NEWS AND NOTES FROM PAT FITZGERALD'S PRESSER AT THE B1G FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

Mr. Intensity Pat Fitzgerald took the podium at the Big Ten media days and proceeded to intimidate every member of the media.  Maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but here are the highlights of his presser:

ON WORKING WITH INJURED PLAYERS:

“If we think a little rest might be good in the spring we’ll shut them down. Especially some of the older veterans.”

ON DAN PERSA:

“I wanted him to understand to be patient, and deal with the roller coaster you’ll go through.”

"“He’s in a different place mentally than last year, but also in a little bit different place physically.”

ON HIS OFFENSIVE LINE:

“If you ask any coach in the country what it takes to be successful all of them would tell you it’s the trenches.”

"You need to have two fists in the fight, I like to say”

ON NATIONAL EXPOSURE:

“The Big Ten network, we’ve benefited the most from that.”

“That kind of prime time exposure is really important to our program.”

ON A TOUGH NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:

“It will be critically important that we start fast.”

ON CLEANING UP COLLEGE FOOTBALL:

“You have to be held accountable for your actions and your attitudes.”

“When you make poor choices that impact above that teaching and coaching then we have to be held accountable for them.”

RESPONDING TO A COMMENT BY A MEDIA MEMBER THAT FITZGERALD WAS AN ELITE COLLEGE PLAYER:

“I wouldn’t put myself in an ‘elite player' category but thanks.”

ON HIS LINEBACKERS:

“We have a no-name linebacker corps.”

“At the end of the day you have to go out and prove some things before I can bring up their names in a room like this.”

ON THE PROBLEMS AT OHIO STATE:

“Just as a college football fan, you want to see young men come into our programs that are going to make great choices.”

“If the choices aren’t great at the player, coaching, or administration level it’s disappointing”