LIVE BLOG I from Big Ten Media Days: Ron Zook, Bret Bielema, Danny Hope

I am at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago for the Big Ten's football media days. We start at 10 a.m. with the first of 12 coaches getting 15 minutes apiece. Leading off is Illinois' Ron Zook.

Don't expect a comment-by-comment report. You know me better than that. Most of this stuff is deadly dull unless you're a big fan of the team the coach represents. I'll give you the highlights surrounded by stream-of-consciousness. I will update continuously. Let's hope the Hyatt's WiFi is good. If not, it's abandon ship.

The Leaders Division (awful name) goes first.  This first segment of three coaches is Zook, Bret Bielema of Wisconsin and Danny Hope of Purdue. For you Iowa fans, Kirk Ferentz speaks at 1 p.m., opening the fourth and final segment.

Good morning, everybody!

RON ZOOK, ILLINOIS

Excited.

Both of Zook's daughters got married this summer. He learned a new meaning of "organized chaos."

Team has great attitude and leadership. Sophomore starting quarterback's leadership off the field is unbelievable.

Excited to get going. The use of the word "excited" is up to 2.  

First question for Zook is about Ohio State. "First of all, I think you cringe," he said. The word "cringe" was in the question. It may have made me cringe.

Seventh year, third in Big Ten in seniority (behind Paterno and Ferentz). "Kind of mind-boggling," Zook says. He's right.

Said you can't win the championship without getting to the championship game. I wasn't dialed in because I was griping about the painfully slow WiFi, but I think I heard that right. This is how you fill 15 minutes when you don't really want to say anything. And few of these coaches do. This makes for good programming for the Big Ten Network and ESPNU, which would otherwise be showing reruns of great games from 1997.

Illinois has eight home games. "We're looking forward to being able to stay at home," Zook says.

 Bret Bielema is standing by, waiting to pounce. Not on Zook. I think.

BRET BIELEMA, WISCONSIN

Bielema says it's great to have the opportunity to meet with all of you ... "at least most of you."

Excitement about playing on Thursday night Sept. 1 vs. UNLV in Madison. That counts as three "exciteds."

"I'm very privileged, very excited." Four. OK, I'll back off that.

About new QB Russell Wilson: "It's a work in progress."

Said Nebraska's presence in the league helps his recruiting.

"For us to play Northern Illinois in Soldier Field is a pretty cool opportunity. ... I just think it's neat because we have so many Badger fans in the Chicago area ... It's pretty cool."

It's cool and neat.

"I couldn't be more excited." OK, I lied.

"We're not real sexy," Bielema says. Kirk Ferentz says that about his Iowa team. Can we please have someone bring sexy back to the Big Ten?

"It's fun to be a Badger," he said in reference to Wisconsin having the best record in the league over the last six years.

Said three-quarters of the national headlines about college football are negative, wants to be part of positive stories. That's an inexact paraphrasing of what he said, but I still think it captures it.

"I know things that go on that aren't right," he said about the recruiting game. "The only way to deter that is to get rid of people."

"I think you recruit your own problems."

"We have a young man (a recruit) disrespectful to his mother, don't recruit him."

"Thank you very much. On Wisconsin."

DANNY HOPE, PURDUE

"We have an unbelievable group of young men."

"We believe we are further along in every phase ... We have potentially more firepower on offense and a little more firepower on defense and a little more firepower on special teams. We are a hungry football team."

Probably the youngest team in FBS football last year, he says. Says quarterback siutation is in good shape entering the season for the first time in his three years as Purdue's head coach.

Iowa plays at Purdue six days before it plays at Nebraska. Who among you foresees a Hawkeye sweep? Who among you foresees the Hawkeyes getting swept?

About the Big Ten title game played indoors: Likes it. But ... "If they want to play in the snow or the desert," he's good with it.

Hope always strikes me as a drill sergeant type, the voice, the jaw, the presence.

"Very likely" he could use a 2-quarterback system. I subscribe to the theory that when you use two quarterbacks, you use none. But that's been proven wrong about a zillion times. 

 A 15-minute break, and we'll resume with Live Blog II.