Ohio State Buckeyes: 7 takeaways from head coach interviews at Big Ten Media Days

“We’re going to do it or die trying,” he replied.

Here is one takeaway from each of the seven conference coaches who were in Indianapolis on Thursday:

Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck was asked about his defense that slipped from 26th in the country in SP+ (a ranking system that combines play-to-play success and explosiveness, similar to OPS in baseball) in 2019 to 62nd last season and the Gophers’ record dropped from 11-2 to 3-4.

“Leaving 2019, we lost seven starters,” he said. “We knew in 2020 we were going to be young to begin with. We knew we were going to have to basically go through some growing pains. We knew that, but we did and now everybody’s back. So I’m not worried about that.”

He praised defensive coordinator Joe Rossi and his scheme while expressing excitement for opening the season at home against Ohio State.

“It couldn’t get much better than that, right?”

Maryland coach Mike Locksley said it is put up or shut up time in his third season as head coach of the Terrapins.

“On the field for us, it’s a simple thing for us in year three,” Locksley said. “It’s to take the next step. We got a little mantra with our team this year and it’s basically no BCE: no bitching, complaining, or excuses. That’s what it’s got to be for us. It’s taking the next step.

“As we go into year three, I feel really good about the team. I feel good about our culture. When you come in and you take over a program, it’s really right around year three where you start to see the habits and behaviors that create championship-type football, and I can tell you great teams have great habits, and I’m starting to see that from our team as we continue to develop and prepare for our 2021 season.”

Nebraska coach Scott Frost, who is entering year four back in Lincoln, expressed confidence in his offensive line.

“We have recruited well on the offensive line, but it’s hard in this league to come in as a 18, 19-year-old and be dominant as physical as the Big Ten is,” Frost said. “The group that we have there right now is I think a group that we can build on.”

Illinois coach Bret Bielema said he is not concerned with changing practice to adhere to limits on full-contact days in training camp.

“Just give me the rules and we can make an adjustment,” said Bielema, who coached at Wisconsin and Arkansas before spending the last three seasons as an NFL assistant. “The NFLPA really takes a proactive approach to player safety because guys are making livelihoods off of being able to play, correct? So it really enlightened my eyes about the way to practice efficiently, from things like tackling, pass rush, one-on-ones, different things that maybe were higher risk to player safety and then also the ability to practice efficiently without full pads, right? To not actually have to go out there and take people to the ground, to learn how to play on your feet.”

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald had a similar take.

“I think it’s really hard just in general to teach tackling right now the way the rules are, so we worked that fundamental and technique, footwork-wise and fundamentally from the minute we start our offseason workouts,” said the former linebacker.

“You may not be taking someone to the ground, but we’re talking, teaching and working tackling every single day. The physical component to it might be limited a little bit this year in camp, so you got to be a little bit more creative in the way you do your drill work, a little bit more creative in the way you structure your practices, but for us locally at Northwestern it won’t be that big of a change.”

Penn State coach James Franklin is excited to add former Ohio State assistant Mike Yurcich to his staff.

“Been tracking and pursuing Mike for a couple years,” Franklin said. “I had an opportunity to bring him back and couldn’t be more excited about having him with us. I don’t think you’ll see things a whole lot different than who Penn State has been really kind of over our entire time at Penn State, especially the times that we were back in this facility (Lucas Oil Stadium) and won the Big Ten championship. A similar style.”

That means throwing the ball down the field and stretching defenses from sideline to sideline.

“We want people to defend 53 and a third (yards across the field). We want to be able to get our players in space. We want to be able to run with power and authority, and I know Mike feels the same way.”

Harbaugh surprisingly shared who is leading in the race to be his starting quarterback.

He is happy with what he has seen of Cade McNamara, a junior who started one game last season then was injured.

“You talk about taking the reins and leadership, that’s something that he has done,” Harbaugh said. “He has been that guy throughout the entire spring and the training cycle in the summer, leading by example and also pulling other guys along with him. He’s a fiery competitor. He’s got that gene, that he must win, must give it his best at all times.”

That’s helping him hold off a challenge from five-star freshman J.J. McCarthy.

“J.J. McCarthy has some of those very same qualities and did an excellent job in spring practice,” he said. “He’s fighting. He’s got the athletic ability and the arm talent to get it done, but Cade McNamara is not letting him take it away, and that’s probably the best thing for our team and for J.J. and all of us.”