Big Ten Media Days preview: Year 2 of David Braun, Illini's defense among Day 1 storylines
The time has come for the Big Ten to officially welcome its West Coast brethren to the fray as the league will descend on Indianapolis next week for its annual media days event. Once there, select players and coaches from each school will meet with reporters at Lucas Oil Stadium to preview what might be the most anticipated season in conference history.
With 18 teams now gracing its standings, the Big Ten expanded this year's event from two days to three, beginning on July 23 and running through July 25. Each day features representatives from six programs:
Day 1: Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin
Day 2: Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, UCLA, USC
Day 3: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington
To preview the event, FOX Sports analyzed each team in the new-look Big Ten. Here's what to expect from Day 1 of Big Ten Media Days.
Last year: 5-7 overall, 3-6 Big Ten
Postseason: None
Head coach: Bret Bielema, fourth season, 18-19 at Illinois
Coordinators: Barry Lunney Jr. (offense); Aaron Henry (defense)
Recruiting: No. 49 nationally, No. 15 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: Given how poorly the defense performed at times last season, it was easy to forget the dominance Illinois showed on that side of the ball in 2022 under former coordinator Ryan Walters, now the head coach at Purdue. The '22 Illini team led in the country in scoring defense (12.8 points per game) and ranked third in total defense (273.5 yards per game) on the strength of three draft picks in the secondary alone. But Walters bolted to take over the Boilermakers and his replacement, Henry, who had been Illinois' defensive backs coach, oversaw a significant regression as the Illini sunk to 96th in scoring defense (29.4 points per game) and 63rd in total defense (377.3 yards per game). It falls on Henry and three new defensive assistants to right the ship in 2024 despite losing All-American defensive lineman Jer'Zhan Newton to the NFL. Cornerback Terrance Brooks, a transfer from Texas, is the most noteworthy personnel addition.
Last year: 8-5 overall, 5-4 Big Ten
Postseason: 14-7 win over Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl
Head coach: David Braun, second season, 8-5 at Northwestern
Coordinators: Zach Lujan (offense); Tim McGarigle (defense)
Recruiting: No. 80 nationally, No. 17 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: If Year 1 of the David Braun era was about stabilizing the program amid a hailstorm of negative headlines stemming from the hazing scandal and subsequent firing of longtime head coach Pat Fitzgerald, who later sued the school, then Year 2 is about proving Northwestern can still contend in an expanded, division-less league. Twice during Fitzgerald's tenure, the Wildcats reached the Big Ten Championship game via the softer and friendlier West division — no Ohio State, no Michigan, no Penn State — before falling to the Buckeyes on both occasions. Now they'll face a more difficult schedule that features nine opponents with winning records last season, including back-to-back dates with Ohio State and Michigan come November. And they'll have to do so while splitting home games between Wrigley Field and a temporary lakefront stadium on campus as the $800 million rebuild of Ryan Field continues. Both Lujan and McGarigle are entering their first season as coordinators for Northwestern, though the latter served as Braun's linebackers coach in 2023.
EVANSTON, IL - NOVEMBER 18: Northwestern Wildcats head coach David Braun is mobbed by fans before a postgame interview after the college football game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Northwestern Wildcats on November 18, 2023 at Ryan Field in
Last year: 11-2 overall, 8-1 Big Ten
Postseason: 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl
Head coach: Ryan Day, sixth season, 56-8 at Ohio State
Coordinators: Chip Kelly (offense); Jim Knowles (defense)
Recruiting: No. 5 nationally, No. 2 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: So much of the conversation surrounding Ohio State's offseason has focused on the transfers brought in by Day, who enters 2024 under enormous pressure after dropping three consecutive games to Michigan. The Buckeyes only added seven players through the portal for a class that ranked ninth nationally and second in the Big Ten, but no school can match the level of high-end talent that Ohio State landed. An average prospect score of 92.86 in the 247Sports Transfer Portal Team Rankings is more than two points higher than any other program. The Buckeyes' haul includes players rated No. 1 overall (safety Caleb Downs), No. 6 overall (quarterback Julian Sayin), No. 9 overall (running back Quinshon Judkins) and No. 41 overall (quarterback Will Howard), among others. The level of performance Ohio State gets from Howard, formerly of Kansas State and the presumptive starter in 2024, will be an important barometer of the team's success after the unevenness of Kyle McCord last season.
Last year: 4-8 overall, 3-6 Big Ten
Postseason: None
Head coach: Ryan Walters, second season, 4-8 at Purdue
Coordinators: Graham Harrell (offense); Kevin Kane (defense)
Recruiting: No. 27 nationally, No. 8 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: A large-scale roster overhaul has carried over from Year 1 to Year 2 for Walters, who dropped seven of his first nine games during an underwhelming debut season. More than 50 players have transferred out of Purdue in the last two offseasons combined, the result of which has been supersized recruiting classes from the high school ranks and transfer portal alike to offset the damage. Walters and his staff added more than 30 new players in 2023 and are expected to add roughly 45 new faces for 2024 by the time fall camp begins. Expanded NIL efforts allowed the Boilermakers to cobble together the No. 30 transfer portal class in the country, though that was only good enough for eighth in the expanded Big Ten. The group is headlined by several ex-Georgia players in cornerback Nyland Green (No. 12 transfer, No. 1 CB); wide receiver De'Nylon Morrissette (No. 264 transfer, No. 48 WR) and wide receiver CJ Smith (No. 273 transfer, No. 50 WR).
Last year: 7-6 overall, 3-6 Big Ten
Postseason: 31-24 win over Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl
Head coach: Greg Schiano, fifth season of second stint, 19-28 since returning to Rutgers
Coordinators: Kirk Ciarrocca (offense); Joe Harasymiak (defense)
Recruiting: No. 36 overall, No. 11 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: Were it not for the supreme futility of passing attacks at Iowa (130th nationally) and Nebraska (129th nationally) last season, Rutgers (127th nationally) might have gotten more attention in Big Ten circles. Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt completed just 47.8% of his passes for 1,735 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. He failed to top 200 passing yards in any game and only produced two touchdown passes from Oct. 21 through the end of the season, a six-week stretch in which the Scarlet Knights lost four times. To address the situation, Schiano added former Minnesota quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis (No. 974 transfer, No. 74 QB) from the transfer portal in January. Kaliakmanis' transition to Rutgers was eased by a preexisting relationship with Ciarrocca, who recruited him out of high school and coached him for one year with the Gophers. Schiano named Kaliakmanis the starter following spring practice, which prompted Wimsatt to transfer to Kentucky.
Last year: 7-6 overall, 5-4 Big Ten
Postseason: 35-31 loss to LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl
Head coach: Luke Fickell, second season, 8-6 at Wisconsin
Coordinators: Phil Longo (offense); Mike Tressel (defense)
Recruiting: No. 23 nationally, No. 7 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: Wisconsin's shaky on-field product in 2023 was compounded by significant turnover among Fickell's staff entering Year 2. Gone are co-defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler (Alabama), wide receivers coach Mike Brown (Notre Dame), offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. (off-field role at Wisconsin) and defensive line coach Gregg Scruggs (hired by Michigan but later resigned) from a group that lost five of its final eight games. The biggest improvements are needed on offense, where the Badgers tied for 70th overall (381.2 yards per game) and tied for 92nd in scoring (23.5 points per game) thanks in large part to injuries and shoddy quarterback play. Miami transfer Tyler Van Dyke, who was the No. 114 overall transfer and No. 17 signal-caller in the portal, is expected to earn the starting job. Van Dyke headlines a portal class that ranks 23rd nationally and includes potential difference makers at linebacker (USC's Tackett Curtis), tailback (Oklahoma's Tawee Walker) and edge rusher (William & Mary's John Pius).
Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.
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