Big East Media Day: Doug Marrone Speaks, Wears Something Other Than Tan Slacks

Big East Media Day went down today and a whole lot of people said a whole lot of things. Let's start with Syracuse Orange head coach Doug Marrone and see what he put out there...

As we already heard, Marrone said that QB Terrel Hunt is eligible once again and will be on the practice field next week. As for what Hunt has to do to get back into the swing of things, he's got a ways to go:

"I don’t want to talk about the past, but what he did was obviously wrong and there are consequences to it," Marrne said, "and they were very difficult consequences for him to deal with. He has a lot of catching up to do."

How much catching up?

"A lot," Marrone said. "A lot. I guess the question would be does he know enough to compete, and I can’t answer that right now. He made a poor decision in a short period of time, but he’s a bright kid. He might be ready to go."

A whole bunch of incoming players were not listed in the media guide, including Markus Pierce-Brewster, George Morris III, Ben Barrett, Zian Jones and Myles Hilliard. Marrone told Dave Rahme that he expects everyone except Hilliard to get their academics in order in time to play. Hilliard is going to Milford Academy this year.

Possible transfers John Raymon, Christopher Clark and Davon Walls were not listed as well. The status for all three remains unclear.

We know that Marrone isn't currently recruiting or talking to any Penn State players about a transfer. But is the door still open?

"Have you looked at our roster? I just think it’s a difficult situation. What people don’t understand is if there was a player who could come in and help our football team and it was done the right way, which obviously we would do, that’s something we would look into. But in the same sense what people have to understand is we have people on our roster we recruited, who I’ve talked to and said things to about their situation, and we’re excited about them. And I think you have to be careful about what type of message you send, but don’t get me wrong in my message. If there are other players who could help us be a better football team, we will pursue them. As of right now we are not pursuing any player at Penn State."

How bout that week of training at Fort Drum that's coming up for the football team?

"We all in this room have a great deal of respect for what the military does. We are going up there to become a better football team, to become tougher, to spend that time together and then transition back to Syracuse to what we feel is a very challenging schedule."

The biggest surprise of the day? Coach Marrone putting the tan slacks back in the closet and breaking out the dark blue. Big changes for a big season...

Go watch an in-depth interview with Marrone here and check out Orange Fizz' discussion as to whether or not Marrone is "anti-media."