Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1538407
OPENING SHOT LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION Three of the Nittany Lions' brightest stars — (L to R) center Nick Dawkins, quarterback Drew Allar and safety Zakee Wheatley — headed to Las Vegas in July for Big Ten Media Days. The senior trio was joined by head coach James Franklin at the annual event, which took place in Sin City for the first time, conference officials having opted to abandon the more familiar environs of Chicago and Indianapolis. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, as the saying goes. Depending on one's preferred form of sinfulness, that can be a definite plus. But for the Big Ten, this was a business trip aimed at promoting the upcoming football season. In Franklin estimation, the city's trademark catchphrase offered an all-too-apt description of the event's media impact nationally. "I think having Big Ten Media Days in Big Ten country is important," he said. "The majority of our teams are not on the West Coast. We have a West Coast influence now, and do we need to pay respect to those pro- grams? Yes. But from a Penn State perspective, a lot of our beat writers didn't come to this because they couldn't afford to get out here. The ma- jority of our teams are near Chicago and Indianapolis, where this always used to be." Holding the event in a tourist mecca far from most of the conference's schools "creates a different environment," Franklin added. "I walk around the lobby, and I don't see any signage for the Big Ten. I don't see people getting autographs. "It's a different vibe and a different feeling. That other conference [the SEC], when they have their meetings, there's essentially a press confer- ence every single day at the end of the meetings. It keeps people talking about that conference at a time of the year when it makes them relevant. We're not doing that. We need to be talking about the Big Ten and our programs and the things that we've done and making it as accessible to everybody as we possibly can and connecting with the fans." While the noise that the Big Ten hoped to make may have been partially drowned out by slot machines, high-profile players like Allar have been commanding their share of attention. Named to the Maxwell Award watch list in July along with senior running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, the veteran quarterback noted during his appearance at Big Ten Media Days that he and his teammates were eager to transition from talking about the season to playing it. Said Allar, "I'm really excited to compete, put on pads again and just play football." — Matt Herb PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 5 9