Weekend reading room: Quotes about Iowa players in the NFL draft; Paul Tagilabue disses the Big Ten

1. Green Bay Packers General Manager Ted Thompson on his first-round pick, Iowa offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga: (Green Bay Press-Gazette)

“It's an asset,” Thompson said of Bulaga playing at Iowa. “First of all, the Packers have good luck with Iowa players (with Aaron Kampman), but their offensive linemen, even sometimes guys you don't rate as high come in the league and play and play well. We have coaches on our staff that have worked with Coach Ferentz and his staff, so we have a lot of information about this young man.”

2. Buffalo Bills Coach Chan Gailey on seventh-round draft pick Kyle Calloway of Iowa: (Belleville News-Democrat)

"We're probably going to play him at guard. We see him more as a guard for us. He's more suited to the tighter spaces than he is out on the edge. He's a big human and he can stand there and clog up a lot. He looks like he's going to fit better in tighter quarters."

3. Nate Haber, the agent for Detroit Lions third-round draft pick Amari Spievey of Iowa:

(Middletown Press)

“His passions in life are his family, his newborn baby, and football. He doesn't smoke, doesn't drink - and when I say doesn't drink, he doesn't even have a beer. He doesn't go out at night, he's not into the social scene at all. Whoever drafts him is getting a dedicated player, a guy who works on football, and that's it. You're not going to have any off-the-field issues with this guy. If he goes out, it's for dinner. He doesn't get into any of that extracurricular activity off the field.”

4. Mike Bianchi, columnist: (Orlando Sentinel)

"Glad to see former UCF basketball coach Kirk Speraw landed a job on the staff of his alma mater at Iowa. Good fit for a good man."

5. Paul Tagliabue, former NFL commissioner and new consultant for the Big East

Conference, on the Big Ten and its possible expansion: (New York Times)

“It's very disruptive to everyone outside of the Big Ten. Everything outside the Big Ten is held in artificial suspension. The Big Ten looks at a bunch of choices and everyone else has to deal with the depreciating value and a ton of negativity. I hope there's a better way. Otherwise it's going to have a terrible negative effect on everyone other than the schools in the Big Ten.

“At some point they're going to overreach and get a big negative reaction out of Congress or someone else. You have to eventually tie your television to people actually watching and not just to television subscribers added up and totaled.

“One of the real challenges for the networks is to provide value, but you only provide value in markets where you provide traction. Is Minnesota and Rutgers going to get a big rating on Long Island? Give me a break. Every game isn't Michigan and Michigan State.

“Am I going to rush home from a tennis game on Saturday to watch Minnesota and Rutgers if I live on Long Island?”

6. Steve Politi, columnist: (Newark Star-Ledger)

"The bowl tie-ins are much better in the Big Ten. The exposure is much higher, too. Tagliabue might not “rush home from a tennis game” to see it, but far more people will watch Rutgers play Michigan than ever watched Rutgers-Pittsburgh or Rutgers-West Virginia.

"The question is no longer should Rutgers go to the Big Ten, it's how quickly can it get there."

7. Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano: (NorthJersey.com)

“We've got three (NFL) first-rounders in the last two years. Not a lot of schools can say that. There are still things we have to do, we're building a program here, but I'm certain we're going to get there. I've bet my whole career on it.”