Notes from Big Ten Media Days 2013, Day Two

As I've been told by my peers, day two of B1G Media Days is somewhat of a dumbed down version of day one, but nonetheless a great opportunity to pry the minds of all B1G coaches and players in attendance. I hopped around to as many tables as I could and soaked in as much information as humanly possible in the two hour timespan. Here are a few key takeaways from the representatives from Ohio State, just one of the many schools I sat in on:

Ohio State's still focused on the task at hand

Representing Ohio State at three separate round tables were Urban Meyer, Braxton Miller, Jack Mewhort and Christian Bryant. As Meyer and Miller's tables were chock full of reporters the entire time, reporters fired question after question, with (surprisingly) lengthy answers from Miller and crisp, confident responses from Meyer. Miller shied away from the "what if" questions (i.e. speculation on how 2012 Ohio State would've fared against Alabama), but fully embraced others concerning his leadership, his mentor in his older brother Breyon, and his reaction to all the media attention that comes with being "Braxton Miller." One could sense a quiet confidence in Miller, and surely an eagerness to get back on the field and do what he does best. As far as Braxton's progression from a season ago, no one was asked more about that than Urban Meyer himself.

Meyer stated that since he gave Miller a "7 out of 10" rating a year ago, he thinks that he's at an "8 or 9 out of 10" this year. However, he took back the "9 out of 10," claiming he didn't want to give Miller too much credit, and settled on an "8 out of 10." Some of the most notable items of information garnered from the plethora of questions that Urban Meyer was asked concern the B1G-SEC gap and the future of Bradley Roby. Urban wasn't necessarily offended by the question of whether the B1G-SEC gap can ever change, but fired back with surprising quickness, "what do you think we wake up for every day?" Meyer seems infinitely determined to catch the SEC, and with the way things are going on the recruiting trail, it doesn't seem too far away. Meyer also shed a bit of light on the Roby situation, stating that he imagines there'll be "discipline" and "suspension" involved for him.

Jack Mewhort gave some great answers with specific examples of his experiences at Ohio State, in games and in practice. As one reporter gave his unique standard question concerning the type of music that Ohio State listens to during practice, Mewhort stated that Ohio State listens to music at times during warm ups as well as crowd noise, but also added, "towards the end of practice, sometimes we throw on Metallica to blow our heads off." But, it wasn't all jokes with Mewhort. He glowed with reviews of Braxton Miller's leadership, claiming that he really noticed it this past spring. He even gave an example of how Braxton barked at him during the Miami (OH) game in 2012, but struggled to give us a G-rated version of the verbal interchange between the two.

Christian Bryant, the player replacing Bradley Roby's attendance at B1G Media Days, struck me as an extremely bright and motivated individual. He seemed truly grateful to be given the opportunity to partake in the event in Chicago, and stated that "it'd mean the world [to him] to be named a captain."

If you're looking for more coverage on day 2 of B1G Media Days, be sure to check my (previously) live feed, where I live-tweeted all observations and takeaways from all coaches, players, and schools that I had interactions with, and not just Ohio State.