Big Ten media days are an annual rite of sports writer jubilation. Think of them as the first day of school, only the vast majority of you reading this don’t have to attend. We do, and most of our time is gobbled up wandering aimlessly around ballrooms in some Chicago hotel, talking to coaches and players, sitting down for a lulling stretch of mass-attended press conferences, talking about geeky football-related things with other beat writers. The days get long, the stories converge on similar themes and storylines, but the most exciting part, for me at least, is conversing with the coaches and player we’ll be covering all season.
Each Big Ten team’s head coach will be in attendance along with three players. Those players were released today, and the Wildcats elected three seniors: quarterback Kain Colter, defensive end Tyler Scott and running back Venric Mark.
All of the Big Ten’s 36 attendees are either juniors and seniors, and most are names you’re likely already familiar with. This news isn’t particularly important for most Northwestern fans (or Big Ten fans in general, for that matter), but if there’s something to take away here, it’s that football – the last sighting of which, and this seems like ages ago, came on New Year's Day at EverBank field in Northwestern’s cathartic Gator Bowl win over Mississippi State – is on the Horizon. Media days (July 24-25) are one of the later stepping stones in an agonizingly long offseason. We're getting closer. Only a few more calendar flips; Hang in there, guys.