CHICAGO -- This is commissioner Jim Delany's last Big Ten Media Days. He says there will be no Big Ten injury report this year. He was frustrated that Ohio State finished #6 in the polls last year. Delany says he doesn't think the conference's nine-game schedule hurts teams in getting to the playoff and says the Big Ten has won the most New Year's Six games.

BTN president Francois McGillicuddy announces that BTN content will now be streamed via the Fox Sports app and that BTN2Go will no longer exist.

Lovie Smith was very positive in his statements and was adamant that this season would be his best yet. They started 15 freshman two years ago and that group are now juniors. When asked about the transfer rules, he said they were fine but that more transparency would be nice.

Nebraska's flight got diverted so they showed up late. Scott Frost was supposed to open but was second because Nebraska showed up late. Frost takes a little bit of a shot at the seniors saying that normally he would bring seniors to Media Days but that there won't be a lot of seniors playing on offense and that the players he brought are poster childs for the program. Frost said there are still some depth issues and that they'll need to stay healthy this year. Losing starters at center and left guard hurt, and Nebraska will need young players to step up. Frost said this year's team is better than last.

Michigan State returns 20 starters. Mark Dantonio says that he hasn't heard about potential realignment of divisions but that change is inevitable. Dantonio said he's been impressed with Ryan Day and that he's smart and charismatic. Brian Lewerke is currently the team's starting quarterback but Ryan Lombardi will compete for the starting job, as well. MSU restructured their offensive staff to put them back at their positions of expertise that they've coached the most. Raekwon McMillan's goal is to be the mayor of Chicago someday. He decided to return to school rather than leave for the Draft.

Indiana will open a new multi-million dollar facilities for football in the next few weeks. Tom Allen says Indiana's one word for the 2019 season is "grit," which he defines as perseverance and passion for a long-term goal. Last season, he says they struggled with depth. The recruiting class they just signed was the highest-ever in IU history. There's competition for the starting QB position which includes returning starter Peyton Ramsey, Utah transfer Jack Tuttle, and Michael Penix Jr. Allen acknowledges that two-quarterback systems can work but he plans to pick just one to play. IU made a change at offensive coordinator. It will be completely different, with new OC Mike DeBord implementing his new system and terminology entirely. DeBord most recently coached in the AAF and previously coached at Tennessee, Michigan, and in the NFL. Allen is giving up defensive playcalling duties and focusing on becoming a new head coach. He's reading more books and striving to be a better leader and is focusing less on out-scheming teams defensively. Allen says IU isn't where they need to be yet, but that they're "following the process" in a systematic, deliberate way.

PJ Fleck thanks Jim Delany and says he knows Kevin Warren very well. He congratulates Joan Gables and thanks Eric Kaler. Says "we're just young" and are maybe the second-youngest team in the country now. Fleck praises the U's three player representatives: Casey O'Brien, Mo Ibrhaim, Carter Coughlin, and Tyler Johnson. Says Illinois and the Chicagoland area are huge for Gopher recruiting. Says "with all due respect, the (Big Ten) West has gotten a lot better." Emphasizes that there are zero easy games in the Big Ten. Says "we're going to be better today than we were yesterday" and that he's "a broken record saying that but that's okay." Fleck says the biggest thing he looks for when hiring a coach is if they're an elite teacher. He wants coaches that make the gap of the learning curve much smaller for players and that Joe Rossi does that. Getting the Axe back was probably healthy for the rivalry. Breaking a 14-year drought gives hope. When fans see firsts, they stop saying things like "we'll never do this." Says Minnesota is showing change in all four academically, athletically, and socially.

Mike Locksley says that anyone who knows him know that when he started coaching, the Maryland job is the one he coveted. He grew up rooting for Maryland. Locksley thanks Delany for keeping academic excellence at the forefront and keeping the Big Ten at the top of college athletics. Locksley said he was going to be short and concise but his opening statement is the longest yet. Didn't get quite as much time to focus on Locksley's time at the mic with him following Fleck.

Ohio State has "a lot to prove," Ryan Day says. The offense loses 7-8 starters and has a new QB under center and the defense is "salty with a lot to prove." OSU says with their new defense, they'll be more flexible with their personnel groupings. Day says that he's not Urban Meyer and not trying to be him. He's genuinely himself and part of that is tough love.

Some pictures and tweets from before the press conferences began:

A group of reporters caught PJ Fleck in the hallway after his time at the podium. Fleck spoke to them about realignment, the transfer portal, and BTN money.

On the transfer portal: "I'm not sure I'm qualified to fix the transfer portal. I do know it's healthy for college football... We still don't want to take away competition for young people. Any sense of adversity or any sense of competition for young people you don't want them to necessarily run from or hide from. Part of that is what being a young student-athlete is all about -- being able to fail and grow, learn from competition, learn from success, so I don't want ever to take away from that. But I do want to trim some fat away from the steak of having some more rules for making it more fit for everybody. I think there are 2500 people in the tranfer portal. Not all those people are going to get scholarships. I think there's some misperception that if I enter there, all these people are going to offer me. That's not true. I think (the transfer portal) is healthy, but there are some guidelines we need to set in on some level to be able to protect the game."

Does the Big Ten need to realign? "I think change is inevitable. We all know that. The Big Ten East and West have been around for a while. I like it. I like the division of it, but I think it will change at some point. I think change is healthy. I'd be for it, or if they keep it the same, I'd be fine with that too."

What changes would you make for the realignment? "I think it's fine the way it is. Where people are, the travel's easy for a lot of people. I think the West is getting a lot better, with all due respect with that comment. I think the coaches in the West are dynamic coaches, and you can see it on the recruiting trail and games that are considered upsets. I don't think those are going to be upsets in the next few years. I like the way the conference is aligned. You start to see this elevation from other coaches in the league. I see it from my perspective, and I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about the coaches I see on a daily basis. We recruited against the Big Ten at Western Michigan and had a lot of success. I don't think there are a lot of schools in the Group of Five that have success recruiting against the Big Ten West. I can see the whole West elevating. Give it a few years and see how it goes."

Have coached talked about it: "I mean it's come up, but not really. It's come up in some meetings in Arizona, but it's really our decision to sit there and make. I think a lot of coaches think the way I do - you have to see how this goes the next few years. The new coaches, give them time to develop those programs and see what it looks like at that point. I know the East has dominated the West in probably the last decade when you look at the actual champions of the Big Ten, but that doesn't mean like the future has to be like that."

Is the elevation of the West tied to the additional resources brought in from BTN? "I think it has something to do with it. When you look at the resources teams have, it gives teams the ability to do more. Resources give the ability to have more people, do more, do it better. Especially when you're talking about the facilities game, talking about the resources you provide your players. I have so many kids that ask me 'what's your cost of attendance (stipend)?' Listen, I don't think any kids should ever make a decision based off cost of attendance, but I'm not also going to sit here and judge a kid for his financial state and where he comes from. But that's a big question for a lot of these kids because a lot of that money goes home. And then you getting to paying these players in somehow some way and that's probably inevitable at some point that they're going to get their naming rights. There's so much ahead that we need to be able to look at fiscally, partly with the Big Ten money. That's the challenge for a lot of athletic directors as you move forward. How do you balance all your teams, and how do you continue to stay at the forefront in a lot of the major sports?"

The first realignment had issues with preserving rivalries. What would your point of view be if you weren't in the same division as Minnesota or Wisconsin? "I think there's a way to be able to have rivalries on both sides and still keep rivalries very healthy somehow someway. Who's saying you can't do that? Who's saying you can't play someone every year? That's what makes college football so great - the rivalries, the trophy games. If there's a will, there's a way. We're already in our nine game conference schedule. I think if they do align it, keep all the rivalries games the way they are."

"Greg Schiano gave me the best advice I ever got in coaching: never sacrifice what you really down the road for what you want right now... You can't skip any steps. Even if that means going backwards and down and going down a backwards, dark plan, that's what you do... Keep the vision and the culture moving daily."

"Dan Nichol, my strength coach, has had numerous opportunities to leave... I remember asking Coach Doyle because I think he's the best in the country, and I'm not afraid to say that. He said I got one guy and you better hire him: Dan Nichol at the University of Maine... Jim Tressel told me the first hire you make is your strength coach and he better be just like you because he's helping set your culture... When your strength coach is your academic liaison... I hope I hold onto him. He's one I hope I don't develop and send away. Everything he does is all for the good of our players and the safety of our players... Every year his pay goes up, and he knows that from me, and it needs to go up."

"Tyler Johnson reminds me of Mohamed Sanu. His body control was impressive. His ball skills were off the charts. That's what Tyler Johnson has. He's a guy who knows he doesn't have it all figured out... Remember, it was Tyler and the boys last year. He and all the freshman. He led them and he's very selfless... His whole game has improved. He's a better blocker... If he doesn't have any catches as Rashod he'll be the first one to celebrate with him... And he's clutch. You're either clutch or you're not and he's clutch."

"The biggest difference between an assistant and a head coach is as a position coach, you're literally coaching. Like that's your job and 95% of what you do. As head coach, 95% of what I do has nothing to do with coaching... I want my coaches to coach, work, and run the room... don't want to micromanage."

"My favorite Joe Rossi story is we're at practice. He threw a ball and he threw his arm out. I just stood there and shook my head. He was on the injury report and needed a sling and he wasn't even a player. Man, the example you're setting."

"Joe Rossi is so genuine and he's such a good dad... (Rossi) and Wenger are in the office at 4:30. He has time for everything."

"Coach Simon's coming up with a baby any minute. Heather keeps up to date on all of that. Every birth, every moment... Assistants can't be around for family moments. For Halloween, everyone's home trick-or-treating with their kids... During my assistant coaching tenure, there were a lot of things I missed. I don't regret a lot of things in life, but those things are some things I regret. I don't think I had my priorities straight. Now everything's about family."

"I don't hire many guys who haven't been fired. I want to see how they respond to adversity... Remember, failing equals growth. To be able to fail and want to come back the right way, that's special."

"I'm not saying I'll never take a transfer QB, but I like the developmental process. I like to do that at every position. It's hard to come in and learn the leadership, failing, succeeding, etc. It's not that it can't be done, it can be. I just like to have that connectivity. The best teams end up in Minneapolis, and we want to be one of the best teams... that plays together, is cohesive."

"I think we're going down a slippery slope if we're poaching people off people's teams. I'm a big believer that if there's a hardship... If it's just going to be a competition thing, we're teaching players the wrong thing that if I don't win the job, I leave... Needs to be done in the right way where it benefits all parties... can't become a free agency."

"I came to New Jersey never having been on the East Coast before. I came there a boy and left there as a man... The media market made me grow up really fast... the expectations and how Greg (Schiano) handed it was inspiring... It gave me an idea of what the media is like no matter what city you're in. Nobody really bothers you when you're a nobody in the NFL.... (Before Rutgers) I was always protected by my job wasn't significant enough or I was at my alma mater."

"When I interview coaches, I always ask what their dream is... I hire very young coaches and a lot of times I give coaches their first opportunity. And when they have success at our program, they leave. And that's okay. I have four running back coaches, four d-line coaches, etc. that I have on a list of people I've met and liked at a conference. Everyone's replaceable, even me."

"It's a very small (coaching) tree right now... former running back coach at Western Michigan is now coaching at Alabama."

"I love the people we have in the organization right now. I love the people - whether it's the administration, coaching staff, players. We're getting, finally, as close to as we've ever been, as a player-led team."

"(With summer official visits), you get to show recruits the great things about Minnesota, what it really is."

"Cam Wiley is the closest thing we've had, physically, to Laurence Maroney. Plus, Trey Potts - he might be the most athletic and dynamic of all six (running backs)."

"We became one of the toughest teams in the Big Ten last year with a very young receiver. We've seen a lot, from enormous failing to a big bowl game championship."

"Austin Beier lost his father in the offseason due to cancer, and we're here for him. He has an opportunity to potentially be in the training camp, although I think he has time. Our program is a life program. It's about fatherhood. Austin's an amazing young man who lost his dad way too soon. We've had people in our program who have gone through similar situations. You get them around him as fast as you can. You can never replace Dad, it will never fully heal, but we're here to help him."

"We're going to need both quarterbacks. We're going to need Jacob Clark. We're going to need Cole Kramer, possibly redshirt them."

"Rashod Bateman is 200. He came in at 170. You're talking about one of the most prolific wide receivers in the country."

"My wife and I went to a concert of John Legend at TCF Bank Stadium even before (MBS) was a recruit. Thank God we like John Legend."

"If I didn't think we'd be able to get recruits here to compete at a championship level -both in the Big Ten and at the national level - than I wouldn't have come here. I wouldn't sell the program the way we do."

What have you learned since starting in Minnesota? "There are no easy games in the Big Ten. Every Saturday is a dogfight... You're in competition every single day. Everyone has facilities. Everyone has something unique to offer... And now with the transfer portal, you're in competition to keep your players. We want Minnesota to be the best experience of their life."

On Tyler Johnson returning to the team rather than leaving for the NFL early: "He looked me in the eye and said 'I want to get my degree.'"

"Change is inevitable, especially in coaching. It's not the most secure profession... with the transfer portal, it's leaked down to the players."

Does the Big Ten feel like a different conference? "I think everybody can see what Scott Frost's doing at Nebraska and can feel that. I hope people can see what we're doing at Minnesota and feel that."

Here is a transcript of PJ Fleck's time at the mic in front of all media. A summary was in the Thursday 1:20 update.

Josh Helmholdt wrote about the Big Ten coaches making their coaching debuts, as well as PJ Fleck using summer official visits to his advantage.

Casey O'Brien delivered an inspiring speech at the luncheon. You can watch the video below:

TGR also transcribed the speech, here.

TGR also has transcripts of Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and BTN president Francois McGillicuddy's time at the mic, here.