Big Ten football players on the best stadiums, worst locker rooms, toughest opponents, and more
by Audrey Snyder and Jesse Temple, The Athletic
INDIANAPOLIS - During last week's Big Ten Media Days, which also marked the first time the conference's four West Coast newcomers made the trek to Lucas Oil Stadium, we surveyed players on their quirkiest name, image and likeness deals, hot-headed coaches, EA Sports College Football 25 and more.

Here's what we learned:

WHAT STADIUM OTHER THAN YOUR OWN DO YOU ENJOY PLAYING IN?
Wisconsin LB Jake Chaney: Purdue, Iowa and Minnesota. Iowa and Minnesota are great rivalry games and then I'll say Purdue fans get a little rowdy.

Northwestern RB Cam Porter: The most chaotic stadium is definitely Nebraska. Last year, I remember, I couldn't even hear my quarterback's cadence, and he was right next to me. I'm like what is going on? But it was a fun game. They've still got good fans, but it was crazy.

Illinois WR Pat Bryant: I've only played there once my freshman year, and I'd say Penn State. White Out game. Coming out of that tunnel, seeing all white and just hearing the fans roar, you can barely hear yourself think.

Rutgers LB Tyreem Powell: Beaver Stadium. I just like the energy, and it's not far from home. They're fired up.

Purdue C Gus Hartwig: I like playing at Iowa. It's just a cool environment. They're right on top of you. It's a pink locker room. The whole environment is cool.

Michigan State DB Dillon Tatum: I really like mine (laughs). But, I can tell you the loudest I've been in. The loudest goes to Washington, Penn State and Ohio State.

Nebraska C Ben Scott: I like the stadiums in L.A., especially this season we'll be going to the Coliseum so it'll be fun to go back there.

Penn State DT Dvon J-Thomas: Jerry's World in Dallas. Freshman year at the Cotton Bowl.....the stadium is ridiculous. The amount of money he puts into that stadium is crazy. The big video board, the confetti falling down.

Indiana OL Mike Katic: Nebraska, 100 percent. The atmosphere, the fans are unbelievable. They're so loud, they love Nebraska, they love their Cornhuskers. The stadium is built up so it's so loud. We played there two years ago at night and after the third quarter, there was a light show like a laser show. It was truly an incredible experience.

Michigan DB Makari Paige: Penn State. That was fun. I like Nebraska as well at night you got a good environment. Iowa is cool too.

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WHAT'S THE MOST UNIQUE NIL OPPORTUNITY YOU'VE HAD?
Chaney: With Park Bank. We did an athlete ‘How do you spend your NIL money?’ I thought it was pretty neat because Chris Borland was there and I got to meet him and it was real nice.

Porter: It might have been like a swimsuit brand. I didn’t end up doing it.
Bryant: We do a lot of community service throughout the program. But I kind of do things on my own. Currently, I’ve got a bookbag giveaway that I’m going to do for the kids in the community of Champaign, like a back-to-school giveaway. So I feel like that will be a pretty big NIL opportunity. I’m not making any money. I’m kind of giving money away. But I feel like that’d be a big opportunity to give to the community.

Powell: I have a podcast with one of my teammates: “Reem and Beam Unplugged.” We’ve been just putting coaches and other teammates on there, just showing a different personality. It’s fun, though. You should check it out.

Hartwig: I did a McDonald’s ad. I did a couple with them, just kind of promoting the Big Mac and the McRib, which was cool. It was the local McDonald’s in Lafayette. The guy who manages their advertising was like, ‘Will you post this on Instagram?’ I was like, ‘All right, yeah.’

Scott: Back home (in Hawaii) my dad has a buddy that’s in the sushi business. It’s called Mitch’s Sushi Bar and restaurant. He hooks me up with some sushi every now and then and when I used to go back home we used to go eat over there. It’s real good quality sushi. He actually made a platter called the Ben Scott platter and that had a bunch of cool stuff on it. … We had a lot of sashimi, a lot of nigiri, a lot of fresh fish because it’s high quality. It’s really good.

Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel: The best opportunities come with ways to include teammates. I’m a big believer life isn’t meant to be done alone. … Whether it’s the Dime Time retreat that we do or the O-line little excursion we call it. With the Dime Time retreat we got all the skills, quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, tight ends, got them down to Grants Pass, Oregon, had a little throwing session, got them blinged out, got like a whole outfit for them. We had lunch. … Had a lot of fun with that, enjoyed the pool. Went home, got ready, did a little jet boat and that jet boat leads to a dinner. The dinner was super cool. Just having that time together and doing things with NIL allows the possibility for you to do that. Then, with the O-line, we were able to get pedicures in the afternoon, get the feet right, had a little dinner at Yummy Crab, so not necessarily a crawfish boil, but a seafood boil to enjoy and then went to watch a movie afterward.

Minnesota RB Darius Taylor: The coolest one is the DT1 pizza with Slice Brother’s. It’s a pepperoni, bacon, hot honey pizza and then I get a proceed from each slice that’s sold. It’s really cool because it’s a small business in Minneapolis, it’s a Black-owned business which is something I’m really fond of. I think it’s really cool for those small businesses to grow and to help out the community. The owners do a lot of work in the community, a lot of philanthropy.

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WHICH TEAM OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY WITH IN THE NEW EA SPORTS COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME AND WHY?
Chaney: West Point because they run the triple-option.

Porter: I’m an Ohio kid. So I grew up on Ohio State, watching them. I’m not as big of a fan now that I’m playing them. But I would probably play with them if I had to.

Bryant: Alabama. I was literally just playing back there. I was playing against Northwestern. But I’d definitely play with powerhouse Alabama. They’ve got a perfect O-line, perfect D-line. That’s all you need. You got a good O-line, good D-line, you’re going to be straight.

Powell: Probably Colorado. Check out Shedeur (Sanders) and Travis Hunter.

Hartwig: It'd probably be, just because I know guys at the school, UCLA or Maryland. And then maybe Ball State because that's where my dad played.

Scott: When I'm on the game it's kind of weird if I'm not playing with Nebraska.

J-Thomas: I'm not gonna lie, Milroe, Alabama's QB, he's ridiculous on that game. Oklahoma State's running back (Ollie Gordon III) he is crazy on that game! You line him up in the slot and give him a go-route with 1-on-1 coverage........it's a touchdown every single time.

Katic: I don't even have a console!......A lot of my friends will send me pictures of them playing with me. It's pretty surreal.

Taylor: I kind of play with everybody. I play with teams like North Texas, I'll play with Florida Atlantic, I'll play with Iowa sometimes. I got cousins on the Iowa team so I'll go play with them. I just change it up. There's no rhyme or reason to who I play with so I just kind of play around. Different schemes are going on on different offenses so it's cool.

Maryland WR Tai Felton: After a workout, I go on my PlayStation and you see the whole Maryland Terps’ roster on EA Sports playing the game! … It’s hard not to play with any other team but Maryland. … But, growing up, my dad’s from Georgia so I’d say Georgia is another one.

Michigan TE Max Bredeson: I play with Army. I love running the Flexbone. It’s very fun!

Ohio Stte WR Emeka Egbuka: I’m constantly texting my teammates when they don’t make a play and letting them know if you do it one more time, I’m subbing you out! It’s an amazing game to play.

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WHICH OF YOUR TEAM'S COACHES IS MOST LIKELY TO GET A 15-YARD PENALTY FOR ARGUING A CALL?
Chaney: Probably Coach (Phil) Longo. I feel like if he gets pushed over the edge, he’ll have a fuse.

Porter: I would either go with Coach (Tim) McGargle or my running back coach, Coach (Chris) Foster. He gets fired up on game day. He’s a whole different person on gameday.

Bryant: Coach B (Bret Bielema). Either Coach B or Coach Bart Miller, the O-line coach. There’s a couple of times in-game where Coach B had to tell him like, what are you looking at? That’s the right call. But he’ll get on the field and really be like, ‘What was that?’

Powell: Coach (Greg) Schiano, he’s too experienced. So Coach is not going to get a 15-yarder. (Linebackers) Coach (Joe) Harasymiak keeps his cool. I don’t think any of us.

Hartwig: I would say Coach (Graham) Harrell, but he’s up in the box now.

Tatum: Probably one of my (position) coaches. (Cornerbacks) Coach Demetrice (Martin) or (Secondary) Coach Blue (Adams). Those two have a lot to say. They’re great coaches. I don’t know if they’re gonna talk trash to the ref or not, but they definitely have a mouth on them if they have to.

J-Thomas: Honestly, probably (James) Franklin! That (man) is very passionate. Don’t get it fooled, he tries to keep his composure, but he’s very passionate. Him or (laughing) maybe Coach Dex (Anthony Poindexter). Coach Dex, once he gets going he gets going.

Taylor: (Laughs) Coach (P.J.) Fleck. Coach Fleck is the only coach who really yells on the sideline. He tells everybody let me get the penalty! He’s the one to yell. … Coach (Dan) Nichol, our strength coach, is the get-back guy, but once Coach Fleck gets going it’s just him.

Felton: Hmmmmm. Coach Locks! Coach Locks says he’s the only person who can talk to the ref so it’s gotta be Coach Locks. … Coach Ryan Davis, our strength and conditioning coach, makes sure (Mike Locksley) is in check when he’s out there.

Iowa LB Jay Higgins: It’d probably be Coach (Phil) Parker. Coach (Kirk) Ferentz and Coach Parker, those two, I mean the situations, the games, the number of plays they’ve been coaching together so they obviously know how to work well with each other. Yeah, it’d probably be Coach Parker — if somebody doesn’t keep him off the field, but I feel like we do a pretty good job. The guys are so passionate. That’s why he can get a defense to play so hard. That’s why he can get a player to run through a brick wall for him because sometimes it feels like he wants it more than I do and I’m like I’m not gonna let my coach do that. He loves the game and that’s what we love about him.

UCLA QB Ethan Garbers: You know, since we have a lot of new coaches on the offensive staff I haven’t been able to see them in games. So honestly, I don’t even know — not yet. After the season maybe I’ll have an answer for you, but not right now.

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BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYER IN THE BIG TEN NOT ON YOUR TEAM?
Chaney: That’s a good question now that it’s expanded. A lot of people talk about Dillon Gabriel. I heard he’s pretty good. But I’ll say a player I respect, the running back from Rutgers (Kyle Monangai). He plays the game the right way. I respect it.

Porter: I’m going to stay on the running back side. I like the Penn State boys. I like Kyle Monangai. He’s a good back. I like the young kid out of Minnesota, too, Darius Taylor. So I stay on top of all of them. Emeka (Egbuka), he’s a solid player, too. But if I’m talking running backs, those are kind of the guys that I like to watch and just see what they’ve got going on.

Bryant: I’ve got to give it to the running back at Michigan. Donovan Edwards. He’s on the cover of the game. He runs that ball. He reminds me of (Isiah) Pacheco from the Chiefs.

Powell: Not on my team? Because I definitely was about to say Kyle is my guy. I don’t know. Kyle Monangai.

Hartwig: I haven’t really followed that too closely. I’m sure there’s a bunch of them.

Taylor: In high school, I was watching Donovan Edwards. I was an actual fan of Donovan Edwards. I think he was maybe a senior when I was a sophomore. Knowing he was one of the best running backs in the nation it was cool to watch him. We’ve grown a little relationship over the years and seen each other here and there. It’s been cool to talk to him while I’ve been here. … I’ve tried my best to follow in his footsteps.

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BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER IN THE BIG TEN NOT ON YOUR TEAM?
Chaney: Jay Higgins from Iowa. He’s a real good player.

Porter: Jay Higgins is a dog. Jay Higgins is a ballplayer. He’s actually best friends with my cousin. They’re both from Indianapolis. He’s a player. I saw him at Iowa flying around when we played him. I like him a lot.

Bryant: I’ll give it to Markevious (Brown) at Purdue.

Powell: I like Jay Higgins. Linebacker.

Hartwig: Let me go with the linebacker from Iowa. Higgins. He’s a pretty good player.

Washington LB Carson Bruener: I really don’t have much notion of who the players in the Big Ten are. I was really focused on the Pac-12 when I was in it and obviously, it’s gonna take some time to learn. Of course, I’ve watched Iowa’s defense a little bit, I knew how dominant they were at the linebacker position especially and the achievements that they’ve been recognized with, the stats that they’ve had. … I’m excited to meet some of the players and kind of get to know them.

Higgins: I think (teammate) Sebastian (Castro) is so good I don’t look at anybody else. But, I’m sure there are good linebackers all over. I’m sure Penn State’s got a good group up there. I’m sure Ohio State’s reloading after losing (Tommy) Eichenberg. Kind of like me, I know there’s a guy working underground, probably not getting much media coverage, probably didn’t play last year and he’s about to go have a good year. I’m the biggest supporter of the underdogs right now.

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TOUGHEST PLAYER NOT ON YOUR TEAM TO TACKLE?
Chaney: The quarterback from Illinois, Luke Altmyer. You look at the guy and you don’t think he can run. He knows how to run the ball.

Porter: They say this Quinshon Judkins, he breaks a lot of tackles. I watched him at Ole Miss, so he’s a dude that runs through contact well. He has good pad level, good balance. So I’ll probably give it to him.

Bryant: Probably Josh McCray. Meatball. We call him Meatball.

Powell: Kyle Monangai just runs hard. Every play, you’re going to have to hit him. He’s already a little bit shorter, so you’re going to have to lower down a little bit and he already brings the boom. But there are a lot of tough people to tackle in that league. That’s what that league is about.

Tatum: Probably Nick Singleton. I’ve seen him break a lot of tackles against other players. He’s a big dude. We actually went on a couple visits together when I was still a running back. He was quiet on the visits. Doesn’t talk much. We were at a visit together to a school down the road, Michigan, and sitting there with him I’m like this dude looks pretty good. Good size and he can run.

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WHAT OTHER BIG TEN COACH WOULD YOU PLAY FOR? MAYBE THEY RECRUITED YOU AND YOU LIKED THEM?
Chaney: I’d probably play for (Bret) Bielema. Aaron Henry is from where I’m from. He’s a Wisconsin guy, too, and I have some teammates who play there.

Porter: I like coach Greg Schiano. He’s a good man that’s building a great program. I have a lot of respect for him and what he’s done.

Bryant: Probably Wisconsin. I’d probably play for Luke (Fickell). I just like how he runs that program. And I’ve got a couple homies over there that like him as well, (Quincy) Burroughs, wide receiver.

Powell: None. Coach GS (Greg Schiano).

Hartwig: I think Iowa would be cool. Coach (Kirk) Ferentz, he’s just been so experienced and they’ve had so many O-linemen get picked, I think that would be a cool one. I know their O-line coach a little bit. He recruited me at a different school, but I know him.

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TEAM OUTSIDE THE BIG TEN YOU'D MOST LIKE TO PLAY?
Chaney: Probably Army again. The triple-option.

Porter: Probably the University of Cincinnati. I’m from Cincinnati, so I grew up going to their games. I’ve got a lot of boys on the team, so it’d be cool to be able to play against them and feel like little league a little bit, playing against some of the guys I grew up with.

Bryant: Colorado. I’m trying to see what the hype is about, man. I’ve got to see it live.

Powell: Colorado. They bring that star, fans and stuff like that. So probably Colorado, Coach (Deion) Sanders.

Hartwig: I think it would probably be one of the Georgia, Alabama, one of the SEC schools. Maybe like a Clemson. Whoever is the best team, that perennial SEC team or something like that to see how you compare against them. Notre Dame, too, but we play them this year.

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STADIUM WITH THE BEST AND WORST LOCKER ROOMS?
Chaney: Northwestern has the worst. And the best is probably Iowa because it’s spacious. I know they have the pink stuff, but it’s not that bad.

Porter: I might say Iowa just because of all of the pink stuff. It’s bad. You walk in there all hyped up and then you’ve got to put your stuff in a little pink locker room. And they give you pink everything. Pink towels, pink everything. It’s kind of funny, but I would probably say that’s the worst. The best visiting locker room, Nebraska’s is actually really nice. I like Nebraska’s a lot. They’ve got nice wooden lockers that you can sit in and stuff.

Bryant: Who is that with the pink locker room? Iowa. I don’t get the thought behind it at all. I hate it. Bad. And it’s hot. They turn off the AC when we play there. So we’re hot pink. That’s what we call it. The hot pink locker room. Best? I’d have to give it to Minnesota. Minnesota, all their stuff is underground. The Vikings played there while their stadium was getting built.

Powell: Maryland was one of them that was super tight. Michigan State. Those are probably the two. Penn State has a nice one. Iowa has a nice one as well. Minnesota, too. I don’t think any are better than our locker room.

Hartwig: The worst I’ve been to is Maryland. It’s just so small. The training room was like a tent outside. That one was tough. The best one I went to was when we played at Notre Dame. That one was actually really nice. And then we played at Wrigley. We were the away team and we were in the Cubs locker room, so it was a cool setup there.

Katic: The worst? Purdue. Everything. Man. They’re short on everything. You name it, they’re short on it. I won’t get into it because I’m sure ours isn’t great either (laughs).

Felton: Worst? Rutgers was definitely really tight. We went up there this past season. Michigan State was pretty tight too.

Paige: Iowa (was the worst). It’s pink all around! That was crazy.