Urban Meyer’s weekly show on the Ohio State IMG Radio Network takes place this Thursday around noon. We will have live updates once the show gets under way shortly. Expect Meyer to provide updates on injuries, such as quarterback Joe Burrow and running back Demario McCall. Meyer will also look forward to this week’s opponent, Army.
+ Joe Burrow is getting close. They’ll know if he’s game ready today or tomorrow. Austin Mack will practice full today. Mike Weber is getting well also and will play.
+ The players’ families and homes in Florida have been spared and everybody came through okay.
+ Former linebackers Joshua Perry and Craig Fada were back this week with the team. Two great former leaders. “There’s nothing like having the guys come back.” Meyer tried to get Fada to get into coaching, but he’s headed for medical school. Perry will be back in the NFL once he is healthy.
+ Against Army’s option, you have to eliminate the fullback dive first. Every time. Then you have to defend the quarterback and the pitch. “It’s all about eye discipline and usually the slotbacks will take you to where the ball is going to go.”
+ Army has had six fake punts in the last four years, so they’ll be watching that on Saturday as well. Army will also try to block punts all throughout a game.
+ Chris Worley has been banged up and is playing a new position, “so he’s getting it a little bit.” He played okay, but that’s not good enough right now.
+ Damon Arnette still has a long ways to go. He doesn’t have a lot of experience, but now he’s a veteran. “He’s a guy that’s starting to surface and become one of our best players.”
+ Parris Campbell is a dynamic guy. The kickoff return he had was well blocked. The special teams were pretty good last week, save for the kickoffs by Blake Haubeil.
+ The offensive line is just okay. They can play better. The offense has to get on a roll and get some yardage and some big plays. That’s what’s missing right now.
+ The offense is a work in progress. You’ve got two new offensive coordinators and they’re trying to mesh the good things from Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day into this offense.
+ Asked about the linebackers and secondary, Meyer said the run defense has been pretty good, but the pass defense has not been good. The linebackers are now playing particularly well. They have to play better, “and they will.” They are high end people. Several positions have to play better.
+ Ohio State can’t take guys who can’t make it academically because you’re not just playing football. You’re also competing in the classroom. If players aren’t doing well academically, they are monitored closely. As players do better, they are monitored less because they know how to do their work.
+ Army’s defense is all zone coverage and they try to keep the play in front of them. They understand their size issues on both sides of the ball. “The biggest thing is you can’t have a bad series. The team they played last week had 40 plays. Forty.” “You’ve got to score.”
+ J.T. Barrett is an old veteran. He’s been through a lot. He gets too much credit and too much blame. “I could care less.” The best way to answer any criticisms is to play well. Barrett has had another good week of practice. He always does.
+ The Ohio State defensive ends have to watch out for the cut blocks. They have to be ready and stay safe.
+ Meyer has studied the wishbone for many years. At Bowling Green they had conversations about running the wishbone. The problem was that it’s hard to sell tickets to see the wishbone and then eventually they replace you, so they went with the spread offense.
+ Meyer has great respect for the Army program. West Point is beautiful. He took his son there in the past. Asked if he would ever take the Buckeyes to West Point for a game, Meyer quickly answered “No” with a chuckle. It makes him proud to visit the service academies and see the campuses and facilities that are provided to them.
+ Meyer always has military personnel come in and speak with the team. The program has always had respect for the military. “It’s always been here.” Meyer’s father was an Army guy and his sister was in the Air Force. “They’re the reason we are able to do the things we do.” They are tremendous examples of the right way to do things.
+ Army has two defensive backs that are questionable this week.
+ Players are more resilient than players, so they bounce back better and quicker than coaches do. You’ve just got to scrub yourself from this game and move forward.
+ Every possession against Army is a priority because they slow the game and shorten it. Every tackle is necessary because you have to get the ball out of their hands and back into the OSU offense’s hands.
+ The scout team has given the defense “very decent looks.” Tate Martell has done a nice job of running the Army offense. Everybody in the program is graded now, including the scout team. Tate Martell was graded a 5, as did Josh Myers and Wyatt Davis at guard. The grades are 1-5 and 5 is as high as it goes.
+ Defensive tackle Jashon Cornell has really come on. He works hard in the class room and he’s getting better and better.
+ “Sam Hubbard’s one of our best players.”
+ So many offenses in college football have triple-option principles, so there is some familiarity with what Army does, but it is still much different.
JT is a warrior but has to take it to the field and do well against a good defense. Great in practice doesn’t cut it. I’m a 1 handicap on the driving range too. Offense play calling needs to adapt to his skill set and stop trying to sell him to the NFL as the next Russell Wilson