Ohio State Football Notebook: ‘I like our odds with him’

Fuller House

Not having starting free safety Jordan Fuller on the field on Saturday was less than ideal for the Buckeyes.

The results spoke for themselves as the safeties struggled on an afternoon where the Ohio State defense gave up 31 points to Oregon State’s backup quarterback.

Fuller is not only a great tackler, but gets the secondary in the right spots before the snap. Despite the issues, defensive coordinator Greg Schiano said things went okay in that regard, but obviously they missed one of their best players.

“You know, we did a pretty good job with the adjustments,” he said. “I think one thing Jordan gives you is kind of a sweeper back there, an insurance policy. He’s a very good tackler in space and, again, I don’t know if he’s there, do we get some of those plays? Can’t live in the speculative world, but I like our odds with him.

“He’s an experienced player who is one of the best in the country at what he does. Certainly you miss a guy of that caliber when he’s not playing.”

First Times

There were a lot of first-time starters out on the field for the Buckeyes, and there were mistakes made by many of them. Their second start will be an opportunity to show what they learned from their debut.

The same can be said for acting Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. Saturday was his very first game as a head coach, and this coming Saturday will be his second.

So where does he expect to see improvement from himself this weekend?

“Everything was for the first time on Saturday, so there were just some things, I made some notes on some things going from offense to special teams to defense,” Day explained.

“Like even at the end of the half, being aware of the situation, making sure I was right there in case we needed timeouts or communicating with Greg and the guys on special teams. So, yeah, anytime you do something for a second time, it becomes easier and more efficient.”

What’s Up With Demario McCall?

There were plenty of Buckeye fans looking forward to seeing redshirt sophomore H-back Demario McCall this past Saturday.

When given an opportunity, he has always produced, but he didn’t really get an opportunity to do that against Oregon State until the second half, and really only on special teams.

Unfortunately for McCall, he plays a position that may be the deepest on the entire Buckeye team.

“He’s part of a group that’s pretty deep right now,” Ryan Day said on Monday. “He’s working his way up. He had a nice return in the game. I think it was 26 yards, really did a nice job there, ball was high, nice and tight, so ball security. Anytime you put that on film that’s going to give us more and more confidence to put him back out there.”

A Prince Among Men

For a first start as a unit, things went very well for the Ohio State offensive line. All five members earned a Champion grade, including first-time starters Malcolm Pridgeon and Thayer Munford.

The offensive line paved the way for 375 yards rushing and didn’t allow a single sack.

They did, however, allow a little bit of pressure in the third quarter, which led to Dwayne Haskins’ lone interception on the day.

But even on that interception, the offensive line — and in particular Isaiah Prince — made a great play.

Ohio State snapped the ball on the Oregon State 19-yard line and Haskins’ interception was caught at the 2-yard line. The returner eventually fumbled it into another Beaver defender’s hands, and he had an open field in front of him. Junior receiver Binjimen Victor forced the returner to slow down and turn back inside, and that’s where Isaiah Prince brought him down — at Ohio State’s own 19-yard line.

Prince went from one 19-yard line to the other and it didn’t go unnoticed by his head coach.

“One thing I do want to say about that interception that was remarkable was the effort on that play to tackle the ball carrier,” Day said. “It was a crazy play, and the ball squirted out and two guys in particular if you go back and watch the film ended up getting him down was Binjimen Victor and Isaiah Prince.

“And to see 59 running the length of the field to make that tackle was really amazing. It wasn’t a fun play to watch, it was a mess, but the effort on that play to get him down was remarkable.”