Sixty minutes isn’t a long time. It’s a mere hour.

That’s how long – short? – each team’s media session was during Saturday’s Media Day leading up to the College Football Playoff National Championship. That’s 3,600 seconds for Clemson. And 3,600 seconds for Alabama. Sounds like a long time. It isn’t.

There are so many questions to ask, storylines to dissect and updates to inquire about. Preparation is truly key. I had my story ideas outlined, players and coaches lined up, and questions ready to go.

However, the frenzy of a one-hour, free-for-all media session on the scale of the College Football Playoff National Championship was unlike anything I had ever experienced.

Do I talk to the main player my story will revolve around? Or do I try to find the lesser players who are free right now but I only have a question or two for? That was my first question before the Clemson players came out to meet the media. I went for it all, went right to Clemson safety T.J. Green for my feature on him. He was immediately swarmed by media and was somewhat quiet with all the cameras on him. I eventually made it back to Green as the 60 minutes wound down, and he was more open as we spoke one-on-one. Lesson learned: Circle back.

I also spoke with players and coaches in large groups where you had to stretch your arm out and hope the recorder picked up the audio. (It did!) In such large groups you may only be able to get in one or two questions before you need to move on for other interviews. Remember, 60 minutes goes by fast. Lesson learned: Make every question count.

During the Clemson interview session, I looked up after I completed my first round of questions and the board was counting down from five minutes. It had felt like I had been speaking with players and coaches for 10 or so minutes. That would be fixed during the Alabama sessions. Lesson learned: Don’t get too caught up or sidetracked in players’ or coaches’ stories.

During the Alabama session, I and other media members were speaking with the defensive linemen. I spoke with A’Shawn Robinson about Clemson’s offensive line, and then I moved on to Jonathan Allen. However, while I was in the middle of asking a question, an ESPN staffer stepped in and whisked away Allen for a TV interview. Lesson learned: Get questions in early.

— Frank Gogola | @FrankGogola