I was listening to some audio from Big Ten Media Days today and came up with a few nuggets...
- Fitz is going to give a few people a shot at the kick returner job with Solomon Vault out for the year. He mentioned Jelani Roberts and Flynn Nagel, but also some of the "young skill guys" like Jesse Brown and Jeremy Larkin. Plus, he wants to see if any freshman are ready to play (hello, Kyric McGowan).
- John Moten played all of last year with a "banged up shoulder," according to Fitz. He was impressed by Moten's toughness and his running ability.
- Fitz said he's also been impressed with both Brown and Larkin at running back. As good as they were last year at RB, it sounds like the Cats will be even stronger this year.
- Clayton Thorson called Justin Jackson the best pass-blocking running back in the country. "And you can put my name on that," he added.
- Thorson and Jackson have known each other since "sixth or seventh grade" and played both football and basketball together before going to different schools. Thorson says they Jackson was a much better athlete than him (and still is) and was always dominant in both starts.
- Thorson says that his brother Ben's hands are already bigger than his. (Ben is a 2019 QB.) Clayton thinks that Ben will be at least 6-5. Clayton's two older brothers are both 6-7 (they both played at Wheaton College), so Clayton thinks he's going to be the runt.
- Clayton got invited to the Peyton Manning camp by getting a phone call out of the blue. He didn't pick up, so he read a text of the voice mail that said "Hey Clayton, this is Archie Manning...." how cool is that. It was held in Thibodeaux, La., at Nicholls State, by the way. Clayton's dad, who briefly played for the NY Giants, apparently looks just like Peyton Manning, by the way.
- Fitz didn't want to talk about what title the 10th coach would have next year but said he had a Plan A and Plan B already in place.
- Fitz still doesn't think Jackson gets enough attention. He talked about his development in his first the years. He was great with the ball under his arm as a freshman, they started throwing it to him in the flat as a sophomore, and then last year he was a complete back that did everything. With another average year (for him), JJ should be second all-time in rushing in Big Ten history, between two guys that won Heismans (Ron Dayne and Archie Griffin, who won two).
- It's amazing how much more confident and self-assured Thorson is. He is much more relaxed with the media and just seems so much more comfortable in his own skin. He's a communications major, by the way.
- Fitz is going to give a few people a shot at the kick returner job with Solomon Vault out for the year. He mentioned Jelani Roberts and Flynn Nagel, but also some of the "young skill guys" like Jesse Brown and Jeremy Larkin. Plus, he wants to see if any freshman are ready to play (hello, Kyric McGowan).
- John Moten played all of last year with a "banged up shoulder," according to Fitz. He was impressed by Moten's toughness and his running ability.
- Fitz said he's also been impressed with both Brown and Larkin at running back. As good as they were last year at RB, it sounds like the Cats will be even stronger this year.
- Clayton Thorson called Justin Jackson the best pass-blocking running back in the country. "And you can put my name on that," he added.
- Thorson and Jackson have known each other since "sixth or seventh grade" and played both football and basketball together before going to different schools. Thorson says they Jackson was a much better athlete than him (and still is) and was always dominant in both starts.
- Thorson says that his brother Ben's hands are already bigger than his. (Ben is a 2019 QB.) Clayton thinks that Ben will be at least 6-5. Clayton's two older brothers are both 6-7 (they both played at Wheaton College), so Clayton thinks he's going to be the runt.
- Clayton got invited to the Peyton Manning camp by getting a phone call out of the blue. He didn't pick up, so he read a text of the voice mail that said "Hey Clayton, this is Archie Manning...." how cool is that. It was held in Thibodeaux, La., at Nicholls State, by the way. Clayton's dad, who briefly played for the NY Giants, apparently looks just like Peyton Manning, by the way.
- Fitz didn't want to talk about what title the 10th coach would have next year but said he had a Plan A and Plan B already in place.
- Fitz still doesn't think Jackson gets enough attention. He talked about his development in his first the years. He was great with the ball under his arm as a freshman, they started throwing it to him in the flat as a sophomore, and then last year he was a complete back that did everything. With another average year (for him), JJ should be second all-time in rushing in Big Ten history, between two guys that won Heismans (Ron Dayne and Archie Griffin, who won two).
- It's amazing how much more confident and self-assured Thorson is. He is much more relaxed with the media and just seems so much more comfortable in his own skin. He's a communications major, by the way.
