CHICAGO -- Another edition of Big Ten media days is in the books. There was lots of talking and tweeting and posing for pictures.
To put a bow on the festivities, we present some awards for the two days in Chicago.
Best kerfuffle: The Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, like the Big Ten offseason, offered a protective bubble for news, and little was broken. That's why the minor controversy involving Penn State coach James Franklin's accusations of negative recruiting -- and Ohio State's Urban Meyer and Michigan State's Mark Dantonio being asked if they had done it -- erupted into a brush fire. Meyer later said he talked to Franklin and it was a nonissue, but it created a few tense moments, and it gave people something to talk about for a few hours.
Best promise kept: Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh signed a fan’s biceps on Monday but didn’t like how it looked, so he told the fan to come back on Tuesday, and he would try again. The fan was there on Day 2, and Harbaugh kept his promise by putting another John Hancock on his arm.
Best “My bad:” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald used part of his opening remarks Monday morning to welcome Chris Ash (Rutgers), D.J. Durkin (Maryland) and Tracy Claeys (Minnesota) to “the Big Ten head coaches fraternity.” But he forgot to mention Lovie Smith, who took over the Wildcats’ chief rival, Illinois, in March. Fitzgerald later corrected the omission.
Hey @LovieSmith sorry I "fumbled" the presser- WELCOME TO THE @bigten my friend!! #B1GMediaDay
— Pat Fitzgerald (@coachfitz51) July 25, 2016
Best repeat performer: Minnesota senior quarterback Mitch Leidner might have set some sort of record in attending his third straight media days. He was a welcome guest because of great attitude and thoughtfulness. Leidner volunteered some rather grisly photos of his surgically repaired foot to illustrate what he went through in the offseason. Although he'll be out of eligibility next summer, no one would mind if Leidner wanted to make a fourth straight media days appearance in 2017.
Best Hoosier State boast, Part I: Purdue’s Darrell Hazell has won only six games in three seasons, but that didn’t keep him from talking confidently about the upcoming season. “I think you're going to like what steps off the train this year,” Hazell said. The Boilermakers boss also said the three players he brought to Chicago -- Jake Replogle, DeAngelo Yancey and Ja'Whaun Bentley -- “won’t just be three of the best players in the Big Ten but three of the best in the country.”
Best Hoosier State boast, Part II: Indiana coach Kevin Wilson noted that his team led the Big Ten in points and yards and allowed the fewest turnovers in 2015. He wants to prepare for more fireworks in 2016. “Make sure you keep the TV on,” Wilson said, “because it's going to be a lot of fun watching the Hoosiers play."
Best dance: Michigan All-American cornerback Jourdan Lewis showed off his "Milly Rock" moves in a photo shoot:
Y'all lucky I had this suit on I couldn't hit it how I wanted to. pic.twitter.com/YWqKRb7AnU
— Jourdan Lewis (@JourdanJD) July 25, 2016
Best quote: Penn State linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White, on dealing with his season-ending knee injury last season: "I didn't want to be a typical guy who got hurt, who sits there in the corner of a dark room with a knee brace on and a glass of scotch next to me and a scruffy beard. I didn't want it to get to that. ... I had to be strong."