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Big Ten Media Days: Chryst feels at home in Madison
Jul 30, 2015
CHICAGO -- The position may be new, but Paul Chryst is hardly a stranger to Wisconsin football.
The Badgers' new head coach -- a former offensive coordinator as well as player at the school -- is back after a three-year stint as Pittsburgh's head coach.
Chryst returns to a program accustomed to success. Wisconsin is tabbed as favorite to earn another Big Ten West title and is a consensus Top 25 team in the national rankings.
"We've got players that have won a lot of games," Chryst said Thursday at the Big Ten's football Media Days event. "You know, Wisconsin has played in three of the last four Big Ten championship games, and you can't take that away from the guys that have done that."
As Badgers' offensive coordinator, Chryst guided his teams to the Big Ten lead in scoring from 2009-11 before he moved to Pittsburgh.
Chryst will have Joe Rudolph, who followed him from Pitt, as his offensive coordinator. On the field, tailback Corey Clement will be the successor to the now-departed Melvin Gordon, who rushed for 2,587 yards.
Clement ran for 949 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry in 2014.
"He knows he doesn't have to be Melvin," Chryst said. "I like the way that I think Corey's got a clear expectation of what it is to be the running back at Wisconsin. The offense has been a part of offenses that had a lot of success, (but) none of that equals success in the future. You've got to work at it. You've got to make sure players understand."
ILLINI FOCUS ON FOOTBALL
Illinois coach Tim Beckman is concentrating on football, not a probe into how he treated players in the past.
The fourth-year Illini coach dodged questions Thursday about reported mistreatment of players.
"We're focused right now on the 2015 football team," Beckman said. "We've been focused since January on becoming a better football program."
A Chicago-based law firm is looking into charges made by some former players that they were mistreated. Others say they were forced to play while injured, and some maintain they were threatened with loss of scholarships.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune talked to more than four dozen current and former Illinois players in a report published Wednesday. Many former players -- recruited under former coach Ron Zook -- were critical of Beckman, while most current players told the Tribune they were supportive.
"The people that have reached out to me though this situation, I can't be more thankful," he said. "We know what we're doing in this program. We understand how this program can get better and better every year because it has. That's reality."
NEW GUYS
Wisconsin's Chryst was the first of three new Big Ten coaches to address the media Thursday. Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and Nebraska's Mike Riley get their chances Friday.
Harbaugh was a four-year Wolverines letter winner from 1983-86, and he returns to Michigan after four years as the coach of the San Francisco 49ers, a stint that included 49 victories and an appearance in the Super Bowl after the 2012 season. He previously coached at the University of San Diego and Stanford.
Riley spent the previous 12 seasons coaching at Oregon State, winning a school record 93 games. He was also head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 1999-2001.
BUCKEYES' SUSPENSIONS
Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa, tabbed as one of 11 Big Ten players to watch, was suspended for the Buckeyes' season opener at Virginia Tech along with three teammates, sophomore H-back Jalin Marshall, senior receiver Corey Smith and junior H-back Dontre Wilson.
"All we can do is watch the indicators, watch it closely, and then dive into it with a sledgehammer if we start to see something that's disrupting the team," Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said. "And we've dealt with one. And I knew this was coming for a while, and at some point, we're going to have to address it and we did."
TERRAPINS QB BATTLE
Maryland will have a serious battle between three quarterbacks with experience at the highest levels of college football.
Terrapins coach Randy Edsall said that Oklahoma State transfer Daxx Garman was officially cleared this week. He started eight games last year and threw for 2,041 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Returnees include Caleb Rowe, a senior, and junior Perry Hills. In 2014, Rowe appeared in four games and threw for 489 yards and five touchdowns. Hills, seen as a backup, played in three games, including a 38-31 home win over Iowa.
"You basically have three guys who have won games in Power Five conferences," Edsall said. "At least we have experience, and it's going to be neat to see the completion unfold here in the preseason."
Jul 30, 2015
CHICAGO -- The position may be new, but Paul Chryst is hardly a stranger to Wisconsin football.
The Badgers' new head coach -- a former offensive coordinator as well as player at the school -- is back after a three-year stint as Pittsburgh's head coach.
Chryst returns to a program accustomed to success. Wisconsin is tabbed as favorite to earn another Big Ten West title and is a consensus Top 25 team in the national rankings.
"We've got players that have won a lot of games," Chryst said Thursday at the Big Ten's football Media Days event. "You know, Wisconsin has played in three of the last four Big Ten championship games, and you can't take that away from the guys that have done that."
As Badgers' offensive coordinator, Chryst guided his teams to the Big Ten lead in scoring from 2009-11 before he moved to Pittsburgh.
Chryst will have Joe Rudolph, who followed him from Pitt, as his offensive coordinator. On the field, tailback Corey Clement will be the successor to the now-departed Melvin Gordon, who rushed for 2,587 yards.
Clement ran for 949 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry in 2014.
"He knows he doesn't have to be Melvin," Chryst said. "I like the way that I think Corey's got a clear expectation of what it is to be the running back at Wisconsin. The offense has been a part of offenses that had a lot of success, (but) none of that equals success in the future. You've got to work at it. You've got to make sure players understand."
ILLINI FOCUS ON FOOTBALL
Illinois coach Tim Beckman is concentrating on football, not a probe into how he treated players in the past.
The fourth-year Illini coach dodged questions Thursday about reported mistreatment of players.
"We're focused right now on the 2015 football team," Beckman said. "We've been focused since January on becoming a better football program."
A Chicago-based law firm is looking into charges made by some former players that they were mistreated. Others say they were forced to play while injured, and some maintain they were threatened with loss of scholarships.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune talked to more than four dozen current and former Illinois players in a report published Wednesday. Many former players -- recruited under former coach Ron Zook -- were critical of Beckman, while most current players told the Tribune they were supportive.
"The people that have reached out to me though this situation, I can't be more thankful," he said. "We know what we're doing in this program. We understand how this program can get better and better every year because it has. That's reality."
NEW GUYS
Wisconsin's Chryst was the first of three new Big Ten coaches to address the media Thursday. Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and Nebraska's Mike Riley get their chances Friday.
Harbaugh was a four-year Wolverines letter winner from 1983-86, and he returns to Michigan after four years as the coach of the San Francisco 49ers, a stint that included 49 victories and an appearance in the Super Bowl after the 2012 season. He previously coached at the University of San Diego and Stanford.
Riley spent the previous 12 seasons coaching at Oregon State, winning a school record 93 games. He was also head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 1999-2001.
BUCKEYES' SUSPENSIONS
Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa, tabbed as one of 11 Big Ten players to watch, was suspended for the Buckeyes' season opener at Virginia Tech along with three teammates, sophomore H-back Jalin Marshall, senior receiver Corey Smith and junior H-back Dontre Wilson.
"All we can do is watch the indicators, watch it closely, and then dive into it with a sledgehammer if we start to see something that's disrupting the team," Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said. "And we've dealt with one. And I knew this was coming for a while, and at some point, we're going to have to address it and we did."
TERRAPINS QB BATTLE
Maryland will have a serious battle between three quarterbacks with experience at the highest levels of college football.
Terrapins coach Randy Edsall said that Oklahoma State transfer Daxx Garman was officially cleared this week. He started eight games last year and threw for 2,041 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Returnees include Caleb Rowe, a senior, and junior Perry Hills. In 2014, Rowe appeared in four games and threw for 489 yards and five touchdowns. Hills, seen as a backup, played in three games, including a 38-31 home win over Iowa.
"You basically have three guys who have won games in Power Five conferences," Edsall said. "At least we have experience, and it's going to be neat to see the completion unfold here in the preseason."
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