Graduate School
There are many benefits to having veteran players on a college football team. They have experienced the highs and lows, and they understand what it takes to get through both. They know the plays, they know their assignments, and they have been developed over a number of years.
The Buckeyes have that exact situation in their running backs room with fourth-year junior Mike Weber, redshirt sophomore Antonio Williams, and sophomore J.K. Dobbins. The three of them are showing true freshman Master Teague the ropes. Thanks to their experiences, they are also showing him much more.
“In the meeting room, we can go further into detail and graduate-level thinking, if you will, and talk about some things,” said running backs coach Tony Alford. “And they do a great job. We get them on the board and they’re talking a lot and talking to one another. It’s more interactive, versus me having to lecture or teach them. It’s a very interactive room because they know.
“So we can kind of go a little deeper. We’ll make a call here, ‘So what else could we do?’ And they can go to what’s next. So that’s fun to be around guys who know the offense. It’s good, and it helps Master out a lot too because he’s got three experienced guys in there.”
Study Hall
The amount of work that a college football player has to fit into his day can sometimes be forgotten. Most times, all we see are the on-field results. Behind the scenes, however, preparing for those moments on the field requires much more than just practices or workouts.
Without study, talent or athleticism is only going to be so effective. For sophomore linebacker Pete Werner, his studies have had to kick up a notch now that he has moved from the Sam to the Will. Even if he hadn’t switched positions, however, the off-field work would still be crucial to his success in 2018.
“My days right now are pretty busy, especially in the spring,” he said. “Spending time off the field is crucial. We’ll get a bunch of buddies and come back here later and watch some film with the guys. We’ll get one of the coaches and we’ll sit down and talk. It’s very crucial. It’s almost like you have to come back and watch film. If you don’t, you’re behind.”
Jacks of Many Trades
Pete Werner’s ability to move from linebacker spot to linebacker spot is a luxury for the Buckeyes, and he is far from alone in those abilities.
While playing multiple linebacker spots isn’t necessarily what OSU linebackers coach Bill Davis is looking for, the players who can do it display the kind of skill set that is becoming much more popular these days. Linebackers who can play the run as easily as the pass don’t need to come off the field and will find themselves in fewer disadvantages.
“I think in football in general, all my years in the NFL, I was always asking the scouts to give me three-down linebackers,” Davis said. “I need a guy that can play on all three downs. Third down means you can run in the NFL. That really is what football is anymore. You have got to be able to run and you have got to be able to stop the run, but you have to be able to run and cover because it is all 11-personnel (1 RB, 1 TE), all spread offenses and it is in space. So, you have to be an athlete in space.”
Being An Athlete In Space
One of the reasons Bill Davis wants linebackers who can defend in any situation is because of quarterbacks like Ohio State sophomore Tate Martell. Due to Martell’s ability to run or throw, he can put linebackers in any number of situations from snap to snap.
That ability is also what has put Martell into the quarterback battle for the Buckeyes this spring. For some quarterbacks, they could try to show the coaches what they believe they want to see. For Martell, he knows what put him in the mix, so he’s just trying to be himself.
“I don’t think I do too much. I just go out there and do my thing,” he said. “That’s what got me here in the first place, just go out there and play like me. That’s kind of what it is.
“I’m not going to change my game for anyone. They don’t want me to. They want me to go out there and do my thing. That’s why I’m here.”
