COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer spoke with the media on Monday to preview Saturday afternoon’s upcoming matchup between the Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions. What did he have to say? Here are the highlights.
+ This is a big weekend for official visits. Some schools do a Saturday-to-Monday thing, but a lot of kids aren’t able to miss school to do that. They’ve done it a couple of ways.
+ Meyer has a pretty good feel for the Buckeyes. They’ve been practicing the best they have in several years. Meyer also grades the coaches at practice. The energy level is great. There is no curiosity factor for Meyer to see what kind of team he has.
+ Saquon Barkley is the best all-purpose guy that Ohio State has faced, and maybe in Meyer’s career. They do a great job of creating mismatches and coverage issues. There are different ways to bottle of up great running backs, but it’s not so easy against Barkley because of the way the move him around.
+ Other than the one game against the best defense they’ve faced this year, J.T. Barrett has been very consistent. He gets too much credit and too much blame for results when it’s also about the blocking and receiving and spacing, etc.
+ There are templates of Ohio State playing their best against the best competition and their not-best against the best competition. It comes down to leadership and coaching and execution. It’s not pregame speeches. It’s the training that goes into the games. It’s the culture within the program, which is driven by leaders.
+ Demetrius Knox as of right now is the right guard. It’s day-to-day, but he is playing well.
+ Saquon Barkley back at kickoff return will influence what they do with the kickoffs this week. Meyer feels good about the approach they have been taking lately. “We’re working extremely hard on that.”
+ Revenge can be a motivator. Meyer has seen it work and not work. Depends on the team.
+ The bye week is two fold for the Buckeyes. You have to do something with it while you have it, but when you’re playing well, you’d like to keep rolling. They played a 60-play scrimmage on Thursday to keep the mode going.
+ Meyer watched the Michigan-Penn State game at home.
+ Mike Weber is good to go even though he is currently wearing a brace on his wrist.
+ Demario McCall is to-be-determined whether or not he will medically redshirt this year.
+ Meyer has changed his bye week approach over the years. Just depends on the team and their maturity. There is no template.
+ Penn State “they just come after you” on defense. “They were all over the place.”
+ Linebacker Jason Cabinda is a great player. They have an explosive defensive line.
+ Jalyn Holmes, Parris Campbell, and Jamarco Jones are good to go and practicing now.
+ Tracy McSorley is a good quarterback and a product of some very good personnel.
+ This is a very big game. Revenge is a motivator, but it may not be THE motivator. Meyer doesn’t know how much he’ll use that. The early part of the week is about execution.
+ Penn State’s offense stresses the linebackers. They do a lot of run-pass option. “This is one of the top offenses in America.” They don’t run it with bad players either.
