John Cooper Press Luncheon Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/28/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
September 28, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Thoughts on Penn State
“I respect Penn State. They have one of the great programs in college football. Joe Paterno is one of the greatest coaches of all time. He just earned his 300th win a couple of weeks ago. Some coaches are lucky to just coach in 300 games. “As a team, they have great depth. I know for a fact we tried to recruit some of their Ohio players and those guys are just second teamers for them.”
If the bye week helped OSU
“If you have a bye week, you need to take advantage of it. Sometimes they help you, sometimes they don’t. This week, I think we will be fresh. Last week, we worked hard on the fundamentals and had a solid week of practice. Having a healthy Joe Brown will be a big help.”
Their offensive line
“They have one of the biggest offensive lines in college football. The smallest guy they have is guard Ryan Fagan and he’s 6-7, 296. The other guard is Kareem McKenzie and we recruited him heavily, so we know what kind of player he is. Across that line they are huge. They go 6-5, 6-7, 6-5, 6-7, and 6-5. So you know they are going to be physical and you know they can run the ball.”
The Penn State defense
“Their defense is always well coached and disciplined. Like every quality team in college football, they give a lot of different looks. They have a strong and experienced secondary. Jerry Sandusky has been the defensive coordinator for a very long time and puts out a great defense every year.”
The Penn State quarterbacks
“I would think that we would see (Kevin) Thompson more. Both of those guys do different things well. (Rashard) Casey is a very good athlete.”
One of Ohio State’s keys to a victory.
“Our offensive line has to step up and take charge. They have played well lately but they still need to play better.
The hype surrounding the game
“These are two great football programs. Joe Paterno has 301 wins and is one of the greatest coaches of all-time. I would watch this game if I were a fan. We are No. 1 and they are No. 7. Last year, they were No. 2 and we were No. 7. It’s the kind of match up that makes college football what it is today.”.
