A significant story at Big Ten Media Days this week was coaching turnover.
After 2022 saw zero Big Ten schools enter that week with new head coaches, this year saw four new faces: Luke Fickell at Wisconsin, David Braun at Northwestern, Ryan Walters at Purdue and Matt Rhule at Nebraska.
These coaches are guaranteed to be compared to each other as time goes on, no two more so than Fickell and Rhule.
Wisconsin fans’ confidence is sky-high that Fickell will turn out to be the better coach in the long run. If fans needed any more of it, though, some clips to come out of Big Ten Media Days can surely help.
The Zone’s Zach Heilprin sat down with former Ohio State linebacker and current NBC Sports Analyst Joshua Perry at Big Ten Media Days this week to talk about his college coach. The former Buckeye linebacker under Fickell’s words I’m sure are music to the ears of Badger fans:
Luke Fickell left a lasting impression on former Ohio State LB Joshua Perry.
Joshua Perry sees an uphill battle this year for Northwestern football.
Former Ohio State football defensive linebacker Joshua Perry believes that there is a lot of healing that needs to go on at Northwestern following the program’s recent hazing scandal. And that healing process needs to begin now, with the season opener at Rutgers football now six weeks away.
Northwestern, still reeling from last week’s dismissal of head coach Pat Fitzgerald, has an almost impossible task in Perry’s eyes to get on track and pull the team together. Recent allegations of hazing led to the firing of Fitzgerald, the long-time head coach who led the Wildcats to 10 bowl games in his 17 years with the program.
Perry said that David Braun, hired in January as Northwestern’s defensive coordinator and now the interim head coach, must pull this team together. The process must start, Perry said, by regaining the trust of the team.
Perry, appearing on the ‘Tim May Show,’ was uncertain how Northwestern can get past this and be looking forward to Rutgers.
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“I have no idea. Honestly, like this is not something that I think is in any of the handbooks or manuals on how to build a team during training camp,” Perry told May.
“I think he needs to have conversations with everybody, one on one, and I think he needs to see where they’re all at. in that conversation, I think should also have a – if you feel like you were a victim of any of these things, and you have unresolved feelings about it, we have resources through our athletic department to help with that. That part of the conversation should be (that) you came here for a reason that was bigger than football.”
Braun will have to hit the ground running to get his team together. Brought into the Big Ten program in January, Braun was the defensive coordinator at North Dakota State. Considered a bright, rising name in the coaching ranks, Braun’s first job as a head coach comes right now as he looks to stabilize a program in crisis.
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Perry says that not only will Braun have to navigate these unusual circumstances, but he also will need to find leadership within the program that isn’t tainted by the hazing scandal.
“And I think that the leadership on that team needs to be examined because the guy who’s trying to the guy who’s trying to lead the team as – the player who’s trying to lead the team through this can’t be the same player that was over there doing the car wash in the shower, right? Like they can’t do be the same guy. There’s no way that can happen,” Perry said.
“Or else you fired your head coach, and then all of a sudden, you still got the same guy in the locker room who was the ringleader? That doesn’t make very much sense to me. And so I think there’s a lot of honesty that needs to happen. A lot of honest conversation and a lot of looking in the mirror and just face to face and it’s going to – I think it’s going to be a long process.
“I mean, I don’t I don’t have very high expectations for this football team. But I think this season is more than just about football for these guys. I think it’s truly about rebuilding a culture and the community within that team.”
Another former Buckeye on the move in the media world. #GoBucks
We’ve got another former Ohio State player on the move in the media.
If you’ve watched the Big Ten Network or Bally Sports, you’ve no doubt noticed that former Buckeye linebacker Joshua Perry has been a pretty significant part of programming at times. And now, according to a report from Eleven Warriors, Perry will be taking his talents to NBC to help with their first year of broadcasting Big Ten football games as a part of the new media deal.
The report outlines Perry as one of the analysts that will join an already-announced crew of Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, and Kathryn Tappen. The network is still reportedly pursuing others to fill out its studio and game day experience, but it all seems to be rounding into form nicely.
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For Perry, his rise in the media has been a fast one, and for good reason. The former Ohio State linebacker clearly knows the game and is well-spoken and poised in front of the camera.
Jul 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry poses for a picture during 2015 Big Ten Football Media Days at Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago. Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Now we’ll get to have a little scarlet and gray flavor when we begin to watch Big Ten and OSU games with NBC for the first time.
Kickoff between the Vols and Gamecocks is slated for 7 p.m. EST at Williams-Brice Stadium. ESPN will televise the SEC East matchup.
Tennessee’s 2022 regular-season schedule features home games against Ball State (W, 59-10), Akron (W, 63-6), Florida (W, 38-33), Alabama (W, 52-49), UT Martin (W, 65-24), Kentucky (W, 44-6) and Missouri (W, 66-24).
The Vols’ 2022 schedule features road contests at Pittsburgh (W, 34-27 OT) in the second edition of the Johnny Majors Classic, LSU (W, 40-13), Georgia (L, 27-13), South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Ahead of Week 12 games, former Ohio State player Joshua Perry announced his top six college football teams on Big Ten Network’s “B1G Today.” Perry’s top six teams are listed below.
Joshua Perry has an interesting take on Urban Meyer’s drive and why Ohio State was able to beat Alabama and take home a national title in 2014.
The Ohio State football program will always be the answer to a trivia question many other teams would like to have been a part of. Whenever anyone asks who won the first-ever College Football Playoff championship game, the answer is your Ohio State Buckeyes.
But remember, OSU almost didn’t make it there. After an early loss to Virginia Tech, the Buckeyes were written off. However, Ohio State just continued to get better and better and ended up squeaking its way into the CFP and winning the whole thing.
Former Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry discussed that season and the so-called “Chase” the team tagged on their quest to beat Alabama on the most recent Glory Days: Dreams and Nightmares podcast. As a Buckeye fan, you know most likely know the podcast well, but Perry and fellow teammate, former receiver Evan Spencer detail the 2014 season when OSU made that highly improbable and unlikely run to the national title.
As a part of Wednesday’s segment, Perry talked about the reason Ohio State was able to beat Alabama, and it had everything to do with former Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer’s obsession to detail. We have of course heard stories about how intense and driven Meyer was, but Perry opened up about a little-known fact of why he believes OSU was able to not only make it into the playoff but to chase down the Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl.
“He became obsessed with the hand placement,” said Perry of Meyer. “He came back, and he said, ‘I was down there on the field watching them in pregame, and I watched their D-line warm up, and those guys, they strike better than anybody and their hands are quicker and their hands are always inside. They got perfect technique, and their thumbs are up and their elbows are in.’ And he said, ‘We don’t have a guy who can strike like that.’”
“We came out in that offseason, and before we could do contact and really put our hands on each other, we had two-by-fours that were taped together to practice the hand position,” Perry said. “Just the inside hands, like your hands were on the outside of the two-by-fours. That’s how tight your hands are supposed to be. Elbows in. And then we start doing that every day in practice with our pads on. (Meyer) would go down the line, and he would basically watch all the skill-position guys strike one another, and it was like a competition to see who could get their hands inside and who could re-set their hands.
“And then coach Anthony Schlegel developed an actual apparatus that you can attach to a weight rack in the weight room to practice what we called ‘The Difference.’ It was such a point of obsession that (Meyer) named it ‘The Difference.’ The difference between Alabama and Ohio State was how the (expletive) we struck each other, how our hands worked.
“That was the obsession, but that’s why Urban’s an elite coach is he’ll take something that nobody would really think of that would be the difference between a national title contender and the actual champion is just the hand placement and being obsessed about it.”
You can watch this short segment on your own via the Glory Days: Dreams and Nightmares YouTube channel.
This is some of the inside information you get from Perry and Spencer during an inside look to that season and we’re all for it. If you haven’t check out the podcast for yourself, we highly encourage you to do so.
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Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.
Mark your calendars for insights from Joshua Perry and Evan Spencer as they recount the 2014 championship season.
It doesn’t seem like that long ago that Ohio State won the inaugural College Football Playoff and a 2014 national championship. But can you believe that it’s been seven years now? It was an absolutely magical run and a roller coaster of a season. And now Ohio State fans can relive the improbable season through the eyes of two former players.
Joshua Perry and Evan Spencer have teamed up to give us the Glory Days Podcast where they will take us through the incredible 2014 season. From losing Heisman favorite Braxton Miller in the pre-season to J.T. Barrett’s injury against Michigan to Ezekiel Elliott running wild in a three-game stretch to lead OSU to the championship, Perry and Spencer give fans behind the scenes insight into how it all played out.
Watch the preview clip via Glory Days Podcast to get a taste of what’s to come.
Coming Soon: GLORY DAYS: DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES, a podcast recounting OSU FB's 2014 College Football Playoff victory.
Former Buckeye standouts @RIP_JEP & @E_Spencer6 bring you inside an extraordinary year, kicking off August 25 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify & Google Podcasts. pic.twitter.com/PtVxojIp50
If the full version is anything close to the trailer, Ohio State fans are in for a treat. If you’ve ever wondered what happens in the locker room, on the practice field, or on the sidelines of game day, this podcast is going to leave you begging for more.
Glory Days premiers on Wednesday, August 25, and will be available on your app store of choice or wherever podcasts are available.
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Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.
Ahead of the upcoming Big Ten football season, former Ohio State outside linebacker and current Big Ten Network analyst Joshua Perry has been releasing his top 30 Big Ten players.
On Wednesday morning, Perry named senior Wisconsin linebacker Jack Sanborn as the No. 17 overall player in the Big Ten. The Deer Park, Illinois, native is ranked one spot ahead of Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan. Perry cited Sanborn’s intensity and football intelligence as reasons for the Badger linebacker’s ranking.
Joshua Perry is not the only person who is impressed by Jack Sanborn, as he has already been named to several award watch lists including the Butkus and Bednarik awards.
A profile of Ohio State linebacker Justin Hilliard entering the 2020 college football season.
Name: Shaun Wade
Number: 47
Position: LB
Class: Senior
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 231 lbs
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
High School: St. Xavier
2019-2020 Stats:
GP
Solo Tackles
Ast Tackles
TFL
Sacks
Int
10
7
6
3.0
0.0
1
Overview
Hilliard is hoping to be the next in a long line of Ohio State great linebackers. No Buckeyes might have made BTN’s list of top linebackers of the decade, but the list of great Ohio State linebackers is long. And while players like Malik Harrison, Darron Lee, Joshua Perry, or Ryan Shazier might not have been top of the conference in the decade, they certainly were elite linebackers.
Ohio State has a solid linebacking corps this year, with some definite NFL talent in the max. Struggles at linebacker were the Ohio State’s achilles heel during some of their worst losses the last few years of the Urban Meyer era, but that seems to be well behind the Buckeyes as we move further along with Ryan Day. Between Tuf Borland, Baron Browning, and Hilliard, expect some serious production from this group. And don’t be surprised when two or three Buckeye linebackers find their way into the NFL the following year.
Highlights
There aren’t many highlight videos of Hilliard on YouTube, but don’t miss his great interception from last year.
Former Ohio State linebacker and current BTN analyst Joshua Perry discusses formation of the Big Ten Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition.
If ever you wondered how active the Ohio State community is in change across the globe, the latest COVID-19 pandemic efforts, as well as the support of the George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter movement should tell you all you need to know.
To a myriad of former and current players speaking on the pandemic, to former Ohio State football players coming together to support the George Floyd protests, to many other instances, Buckeye Nation is one that’s looking to move things forward in a positive direction.
Take former Buckeye linebacker Joshua Perry for instance. The BTN personality recently took time to react to the current state of affairs with race and sports, and the formation of the Big Ten Anti-Hate and Anti-Race Coaltion. The Big Ten Network shared some of his comments to its Twitter profile below and it’s well worth watching and acknowledging. If you’d rather read his comments, we have them transcribed on the following page as well.
But first, the video that has a link to the entire conversation.
"The Big Ten is very diverse…You get all kinds of people from different walks of life."
Three valued members of the BTN family – @RIP_JEP, @ColeyHarvey and @TOWN1212 – held a powerful discussion on race, sports and current events.
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