Hurricane Harvey hits home for some in Big Ten

Like in 2003 when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the surrounding area, the recent deluge on Houston, Corpus Christi, Texas and the surrounding areas thanks to Hurricane Harvey has crossed into and affected the sports world along with everyday life.

During Tuedsay's Big Ten coaches teleconference, a few coaches took time in their opening remarks to give their thoughts to the people of Houston and what they're going through. While no Big Ten teams play there, obviously, what the people of those communities are dealing with has intimate Big Ten connections.

It's why Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald gave impassioned comments on the subject in his opening statement, and further when asked. Fitzgerald's Wildcats have the most players from the state of Texas in the Big Ten, and by far the most affected by Hurricane Harvey.

'We wanted to lift all our thoughts and prayers up to our families that are from Houston and to all those affected by the terrible storm down there,' Fitzgerald said. 'We've recruited that city for a number of years. We've got quite a few young men not only on the roster but also that are alums.

'I've talked to all of them individually. Right now it sounds like all of their families — not only do we have players, but we also have staff members who have family down there — they've talked to their families, been in constant communication and as of right now the great news for our program is a lot of water but nothing substantial as far as major damage with our families.'

In total, 68 players on Big Ten rosters are Texas natives, with 25 of those being from the Houston area or an area affected by Hurricane Harvey.

Northwestern's 15 Texas natives tops the Big Ten, with seven players from Houston or a suburb. Senior receiver Macan Wilson (Houston), freshman defensive back Travis Whitlock (Katy, Texas), freshman linebacker Paddy Fisher (Katy, Texas), sophomore linebacker Nathan Fox (Houston), freshman offensive lineman RaShawn Slater (Sugar Land, Texas) and Alex and Samdup Miller (Houston) all have had to deal with worrying about family back home while preparing for their first game of the season on Saturday against Nevada, Fitzgerald said.

The outspoken head coach said if any of the players needed to leave the team temporarily to tend to any family matters related to the storm and its damage, he and his staff would deal with it 'on a case-by-case basis,' but as of Tuesday none of his players are in that situation.

He also went on about being inspired by the reaction to the storm and people so willing to help those in need.

'You talk to (the players) about it (and) what's been inspiring to me is seeing our country come together to solve problems instead of the nonsense I see all over the media with people trying to tear each other apart,' Fitzgerald said. 'It's terrible it has to happen through a tragedy and it's a difficult situation, but that's what our country is all about, coming together and helping those in need and not about the other nonsense that's getting glorified.'

Nebraska (three), Illinois (three), Purdue (three), Indiana (three) Michigan State (two), Minnesota (two), Maryland (one) and Ohio State (one) represent the other Big Ten teams with players on their rosters from Houston or the surrounding area.

Iowa has three Texas natives on its roster — cornerbacks Josh Jackson (Corinth, Texas) and Matt Hankins (Lewisville, Texas) and freshman quarterback Peyton Mansell (Belton, Texas) — but none from the Houston area.

Still, Coach Kirk Ferentz offered up a similar sentiment to Fitzgerald when asked about it Tuesday. As a coach who's dealt with flooding on a personal level before — no one in Eastern Iowa will forget 2008 — Ferentz could empathize.

'Last night I actually saw a little footage when I got home last night, and it's unbelievable,' Ferentz said. 'And I heard (Houston Texans) Coach (Bill) O'Brien, I think I was riding in the car and heard him talking about it, and you know, just — we had a flood in Pittsburgh years ago back in the '70s and I was here obviously in '08, but the magnitude of this thing is just unreal. It's very, very tragic, and just your hearts go out to everybody down there. What a tough situation.'

Illinois rebuild in progress

Illinois head coach Lovie Smith is embarking on Year 2 in leading a rebuild of the Illini football program that had fallen into the cellar of the Big Ten.

Smith is no stranger to rebuilds.

He took over the Chicago Bears in 2004 after Dick Jauron was fired after going 35-45 with one winning season in five years. Smith led the Bears to back-to-back division titles and a trip to Super Bowl XLI within three years on the job and was fired after posting an 81-63 record in Chicago. His second stint at a rebuild, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, didn't fare as well. He went 8-24 in two years as head coach there before being fired again following the 2015 season.

Still, his work in Chicago was proof enough for Illinois that the plan he came to them with was worth taking a chance on. Smith said Tuesday on the Big Ten coaches teleconference that experience in these kinds of situation helps with patience.

'What I've done is we have a plan on how we want to win football games, how we want to run our program, how we want to treat our players with discipline in just every subject we come across; we have a way we believe in,' Smith said. 'You come in with that plan and know that most things don't happen overnight. If you believe in your plan and you stick to it, eventually you see progress being made toward that goal.'

Illinois opens its season Saturday against Ball State.

Smith said he hasn't had to work hard at convincing his players of the rebuild steps. He gave them the plan and realized they're old enough and technologically savvy enough to find his track record pretty easily.

'Players look toward your history,' Smith said. 'They can Google and ask questions now to get any type of instant information you need. That's how we did it. We came in with that plan. Whether it's high school guys, college or NFL players, if you have a plan that they believe in, they'll buy into it. I know our guys have bought in fully.'

Penn State's James Franklin moving past playoff snub

Remember when everyone thought the solution to college football postseason snubs was to eliminate the BCS?

Penn State found out the hard way last season that it's far from gone. The Nittany Lions won the Big Ten East thanks to beating Ohio State in the regular season, then went on to beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game, but were left out of the College Football Playoff … in favor of Ohio State.

Franklin wouldn't deride the committee at the time, and when given the chance again Tuesday on the Big Ten coaches teleconference, wouldn't again. Given his comments, he still believes his team deserved to be there, but shifted his focus for this year.

'I'm never going to say that (that the Committee got it wrong),' Franklin said. 'I don't think that's ever going to be said. I think looking back at it, I didn't want to say that at that time last year because I wanted our guys focused on the things they could control. I think you could make a heck of an argument of why we should've been in the playoff last year.

'What we've got to do is work like crazy to make sure we make a better argument this year and in years moving forward that we've put ourself in better position to make a stronger argument.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com