strongest statement: “As we move forward right now, it’s all about the continued development that we show and how we do our jobs as a staff. I think all you can ask for in life is opportunities. We’ve got that in front of us.”

Voice of experience: Kirk Ferentz is the longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten and finds himself the subject of good-natured ribbing at times from his younger colleagues. “The term that gets occasionally used is ‘Dean.’ I always think of Animal House, that’s my first thought,” he said. “‘Dean’ is not a term to use as coaches. You use that with academicians, and I am hardly an academician. I haven’t taught school now since 1979. I am not in that boat right now.”

On his starting quarterback: “The whole story is about C.J. (Beathard’s) development, quite frankly. Probably over the last 16-18 months, we have been able to watch him. When he was a freshman it was very obvious that he had a really live arm.”

In closing: “I think we have healthy competition. I am looking forward to watching that progress in the month of August. Offensively, our focus right now is to develop the starting offensive line and develop depth at that position. We need to develop depth at the quarterback position and the receiver position as well.”