The BTN crew spent almost three weeks on the road travelling over 3,000 miles on visits to every Big Ten training camp. We saw a lot of football, talked to a lot of coaches and ate a lot of bananas and beef jerky on our super-deluxe tour bus that was tricked out with two color TVs, two fridges and Wi-Fi that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t work. Two cases of Red Bull and a box of Twizzlers later, I put a punctuation mark on the 2012 BTN bus tour with a fun look at our circuitous journey from Lincoln to State College—and points in between.

Another BTN summer football tour is in the books. On this year’s trek across the Big Ten landscape, we logged 3,035 miles in the span of 17 days, according to the always accurate @BTNStatsGuy. And at each of the 12 stops, the exterior of our tour bus received a significant upgrade, in the form of 12 autographs – one from each of the players spotlighted on the sides of the bus. See a picture of your team’s representative signing his likeness in this post, plus watch our tour interview with him.

Our annual summer journey across the Big Ten is over, and what a trip it was. From Lincoln, Neb., to State College, Pa., we saw all 12 Big Ten teams practice and had a chance to catch up with all the coaches and players. Read our tour coverage here and watch the video here.

The final stop on our annual summer football tour was Thursday, and we spent the day in Ann Arbor, Mich., checking out Brady Hoke’s talented Michigan team. I had many observations from the practice, none bigger than Denard Robinson looked more comfortable than ever under center. He’s such a dangerously quick athlete who can legitimately score any time he touches the ball. His skills were on full display today. But more importantly, Robinson looked better as a passer—when he was able to set his feet, which always is key for him.

The final stop on our annual summer football tour took us to Ann Arbor, Mich., where our team watched Michigan practice. It was a fun couple of weeks on the road, and the BTN tour bus will return to Chicago better than it left it. And it has this year’s tradition of having every player represented on the bus autograph his likeness to thank. Michigan’s representative was Denard Robinson, of course. See a picture of Robinson autographing our bus in this post.

Our annual summer bus tour came to a close Thursday, but not before we took in Michigan practice. @BTNTomDienhart and @BTNDaveRevsine live tweeted from the practice, and @GerryDiNardo provide his post-practice tweets – a feature he provided after every stop. See all the tweets in this post. And don’t forget to catch the debut of the Michigan Preview Show at 10 p.m. ET Friday.

Eleven signatures down, the BTN bus has one more autograph to go. On Wednesday, the BTN crew was in East Lansing, Mich., to take in Michigan State practice. As is tradition on this year’s summer tour, we’re having the players represented on the side of the bus sign their likeness. For Michigan State, that guy was defensive end William Gholston. See a picture of Gholston putting his autograph on our bus in this post.

The BTN Football Tour took us to Michigan State practice on Wednesday, and I watched for a number of things. First, quarterback Andrew Maxwell is looking good as he threw the ball well today. Maxwell also showed nice touch on his passes. And his arm looked good on passes down the sideline and on posts.

The BTN bus is heading south from East Lansing to Ann Arbor for the 12th and final stop on our grand tour of every Big Ten training camp. Watch the Michigan Preview Show at 10 p.m. ET Friday on BTN/BTN2Go.

1801334779001The BTN bus tour was on its second-to-last stop Wednesday, as the BTN crew took in Michigan State practice. Our guys, @BTNTomDienhart and @BTNDaveRevsine, live tweeted from practice, and @GerryDiNardo sent out his post-practice tweets – a feature he’s providing after all 12 stops across Big Ten country. See all the tweets in this post. And don’t forget to catch the debut of the Michigan State Preview Show at 10 p.m. ET Thursday.

There’s been a lot of talk about the new scoreboards at Spartan Stadium. The BTN team got a first-hand look at the new additions Wednesday as our annual summer football tour hit East Lansing, and the massive displays did not disappoint. Let’s just say Michigan State fans won’t have any trouble seeing the score, stats, replays, or anything of that kind in 2012.

The Penn State Preview Show debuts at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday on BTN/BTN2Go. The guys over at GoPSUTV’s YouTube page posted a solid behind-the-scenes video of the making and filming of the one-hour special this afternoon.

The BTN bus heads back west, trekking toward East Lansing, Mich., where on Wednesday we will check out a white-hot Michigan State program that has won 11 games in each of the last two seasons. Watch the Michigan State Preview Show at 10 p.m. ET Thursday.

I didn’t really know what to expect at Penn State practice today, but I came away with the spirit and energy. And the team has some talent.

The BTN bus was in State College, Pa., on Monday to take in Penn State practice. With practice and filming now wrapped up,  BTN analyst Gerry DiNardo (@GerryDiNardo) has sent out his post-practice tweets – a feature he’ll provide after all 12 stops across Big Ten country. Also, inside see tweets from Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) and Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine). Don’t forget to catch the Penn State Preview Show at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday on BTN/BTN2Go.