Pac-12 Media Days 2016: Best Quotes and Reaction from Day 1
The Pac-12 Conference is the second league to hold its college football media days, beginning the first of its two sessions on Thursday in California just as the SEC ended its four-day marathon on the other side of the country. And the contrast between the events is staggering.
While the SEC has a rigid, regimented process held entirely within a series of hotel ballrooms in Alabama, the Pac-12 takes over a section of an outdoor mall in Hollywood. This laid-back atmosphere allows for more casual conversation as well as the chance for coaches and players to goof around—and show off their bottle-flipping skills—on a miniature football field set up in a mall concourse.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Oh yeah, and team-specific ice cream flavors:
But while college football fans might be anxious for the 2016 season to begin, that same sentiment isn't necessarily echoed by the coaches:
The Pac-12 will be the first of the five power conferences to get underway this year, as California takes on Hawaii in Sydney on Aug. 26. The logistics of playing a game in a foreign country have proved to be very taxing for Cal coach Sonny Dykes, who told reporters it's been difficult trying to secure passports for as many as 120 players.
A week later, the league will be in the spotlight thanks to a series of high-profile games, most notably USC taking on defending national champion Alabama in Arlington, Texas.
The Pac-12 is coming off a banner year in terms of bowl participants, sending 10 of 12 teams to postseason games. However, none of those invites were to the playoffs, as the league was the odd man out from last year's four-team College Football Playoff.
Speaking to reporters to open media days, via the Pac-12 Network broadcast, commissioner Larry Scott praised his league's dedication to tough nonconference scheduling and believes his teams will get “the benefit of the doubt” when the playoff committee compares teams with similar records this fall.
Quarterback concerns
Six of the league's 12 teams return their starting quarterbacks from 2015, including big names such as UCLA's Josh Rosen and Washington State's Luke Falk. The other half of the league will have decisions to make before the season starts, and the competition between now and then figures to be fierce.
USC coach Clay Helton said he plans to choose between junior Max Browne and redshirt freshman Sam Darnold "two weeks before the season opener against Alabama," per the Orange County Register's Joey Kaufman. Either guy will have big shoes to fill, as Cody Kessler was the Trojans' starter for three years.
Another three-year starter who must be replaced is Cal's Jared Goff, who went on to become the No. 1 pick in April's NFL draft. The Golden Bears landed one of the biggest targets from the graduate transfer market this offseason in former Texas Tech passer Davis Webb, who originally committed to Colorado before signing with Cal.
Dykes said on the Pac-12 Network broadcast that the competition remains open among Webb, redshirt sophomore Chase Forrest and redshirt freshman Ross Bowers, and any of the three would make for a fine starter.
"We're excited about the level of quarterbacks we have, the depth that we have, but Davis is a little bit different right now," Dykes said.
Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez has a multiyear starter to work with in junior Anu Solomon, but he feels he has "two returning starters" (per Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star) in Solomon and sophomore Brandon Dawkins, and the pair will split reps in training camp. There's also true freshman Khalil Tate, who Rodriguez said "can throw it 80 yards but I don't have a player on the roster that requires an 80-yard throw" (per Zack Rosenblatt of the Arizona Daily Star).
Mike Leach at the mic
It's appointment viewing, or listening, any time the Washington State coach gets in front of a microphone. The many topics Mike Leach discussed at last year's Pac-12 media days included dating tips—bring a two-for-one coupon, maybe go sturgeon fishing—and thoughts on Batman and underwater treadmills. There was also a story, relayed by Arizona's Rodriguez, about a time Leach wore a Speedo at a Nike event.
What did Leach have in store this time around? Here are a few of his thoughts (with video context, when necessary).
His opening remarks (h/t Shotgun Spratling of Scout.com): "Alright, any questions?"
On the Heisman Trophy (h/t Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times): "I'm in favor of it."
On the media's fascination with milestones:
On the recently retired Steve Spurrier (on the Pac-12 Network broadcast): "The guy's always on the move. I think we're kind of both examples of you need to figure out, to develop the ability to do nothing periodically. I need to work on it, maybe I'll call him and we can work on it together."
On the lack of communication between people due to the prevalence of technology (h/t Greg Beachem of the Associated Press): "I think the days before cell phones, when it was dirt clod wars at construction sites, was more wholesome, to be honest."
On PokemonGo:
(Projected) leader of the pack
Stanford has won three of the last four Pac-12 titles despite not being picked to do so in any of those seasons. In fact, the Cardinal had never been chosen by the conference's media as the preseason favorite ...until now.
| Stanford (24) | 186 | UCLA (19) | 180 |
| Washington (8) | 163 | USC (12) | 173 |
| Oregon (1) | 132 | Utah (2) | 127 |
| Washington State | 112 | Arizona | 87 |
| California | 67 | Arizona State | 85 |
| Oregon State | 33 | Colorado | 63 |
The Cardinal were the choice on 20 of 33 media ballots despite losing 11 starters, including three-year starting quarterback Kevin Hogan. Having FBS all-purpose yardage record holder and Heisman runner-up Christian McCaffrey back at running back helps, however.
Stanford was also the overwhelming choice to win the Pac-12 North Division, while UCLA narrowly edged rival defending South champ USC for the media pick on that side. But these are just predictions, and recently they've been way off. The Pac-12 media has correctly picked the league champ 29 times in 55 years but only twice in the last nine.
All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports, unless otherwise noted. All statistics provided by CFBStats, unless otherwise noted.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
