Beckman Press Conference Transcript | #B1GMediaDay | Photos
Player Interviews: Ferguson | Karras | Monheim
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The Fighting Illini traveled to Chicago to kick off the 2015 season with the annual Big Ten Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon. Illinois was represented by head coach Tim Beckman and seniors Josh Ferguson, Ted Karras and Mason Monheim on Thursday at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place.
Beckman and Ferguson started things off with a live interview on Sirius XM radio. The players continued the busy day by rolling through one-on-one interviews with ESPN, CBS, FOX, BTN and BigTen.org. They filmed short segments generally shown before games or when one of those networks airs a feature and has players from different teams commenting on it.
The players had some fun in the morning imitating emojis, posing for the Twitter Mirror and answering quick questions at the Facebook Rapid Fire station. All three players also chatted with Adam Rittenberg and Brian Bennett from ESPN.com.
After going through USA Football and BTN video shoots, Beckman took the stage for his press conference in front of a ballroom full of reporters. Beckman then rattled off the TV rotation, including sit-down interviews with BTN, FOX, CBS, ESPN, and BigTen.org.
In the afternoon, all four Illini moved to a room where each man sat at a podium and round table, fielding questions from the media members who bounced around the room.
The players then traded their suit coats and dress shirts, and changed into jerseys for a photo shoot with ESPN. These images are showcased during features or when the network goes to commercial after one of those players makes a big play.
The Illini also took their turn doing interviews with Steve Kelly on WDWS AM 1400 and on the studio set for BTN Live.
That wrapped up a whirlwind day where the Illini representatives spoke with dozens of local, regional and national media. They will be back at it Friday morning for the final media session before the Kickoff Luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m.
