The Buckeyes may be off this week, but the grind never stops for Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer. Even with no game, the radio show must continue as Meyer once again stopped by the Ohio State IMG Radio Network for his weekly call-in show. Refresh for live updates throughout the show.
+ Last year was a similar situation in terms of playing a bunch of backups due to blowouts, which is why they don’t get too high on how this team is doing right now. Things are about to pick up in terms of opposition talent.
+ Joe Tiller changed the Big Ten in a lot of ways offensively.
+ The players’ parents association was inherited from Jim Tressel’s tenure. This staff has taken it to a new level. Joshua Perry’s parents are still all over the place. The families always come back. There is a spring cookout for all families past and present. “It’s one of the areas I’m really proud of.” They have their own tailgates and newsletters.
+ Meyer has now put Tyquan Lewis in the Tim Tebow/John Simon category as tough guys who would do anything for the team. Anything.
+ Real Life Wednesdays was something that Meyer started at Florida, but Gainesville is a small town. It really exploded in Columbus because while degrees are important, they want all of their players to leave Ohio State with careers. There are plenty of people who have degrees but no career. Marcus Hall has a job in Columbus. He’s dropped 50 pounds and he’s now making a good living. “This program will never stop as long as we’re here.”
+ Jalyn Holmes, Parris Campbell, and Jamarco Jones are all good to go for next week. Jones is already back practicing.
+ Meyer prefers the primary playcaller to be upstairs and the line coaches should be on the field. Kerry Coombs you want on the sideline because of the energy. Greg Schiano is doing that as well on the field now since he moved from upstairs.
+ Who should fans cheer for this weekend between Michigan and Penn State, Meyer says he just can’t tell somebody “to root for our rivals.”
+ Kerry Coombs is a wack job. He’s always that way. “I love him to death.” He has made Ohio State better. Gene Smith feels the same way.
+ Asked why J.T. Barrett is still in the game so late in blowouts, Meyer said he has a rule that they always start the second half, but last week Nebraska scored a couple of quick touchdowns and Meyer was nervous about it getting too close to comfort on the scoreboard. They talk about it constantly throughout the game.
+ Why there wasn’t many tackles for loss against Nebraska, Meyer said that’s a better question for Greg Schiano. The second team was in the game pretty early and Nebraska abandoned the run early. There were a lot of hits and hurries on the quarterback though.
+ Trace McSorley is dynamic with the ball in his hand. He’s not a guy who stands back there and is a tree. The last time they played a quarterback like him “he hurt us bad”, in reference to Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma.
+ Meyer expects all of the veteran receivers to be back next year rather than declaring for the NFL Draft, but we’ll see.
+ Jaylen Harris was a little dinged up in practice, so they held him out last week.
+ The receivers are deep and they complement each other. When Parris Campbell went down, C.J. Saunders stepped in to fill out the rotation and played admirably.
+ Mike Weber is still trying to get loose. They have worked so hard. Meyer is meeting with him today because this is the stretch run and they need him full speed.
+ J.K. Dobbins came in as a pro. He does well in everything he does, including academics.
+ The Nebraska defense came out with a different look than they expected. They wanted J.T. Barrett to beat them and he did. Meyer still isn’t sure why they were so different than what they showed. They were able to tell what Nebraska could do by the depth of their defensive line.
+ Demetrius Knox graded out as a champion in is first start. He’s always had the ability and now he is taking advantage of his opportunity.
+ Meyer will be catching his son’s game Friday night. The rest of the staff will be across the country watching games.
+ The team has practiced all week. Only the coordinators and Meyer will be at practice today as other coaches will be out recruiting. Players will be off this weekend and back on Monday morning.
+ The injuries that the Buckeyes suffered this week shouldn’t keep anybody out of the Penn State game.
+ We’ll find out how good J.T. Barrett and the offense is over the next month. “We all know what’s coming. Our whole focus is on how to beat Penn State.”
+ This is by far the best group of receivers Meyer has had at Ohio State. “We’re six strong.” The chemistry between the QBs and the receivers is as good as OSU has had.
+ Rashod Berry is really growing up, and Luke Farrell and Jake Hausmann are continuing to grow. Marcus Baugh is playing his best football. Tim Hinton continues to help that group of players behind the scenes.
Did Campbell suffer a concussion or bruised ribs?
Joshua Perry just a good smart Ohio kid that plays hard and with so much energy. I hope OSU can find him a position after his professional playing days are over.
Defense also worries me. Linebackers are playing better which gives me hope, and probably less d line rotation verses Penn State so our young men will get after them. We will give up some points to Penn State, but I think our offense will stay on a roll and we win comfortably, by 14 to 21 points.
I am hoping Penn State wins by 10 or more and then goes undefeated after we punish them. I think this will put us in the most favorable position.
I do not like the Big Ten schedule of giving a team a bye, OSU, and making PSU play a team like Michigan week before us. I believe Big Ten did the same thing to us last year against Penn State and one or two other squads had a bye week before we played them last year. I just do not think this is fair or smart.
Nice to see Coach give a shout-out to the late Joe Tiller, a good man who really did make a difference in the B1G and with the young men’s lives he touched.
Coach Tressel made some big mistakes, but he also did a LOT of good.
Real Life Wednesdays are one of the best traditions I’ve seen implemented. Great for the kids.
Good that none of the kids that got banged up were/are serious.
Best-case scenario is for Penn State to win a close, bruising, emotionally-draining battle. No one is gonna ding the Buckeyes regardless of TTUN’s record – it’s a heated rivalry and there’s zero doubt since 1969 that it WILL be a battle. If PSU gets knocked off, however, the talk will wag about their cupcake schedule. The Bucks would be best-served if they won it, but get beat up enough that they don’t have their A-game next week.
Coombs might be the best CB coach in the country. Hard to argue with where his troops get drafted and how often.
Excuses – few TFL ZERO INTs, this is still a big question. Every year we hear how great the DL is and yet it’s always middle-of-the-pack to worse whenever they play opponents with an offensive pulse. Hopefully that changes next weekend.
The thing that gives me pause to think they MIGHT be real with the receivers is how many of them a) have catches at all and then b) how many have significant (30-yard-plus) catches. Count me “cautiously optimistic” here.
Would LOVE to be proven wrong and see the Weber they say that they see.
VERY happy for Meech. He’s a personal favourite for answering questions when he was a recruit and the thoughtful answer he gave to my son’s question.
Rooting for Roughshod Berry. Love the attitude and heart he plays with.
One of the reasons why the Huskers came out with a different defensive look was because they were playing 2 rookie safeties. They HAD to change their philosophy to try to build those 2 into the flow of the game. Then they subsequently lost a corner in the game. Nebraska just isn’t a top tier program right now and the difference between their starters and their backups is HUGE in comparison to the depth Ohio State has that can roll in and play without much or any drop off.
Tyquan Lewis is a FANTASTIC player and an ever greater person. It’s easy to spot when guys are forcing looking humble. Tyquan is as real as they come. The Program without him is a leeser program so Coach Johnson has some personal development he needs to build in the next wave of players.
Joshua Perry is far and away one of the best young men to have ever passed through Ohio State. REALLY outstanding person. Most of the guys the staff have brought in have developed great personal traits so, we’ll be seeing the next guy up to carry that mantra for greatness for the next group. From “boys to men” takes on a life of itself in the culture under Coach Meyer.
You forgot to mention Joe Thomas has his room in pretty good hands/shape. 😉 Good stuff, James!