Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer spoke on Tuesday’s weekly Big Ten coaches teleconference. He provided some updates on his football team, looked back a bit at the Penn State win, and also looked forward this week to Saturday’s upcoming matchup with the Indiana Hoosiers. Here are all of the highlights.
+ Asked if there was a common denominator in the slow starts against TCU and Penn State. Meyer said they look at it, but can’t look at it too closely because you’re on to the next game. A lot of it is about the opponent. Some of it is execution and the like.
+ Dwayne Haskins is a “very collected player” and the guys around him believe in him. He sees it every day in practice and so do his teammates, that’s why they have confidence in him.
+ Robert Landers is a spark plug with a sense of humor and they have to get him healthy. He didn’t play well last week because he was hobbled, but he’s much better this week.
+ Ryan Day is tremendous and Meyer has always known that. “His performance has been very strong.” Day has grown as a big-picture coach.
+ Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey is a lot like Trace McSorley. He is rugged and can extend plays.
+ K.J. Hill is a “tough, tough guy and tough, tough guys survive in tough situations.”
+ Asked if he is planning to back off defensively when an opponent is backed up in their end zone, he said this is a man-to-man team. Defensive backs in man-to-man situations have to make the tackle or else they’re giving up a long touchdown. For the most part, they have been successful in doing that. They do talk about their strategy all the time in all different situations. The two 93-yard TDs stick out, but they generally do well being aggressive defensively.
+ It is the responsibility of everyone to not have a let down after a big game.
+ Indiana is very well coached on defense. They have answers for everything and you really have to work for yards. Offensively, they have a dual-threat quarterback and a very good returner.
+ There is no update yet on Brian Snead’s availability.
+ On Jeff Okudah: “Oh, he is great. He’s a better person than a player and he’s a great player.” He has made a few mistakes, but has been very good.
