Tuesday at the Rose Bowl: Defense Meets the Media – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
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LOS ANGELES – Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon’s talented junior quarterback who has a 7-1 record in games from Nov. 2 on, was a major focus of questions Tuesday during the defensive media day for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Following the interviews, the Buckeyes hit the Home Depot Center practice fields for another two-hour session in shorts and helmets.
Representing the Buckeyes at the media headquarters for early morning interviews were team captains Kurt Coleman, Austin Spitler and Doug Worthington, plus leading tackler Ross Homan and defensive coordinator Jim Heacock.
Ohio State’s defense has year-in-and-year-out been one of the best in all of college football. This year is no exception. The unit ranks in the NCAA Top 10 in five defensive categories, including fifth in total defense (262.5) and fifth in scoring defense (12.1), but the focus of the media today wasn’t so much on the deeds of this defense, but on the skills and leadership of Oregon’s talented junior and the break-neck speed he directs the Oregon attack.
Masoli has averaged nearly 300 yards of total offense the past four games (three of them Ducks’ wins to clinch the school’s first Rose Bowl berth since 1995) with 13 touchdowns (nine passing and four rushing). For the season he has passed for 2,066 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions plus he has rushed for 659 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The four Buckeyes who met with the media know Masoli, who is 5-11 and 220 pounds, will be a challenge to contain. Here’s what they had to say about him:
Coleman: “Masoli is going to be a challenge. He is very elusive. If you are coming on a blitz as a linebacker or a defensive end you have to hold your spot and allow other people to come and help out making the tackle. It’s going to be a tricky thing because he will elude one tackler and continue to throw the ball downfield. It will be a challenge for our DBs to stick on their man.”
Spitler: “Masoli makes great decisions. He does a lot of unorthodox things that you wouldn’t teach a quarterback to do, but it’s been working for them so I don’t know why they would stop. I don’t know how to classify this guy. He is unlike anyone I have ever seen. He is a great runner, a power runner, but he makes people miss at the same time.”
Worthington: “Masoli is the leader of that team. He is the heart-and-soul of that team and we know that. He makes great plays. He is a leader. He is a vocal leader. He is someone who they [Oregon coaches] put a lot on his back and he does very well with it.”
Homan: “Masoli is a great athlete and a great leader for the team. He is the one that makes their offense work. He is the brains of their offense. He makes everything go. He is a great runner and he is a double threat. He can throw the football very well and pull it down and run it very well.”
More than Masoli The Oregon offense, which led the Pac 10 (league games only) in 11 of 23 offensive statistical categories including scoring offense (41.7 ppg) and total offense (475.1 ypg), is more than just Jeremiah Masoli. Redshirt freshman running back LaMichael James was named Pac-10 Offensive Freshman of the Year after rushing for 1,476 yards and 14 touchdowns. His rushing total is seventh-best nationally and second-best all-time at Oregon.
James is only 5-9 and 180 pounds and reports say the shifty speed merchant – he leads the nation with 20 rushes of 20-plus yards and with 582 rushing yards against AP Top 25 teams – hasn’t had a lot of clean hits. Ohio State plans to utilize its Silver Bullets mentality to stop him.
“I’m 6-6 and I think he is 5-8 or 5-9, so just that height difference makes me have to get low to tackle him,” Worthington said. “But that’s why we are the Silver Bullets. We have at least five to 10 guys on every play making a tackle. We have to make sure we gang tackle and run to the ball and leave everything out on the field.”
“We pride ourselves on getting as many guys to the football as we can,” Spitler said. “We don’t have guys loafing to the football. Our mindset is every guy get to the football.”
While James clearly has speed, Homan is impressed with another of his traits.
“James is very patient as a runner,” Homan said. “He sees a hole very quickly and he can hit it but he is very patient behind his o-linemen.”
Oregon Offense Go-Go-Goes Oregon utilizes an effective, no-huddle attack that keeps opposing defenses off balance and limits opportunities for substitutions. The offense is as good as Coleman has faced.
“We faced offenses that run the no-huddle,” Coleman said. “Michigan kind of ran a no-huddle, look-look style of offense, so we have faced this kind of offense but nothing as powerful as what Oregon has. And as many weapons as Oregon has, this offense is right up there with one of the best offenses I have seen.
“We’ve conditioned for it. It’s all about containing your poise and being able to make the right adjustments. If your defense can stay poised and play their assignment football, the offense or the tempo of their offense shouldn’t affect you.”
Preparing for Ducks that Fly Preparing for a team that has fast, shifty athletes and that runs an up-tempo, no huddle offense can be a challenge. And some of the things Oregon does on the field one can’t practice for, according to Worthington.
“Some of their speed you just can’t prepare fully for,” Worthington said. “We just have to practice hard and practice fast to prepare for it. It is a tempo game. Luckily we have great depth on our defensive line and on our defense where we can rotate guys and make sure guys are fresh.
Drink Plenty of Fluids Worthington added that taking care of one’s body by eating right and drinking plenty of fluids all week will help the team during the game.
“The preparation [for the no-huddle] is something that happens today,” Worthington said. “It starts today in that you have to drink water and you have to drink fluids and you have to put good things into your body because you need your body to be at peak performance with no cramping and no fatigue. Everybody knows how hard this game is going to be and how fast it is going to go.”
Buckeyes Have Speed, Too With Oregon’s athletes and its speed dominating the discussion Tuesday, Spitler was quick to point out that Ohio State has speed.
“We have speed, too,” Spitler said. “It will be a big challenge for us, though, with all the athletes they put on the field and with all the misdirection they do and with their great quarterback. Our number one goal is to always get pressure on the quarterback. If we are effective in doing that we can make him make some quick decisions and maybe they won’t be the right decisions.”
No Back Seat for this Secondary Spitler was asked about Ohio State’s secondary and if it tends to get overlooked. He said he has watched it and been impressed by it for five years and this year it really flies to the ball.
“Our secondary can compete with anybody out there,” Spitler said. “They have speed and they have a knack for the football. I’ve really seen it this year. Guys read a play and they can make a break for it.”
No. 2 in Picks Ohio State has recorded the second-most interceptions in the nation with 23. Defensive backs, led by Coleman’s five and Anderson Russell’s three, have accounted for 13 of those interceptions. Ohio State’s top five defensive backs have 22 career interceptions.
The Bottom Line is 1/11th On game day, Homan felt that the key to the Buckeyes having success against the Ducks will be every man doing his job.
“Every guy doing his job – doing his 1/11th – is going to be our key,” Homan said. “It is just going to come down to every guy doing his job on every play.”
Click on the links above to listen to audio from Ohio State’s four players who attended media day Tuesday and to view a photo album of images from the interviews.
###OhioStateBuckeyes.com###
