The lead-up to Ohio State’s 2017 football season officially begins Monday.
While the Buckeyes’ first practice of the season is scheduled for Thursday, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and three Buckeyes seniors – defensive end Tyquan Lewis, center Billy Price and linebacker Chris Worley – will kick off the week by meeting with the media at Big Ten Football Media Days in Chicago.
Meyer, Lewis, Price and Worley will be joined by coaches and players from six other Big Ten schools during Monday’s media sessions at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. Coaches and players from the other seven Big Ten schools will meet with the media on Tuesday.
Eleven Warriors will be on the scene for all of it. In addition to updates here on the site throughout the next few days, you can expect additional coverage from our team on Twitter @11W, @Dan_Hope, @TimShoemaker and @AndrewMLind.
For those of you following along from home (or from work), here’s what you need to know:
PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Each of the Big Ten’s 14 head coaches will kick off their teams’ participation in media days with a 15-minute opening press conference. All of those press conferences will be televised by the Big Ten Network. BTN will also televise Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany’s press conference, which precedes the first batch of coaches’ press conferences on Monday.
BTN president Mark Silverman is also scheduled to speak on Monday, while Big Ten coordinator of football officials Bill Carollo will speak on Tuesday.
The full schedule of press conference is as follows:
| WHO | WHEN (TIMES ET) |
|---|---|
| MARK SILVERMAN, BTN PRESIDENT | 12:15 - 12:30 p.m. |
| JIM DELANY, BIG TEN COMMISSIONER | 12:30 - 1 p.m. |
| PAUL CHRYST, WISCONSIN COACH | 1 - 1:15 p.m. |
| TOM ALLEN, INDIANA COACH | 1:15 - 1:30 p.m. |
| LOVIE SMITH, ILLINOIS COACH | 1:30 - 1:45 p.m. |
| MARK DANTONIO, MICHIGAN STATE COACH | 1:45 - 2 p.m. |
| DJ DURKIN, MARYLAND COACH | 2 - 2:15 p.m. |
| KIRK FERENTZ, IOWA COACH | 2:15 - 2:30 p.m. |
| URBAN MEYER, OHIO STATE COACH | 2:30 - 2:45 p.m. |
| WHO | WHEN (TIMES ET) |
|---|---|
| P.J. FLECK, MINNESOTA COACH | 9 - 9:15 a.m. |
| PAT FITZGERALD, NORTHWESTERN COACH | 9:15 - 9:30 a.m. |
| JAMES FRANKLIN, PENN STATE COACH | 9:30 - 9:45 a.m. |
| JEFF BROHM, PURDUE COACH | 9:45 - 10 a.m. |
| MIKE RILEY, NEBRASKA COACH | 10 - 10:15 a.m. |
| CHRIS ASH, RUTGERS COACH | 10:15 - 10:30 a.m. |
| JIM HARBAUGH, MICHIGAN COACH | 10:30 - 10:45 a.m. |
| BILL CAROLLO, BIG TEN COORDINATOR OF FOOTBALL OFFICIALS | 10:45 - 11 a.m. |
PODIUM INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
All of the coaches, as well as three players from each school, will also have one-hour media availabilities at individual podiums. While these sessions will not be televised, Eleven Warriors will be on hand to provide updates as players and coaches speak on Monday and Tuesday afternoon.
Meyer’s session is scheduled for 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. ET, while Lewis, Price and Worley are scheduled to meet with the media from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. So you know when to check for updates from the other coaches and players you might want to hear from, the full interview schedule is provided in the tables below.
| WHO | WHEN (TIMES ET) |
|---|---|
| MICHIGAN STATE OL BRIAN ALLEN, LB CHRIS FREY, RB GERALD HOLMES | 3 - 4 p.m. |
| WISCONSIN COACH PAUL CHRYST | 3 - 4 p.m. |
| OHIO STATE COACH URBAN MEYER | 3:15 - 4:15 p.m. |
| INDIANA COACH TOM ALLEN | 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. |
| MARYLAND COACH D.J. DURKIN | 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. |
| WISCONSIN LB JACK CICHY, LB T.J. EDWARDS, TE TROY FUMAGALLI | 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. |
| ILLINOIS COACH LOVIE SMITH | 4 - 5 p.m. |
| ILLINOIS OL CHRISTIAN DILAURO, DB JAYLEN DUNLAP, WR MALIK TURNER | 4 - 5 p.m. |
| MICHIGAN STATE COACH MARK DANTONIO | 4 - 5 p.m. |
| IOWA COACH KIRK FERENTZ | 4:15 - 5:15 p.m. |
| INDIANA CB RASHARD FANT, QB RICHARD LAGOW, LB TEGRAY SCALES | 4:45 - 5:45 p.m. |
| IOWA LB JOSEY JEWELL, WR MATT VANDEBERG, OL SEAN WELSH | 5 - 6 p.m. |
| MARYLAND LB JERMAINE CARTER JR., RB TY JOHNSON, WR D.J. MOORE | 5:15 - 6:15 p.m. |
| OHIO STATE DE TYQUAN LEWIS, C BILLY PRICE, LB CHRIS WORLEY | 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. |
| WHO | WHEN (TIMES ET) |
|---|---|
| MINNESOTA LB JONATHAN CELESTIN, DT STEVEN RICHARDSON, RB RODNEY SMITH | 3:15 - 4:15 p.m. |
| PENN STATE COACH JAMES FRANKLIN | 3:15 - 4:15 p.m. |
| NEBRASKA COACH MIKE RILEY | 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. |
| MINNESOTA COACH P.J. FLECK | 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. |
| NEBRASKA QB TANNER LEE, LB CHRIS WEBER, S AARON WILLIAMS | 4 - 5 p.m. |
| RUTGERS CB BLESSUAN AUSTIN, DL SEBASTIAN JOSEPH, OL DORIAN MILLER | 4:15 - 5:15 p.m. |
| RUTGERS COACH CHRIS ASH | 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| MICHIGAN COACH JIM HARBAUGH | 5 - 6 p.m. |
| PENN STATE S MARCUS ALLEN, LB JASON CABINDA, TE MIKE GESICKI | 5 - 6 p.m. |
| MICHIGAN OL MASON COLE, DT MAURICE HURST, LB MIKE MCCRAY | 5:15 - 6:15 p.m. |
| PURDUE COACH JEFF BROHM | 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. |
| PURDUE LB JA'WHUAN BENTLEY, QB DAVID BLOUGH, LB DANNY EZECHUWKU | 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. |
| NORTHWESTERN COACH PAT FITZGERALD | 5:45 - 6:45 p.m. |
| NORTHWESTERN S GODWIN IGWEBUIKE, RB JUSTIN JACKSON, QB CLAYTON THORSON | 6 - 7 p.m. |
KICKOFF LUNCHEON
Outside of their media obligations, the coaches and player representatives will also spend time with fans at the Big Ten’s 46th annual Kickoff Luncheon. Fans attending the luncheon at the McCormick Place Convention Center (tickets are $110 each and sold through the Big Ten’s official website) will have the opportunity to attend an autograph session with coaches and players, starting at 10 a.m. CT, while the Kickoff Luncheon will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT. All 14 coaches will speak at the Kickoff Luncheon along with Purdue quarterback David Blough, who has been selected as this year’s student speaker for the event.
While the Kickoff Luncheon will not be televised live, BTN will air a Kickoff Luncheon Special at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
WHILE YOU WAIT
To prepare for Big Ten Media Days, read up on the top 10 players attending this year's event.
While the Big Ten will announce its preseason honorees this week, check out who would make my Preseason All-Big Ten team.
Tim Shoemaker previews five big storylines going into this year's event.
