Ohio State Practice Report Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 4, 2007
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Head Coach Jim Tressel
On Thursday’s Practice And Player Attitudes Toward It: “They’ve been serious all along. Our guys have done a good job on their preparations. They do a good job of mixing their pleasure with staying focused and getting rested and preparing. I think they get more anxious the closer we get to the game, and you can kind feel that anxiousness arise and that’s a good thing.”
On If He Is Worried About Them Getting Stale: “I don’t know. We’ll find out. I hope not.”
On The Role Of the Coaches’ Wives During The Season: “There’s a lot of us who are fortunate enough in this business to have spouses that understand out long work hours and understand that you’re on the job all the time, whether it’s recruiting, or having people on campus or activities with the team. Things you can’t get to that they can cover, and just keeping order. My wife puts on a big Christmas party for all the coaches and staff and their kids, and that in itself is something.”
On His Wife (Ellen) Putting Aside Her Career: “When we came here she thought maybe that she’d go back to doing what she’d been doing, then she found out the magnitude and saw where she could make a difference and help people and certainly help our program and she’s enjoyed the change.”
On Former Players Like Eddie George Attending Game And Being Around The Team: “It’s neat. Anytime you have guys who want to be part of something special. It’s a little unusual for this game in that so many NFL teams seasons are over, so I’m hoping we have a lot of guys that find their way here and have a chance just to lend their support. Many of them played with especially our seniors, so anytime there are people who you care about who are there, I think it helps.”
On If OSU’s Defensive Backs Are Aware Of Florida’s Number Of Speedy Receivers: “I think they’re very aware, although they like those kinds of challenges. They like going against our guys every day, and they like as many receiver son the field as can be and as many challenges as there can be. If they haven’t warmed up yet, they’ll warm up fast on Monday.”
On If He Is Surprised At How Well Running Backs Antonio Pittman and Chris Wells Have Got Along: “There’s a little bit of that ‘Rubber City’ brotherhood there, they’ve known one another for quite sometime. Pitt was the guy who told Beanie that ‘Hey, this is a good place to come, come on and we’ll do this thing together.’ They’re both good kids, so no I’m not surprised; they get along great.” (Note: Pittman is a junior, Wells a freshman, both from Akron high schools).
On How Much Time He Spends With Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock: “I spend more time with you guys (the media) than I do with Jim Heacock. If you have the right people, good people, then it’s you better know what you don’t know, and then do well and right on what you think you know.”
On If Anyone Has Worked Themselves Into The Picture Or Caught The Coaches’ Attention: “We’ve had a lot of guys who have progressed. You can kind of put them in three categories: the veterans who just keep refining, and then there’s the bona fide starter that has now done it for a full year, and now he’s looking like a second year starter, and then there’s the guy who got in there a little bit and started to understand it and then this bowl season has helped them be raised up to no longer being a rookie. There won’t be anyone who we’ll take a redshirt off of, but I think all those guys who have gotten in the game have progressed.”
#98 Joel Penton, DT, 6-5, 290, Sr., 3L, Van Wert, Ohio
On Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock: “He’s an intense guy. He gets excited; I don’t know about (rumors) him jumping into drills. He loves the game of football; I think he how physical it is, and he really loves the violence and so do the defensive linemen here. So he gets excited, he gets us going.”
On If He Is Feeling The Intensity: “We came in with an intense outlook, we’re excited, and it’s (intensity) building. We’re all ready to play, we just want to get out there. We’re a little tired of thinking about it, and kind of tired of talking about it. We just want to get out there and play.”
How Much Of A Factor Is Florida’s Speed: “We’re going to do out best. We think we have some speed out there as well. Obviously Florida is a great team and they’ve been running around people all year. Speed is definitely a factor. There’s a reason you recruit guys with speed, there’s a reason they clock our 40s. But the game is also played in the trenches. It’s not just a game of speed, it’s not just a game of power.”
On OSU Having A Speed Coach: “It’s something that we work very hard at, something that we train all year long at, so hopefully all that hard work will pay off next week.”
On If OSU Is In A Comfort Zone In Arizona: “I think for some of the older guys, there’s a certain level of comfort. We’re so used to this high school, the lockerrooms, the hotel is the same, so in that way it’s comfortable. But each year is different, we’re playing a whole new team. So it’s going to be a tough game.”
On If The Older Guys Have Been Relaying Their BCS Experiences To The Younger Guys: “Absolutely. We’ve been talking over the week about how in the past with the BCS, and this whole bowl season with all the upsets, and we shared the story of 2002 with our upset over Miami. So we’re trying to keep that fresh in our minds as we go into Florida, all the things that can happen in various bowl games and the need to be prepared.”
Ohio State Notes: Tressel said that QB Troy Smith’s thumb is fine, and that everyone else who had minor injuries was getting healthier. Only CB Antonio Smith was had his contact work limited… Penton said that since Florida uses two different quarterbacks, they have been going up against two different guys on the scout team try and simulate both looks… Thursday marked the last open practices; the Buckeyes will go from 1-3 p.m. on Friday and then from 5-7 p.m. Saturday before the final walkthrough Sunday at 1 p.m.
