Big Ten Media Day was a “slow news day” this year. You’ve probably noticed that given the lack of interesting articles and segments that emerged from that day in Chicago at the end of last month. If I didn’t ask Bo Pelini about his cat, I’m not sure any of us would have had much to say at all. In six hours of stump speeches, and a sprinkle of Q&A, nothing Earth shattering was unveiled.
Jim Delaney and Urban Meyer, the most poweful and polarizing figures in the league, were probably the least interesting of all. The lack of compelling narratives from that day long affair left the only new addition to the Michigan secondary, Jabrill Peppers as one of the top headlines.
Yes, a freshman DB that no one, outside of hard core college football recruiting geeks, and the most devoted in #GoBlue Nation, had heard of was one of the best topics of discussion.
Don’t get me wrong, Jabrill Peppers is extremely talented, gifted and will probably be awesome. He has all the recruiting star rankings, and the hype you’d want in a recruit. but it speaks to the dearth of interesting things discussed that a guy who hasn’t even played a snap of college football, and doesn’t even play a “glamor position,” was one of the most intriguing topics that we heard about.
A reporter asked if anything had changed from the spring when Jabrill Peppers was named starting nickel DB.
COACH HOKE: That hasn’t changed. The plan hasn’t changed. I think we’ve got to be careful about anointing any true freshmen starting their college career, but that’s where he will start.
Then came a follow up.
“also as far as Peppers, when can we anoint him?
COACH HOKE: Let’s anoint him when he does something, right? I mean, let’s see what he can do.
Hoke is right, let’s talk about him when he actually plays. The fact that we’re discussing him this much already is….like the fictional Springfield news anchor Kent Brockman said “this barely qualifies as news.”
Said Michigan DB Blake Coutness:
“I haven’t seen him practice much, we don’t work out with the freshmen but he’s a high energy guy, a guy who had a lot of talent in high school so we’re hoping that he can come in and contribute and win games,”
Said Brennen Beyer of the 6-1 202 freshman DB from East Orange, N.J. (Paramus Catholic HS):
“He hasn’t been here for long, but it seems like he can be a great football player , it will be fun to see him put the pads on.”
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports and Yahoo! He’s been a guest on news talk shows all across the world. He’s also a special contributor to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Banks has been featured in numerous media outlets including NFL.com, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, ESPN, NBC, CBS, the History Channel and more. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)