ROSEMONT, Ill. — Urban Meyer spoke at Monday’s Big Ten Media Days, catching people up on his Ohio State football team. Here are the highlights.
+ Time flies, as this is now Meyer’s sixth season. The Buckeyes have had to replace 15 underclassmen the last two years.
+ There are three fifth-year seniors here representing OSU at media days, and he’s not sure he’s ever had that before. It speaks well for the leadership on the team.
+ Kevin Wilson is the first established offensive coordinator that Urban Meyer has ever hired. Wilson has had a lot of input in the 2017 offense. Ryan Day is a star in the making. “It’s still going to be the Ohio State offense, however…” there will be some improvements.
+ There are seven names at right guard. Branden Bowen will get a look there as well. Josh Myers and Wyatt Davis as well. Freshman Thayer Munford has also had a great 30 days on campus. It will be a great battle. The usual names are there as well.
+ The Clemson game… “That ship has sailed. It’s gone.” They don’t talk about it. It changed how they do business on offense. It’s in the back of everyone’s minds. He may bring it back if need be, but he likes where the team is at right now.
+ Tight end is wide open right now. Marcus Baugh has toe inflammation, but he’ll be fine. Luke Farrell and Jake Hausmann are competing there. The boundary safety is wide open between Jordan Fuller and Erick Smith. Kendall Sheffield is pushing Damon Arnette at cornerback. The receivers are wide open, but they have good workers there.
+ Mickey Marotti will pass the team to Meyer next next Wednesday. They will begin practice before they begin “camp” because they don’t want camp to last forever.
+ On the gap between the SEC and the Big Ten: “I don’t think there’s a gap at all.” Recruiting is up, administrations have invested, and the coaches are out there working. “This is as tough a conference as there is.”
+ They have already begun preparing for Army’s option offense. They started in the spring and they’ll continue doing that in fall camp. The scout team has to run it well, so they are working on getting them ready to perform like the Army offense starting Thursday.
+ Comparing Penn State running back Saquon Barkley to Ezekiel Elliott is “very fair.”
+ Meyer is very biased on his opinion of the rivalry with Michigan, but he believes it is the best rivalry in sports. Not a lot of like between the two, but tons of respect. He has tried to create those kinds of rivalries at his other stops in coaching because the respect he had for it. Florida State was known as “The team out west” when he was at Florida, for instance.
+ A tight end who can flex out like a receiver and then also knock somebody on their butt, that’s a guy who is can be as difficult to defend as a talented H-back. That’s the kind of tight end they look for in recruiting.
+ “Ohio State is always going to be…” near the top of the Big Ten, so it has no consequence at all on how Meyer and his coaches do their business.