Ohio State Practices in Full Pads For the First Time This Fall – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 22, 2001
Coach Tressel returned to practice Wednesday for the first day of full contact after spending Tuesday in Berea, Ohio, for the public viewing of his late mother, Eloise. Tressel and some of the players commented on practice.
Coach Tressel
On first day of practice with full pads
“The linemen tell me that it’s not much different when we have just the shells on. We were sliding around a little bit this morning because it was a little bit wet, but we saw some things. It was neat to see some of the guys run the ball live, especially some of the young guys. I was impressed with the way Lydell Ross ran the ball, Maurice Hall, JaJa Riley. It was just good to see us live. This was a little bit more like football with the short yardage situations this afternoon.”
On the difference between the freshmen and the upperclassmen
“The young guys have so much they have to learn, they’re still a half a step slow. The older guys are gaining confidence because they’re a little ahead of the game. They had good repeat learning in the spring. Obviously, we better be, but were ahead of where we were in April.
On returning to Practice after his spending yesterday in Berea, Ohio, for his mother’s calling hours
“It just like anyone else, you have to work through all your adversities. It’s what you do from this point on that’s important. We had a wonderful celebration of my mom’s life last night. A little more than 4,000 people came to the memorial service and that was a special thing for all of our family. I appreciate our coaches taking over yesterday. In fact, they said we had our best practice since we’ve been here. At any rate, we’re very proud of my mom and we appreciate all of you, everyone here in central Ohio and the entire state of Ohio sending their prayers and thoughts. On Cie Grant moving from linebacker to cornerback
“He felt good about what he was doing out there. He loves to compete. He loves to play the game. He was a high school tailback and if you look at corners around the country in the NFL, I’ll bet you 99 percent of them were high school tailbacks. So were pleased with what we see out there. Cie will not only cover you a little bit, but he’ll bring the wood when you’re out there and he can put a hit on you. Maybe the stretch was from tailback to linebacker.”
On the state of the depth chart
“We have a good idea of the top 25 guys on both sides of the ball. Minds can get changed in a scrimmage situation. We won’t really start focusing in on who is with the first group or who is alternating with the first group until after our scrimmage Saturday.
Ben Hartsock (Jr., Chillicothe, Ohio/Unioto)
On his role on offense, willingness to give glory to others
“My goal is to take an active role and be helpful to the offense. I think (my attitude) comes from my family background. My father didn’t let my head get too big. I come from a small school. My mother and father just didn’t let it happen.”
On how the tight ends are progressing
“Coach Jim Bollman came from the Chicago Bears where he was a tight ends coach, so his heart is with the tight ends. The tight ends have a lot of ability to make the catch, make the good plays.”
Jamal Muhammad (Fr., Stone Mountain, Ga./Stone Mountain)
On the difference practicing in full pads makes
“It’s much better because there’s less of a chance of getting hurt. When you practice in full pads, the coaches expect you to go full speed. With no pads, you have to be careful.”
On the intensity level in practice today despite the rain
“It felt like pregame. The intensity level was definitely a lot higher with full pads. Everyone is excited. It definitely broke up the monotony. Everyone likes to hit.”
“We’re trying to make the fans excited and we plan to make them proud. We’ll play each game one at a time and try to improve our ranking. We’re definitely confident. Our coaches are confident that the players will do everything right and the players are confident that the coaches will coach.”
Tyson Walter (Sr., Bainbridge, Ohio/Kenston)
On how coach Tressel is handling the death of his mother
“Coach Tressel was very business-like today, he stressed fundamentals as always. I am impressed with how he has handled himself.”
On practicing in full pads
“Full pads protect us so we’re happy, especially the smaller guys. Now the (defensive backs) and the quarterbacks can really go at each other.”
On how the younger guys are doing
“The younger guys are coming along really well, they’re making a lot of progress. That’s all you can ask of them. We, as the first team, have to stay healthy and make sure we’re getting better every day.”
Darnell Sanders (Jr., Warrensville Heights, Ohio/Warrensville Heights)
On the offense
“I’m excited. The offense is doing well. The hardest part of offense is knowing where to line up. There are so many formations. (I’m excited) the tight ends are an integral part of the offense, who wouldn’t be excited?”
“Everybody is going to get the ball this year. Steve (Bellisari) is a great quarterback, he’s always going to make the good plays. He likes to go out there and play, he likes to do his thing.”
