Coach Tressel Weekly Press Conference Transcript/Video (w/ Cam Heyward) – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
COACH TRESSEL: We had about six of our guys on defense grade a winning performance, seven on offense. I thought we came out of the gate pretty well. We felt as if we needed to be aggressive and not let their quarterback get rhythm. We felt like we needed offensively to make sure we change field position and score any opportunity we got and I thought we came out and got it rolling good and when you do that at home, you have a chance to get some other guys in the game and it’s going to be crucial in this back half of the season that there’s going to be someone, because it’s going to be so physical from this point on, that someone’s going to have to step up and play a whole game that maybe has never done that or play a half a game that maybe has never done that, and so the fact that we got 25 to 30 good snaps with that second group, we thought was a big plus.
We didn’t have a special units player of the week, although we felt like our special units got better. Our kickoff coverage team we thought fundamentally got better and the result was good until we were penalized and we had a couple penalties that killed us on the kickoff cover team. And then the same thing we thought was true on our kickoff return. We thought we did a good job and we end up with a holding instead of starting on the 39, the one time we started on the 13. So we’ve got to eliminate penalties from a special teams standpoint, but we just didn’t think there was anyone that had that kind of game that everything was just right special teams-wise, so we did not have a special units player of the week.
Defensively it was Devon Torrence, who I think gets better and better. When Devon came here to Ohio State, he kind of came here with an offensive mentality and a little bit of, I’m going to be a baseball player too. And then when he made the transition to defense and saw just how much work it takes to understand the mentality to play that position out on the island, the work it takes to learn all the different things that we do, I think he’s kind of a young senior if that makes any sense and I think he’s getting better all the time, and he was our defensive player of the week. And offensively it was Terrelle Pryor. Someone asked me at lunch did he grade a winning performance. Not quite, but he’s getting there. He’s getting closer. But he did a heck of a job, was 24 out of 30 and seemed to have a good command of what they were doing and took a step forward in our opinion.
The Jim Parker offensive lineman of the week was Mike Adams. Mike graded very well and he was supposed to be here with all of you today, but he got a little case of the sniffles or whatever, and so when we break from here, we’re going to stay right here because it’s going to be the Cameron Heyward Show. It was supposed to be Mike Adams and Cameron, but Cam is on his own. But Mike was our Jim Parker offensive lineman of the week.
The attack force player of the week was Nate Williams. Yeah, Nate Williams was the attack force player of the week and had a couple tackles for loss and a sack and quarterback hurries and that type of thing. He’s been a guy that missed a little bit of practice in the preseason when he got dinged a little bit, but we think has really come along. And when you went into the season saying, okay, what are some key things that are going to have to happen, someone’s going to have to step up and take over the bulk of what Thaddeus did, and we think Nathan is coming along very, very well from that standpoint. And obviously what are we going to do at the safety position losing all that productivity of Kurt Coleman, and we think those guys have come along and done a good job, and the attack force player was Nathan Williams.
As you turn the page and get ready to go on the road again, hopefully we learned some lessons when we went on the road as to the difficulty of the task and just how good you have to be in every phase of the game. We felt like we played a good team on the road in Illinois. We’re back on the road again playing another good team on the road in Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s very physical on both sides. Their offense gets a lot of publicity for being physical, but they are, but their defense is a physical bunch. I think that defense, Number 99, Watt, is one of the many, we’ve got obviously the Cameron Heywards and the Clayborn and the kid at Purdue, and there are some real good ones, but in my mind, Watt matches up with a lot of those guys. He’s knocked down like six balls already this year, six-foot-six kid, plays on the edge. He’s very difficult for a tight end to handle when he has to block them.
And they’re a physical defense as well as being a very physical offense. I think their offense starts with the toughness that their quarterback shows. Their quarterback stands in there and holds that ball until the last second when the receiver is ready to break and runs when he has to run, kind of plays a little bit in the shadow of their rush game, which their rush game is — it deserves all the kudos that it gets, but their quarterback just kind of whatever the team needs him to do, he does, and he’s a veteran. He’s got a veteran offensive line who are very, very physical. Their tight end position is always one of the deepest and best utilized tight end corps in the Big Ten.
Their running backs, I think Number 20 has added another dimension to — obviously John Clay is extraordinary, but you bring in that tempo change guy and all of a sudden, he hits you with a different type look and I think he’s added a great look. I think in the last three games he’s rushed for 300 and some odd yards and is a good player. He’s their kickoff return guy as well. So they’re all that everyone expects them to be.
It’s a very difficult task when you’re up there. We just can’t get ahold of as many tickets as we would like. I know our fans would go, but the Badger fans are going to gobble up the tickets and they’ll be excited and it’s one of those things we talk to our recruits about quite a bit is that if you come to Ohio State, you not only get to come and play in the Horseshoe a lot of times, but you get to go to places like Camp Randall and the Big House and Beaver Stadium and Kinnick Stadium and on and on. That’s one of the bonuses in our minds about being in the Big Ten, so I know our guys are looking forward to that and the guys that have been there before know that it’s a heck of a challenge and it’s a lot of fun.
Our guys that haven’t been there yet better find out because it’s one of those places that it’s a heck of a challenge and we’re looking forward to heading out of here. I think it’s a 6:00 game their time, so I’ve been promised by all the local weather people, it will be wonderful on Saturday night. Last I heard was 55 at kickoff and the sun will be just going down and it will be a great Big Ten game.
REPORTER: How would you describe Camp Randall at night in your experience?
COACH TRESSEL: We’ve been there twice, I think, since I’ve been here, at night. First time there, I would describe it as rainy and wet, but physical and tough and exciting and electric. And then the second time we were there, it was a little bit earlier in the season type game, I think, and it was electric and you could just feel the energy in the place, but on the field there was a lot of hitting going on, and so I guess regardless of the weather, it’s a physical place.
REPORTER: Jim, I know you don’t necessarily want to pay attention to the ranking, but the folks in Madison will certainly be ready. Fans, players, everybody will be eagerly anticipating the No. 1 team in the country arriving, how do you defend against that intangible that you can’t coach against this week?
COACH TRESSEL: Well, they were going to be ready if we were 15th. I mean, I don’t know that that will change their readiness. What’s most critical is our readiness and our preparation and then how we handle the adversity and how we handle the situation there. There will be times when you can’t hear. There will be times when you’re not in the same comfort zone as you are back in your own meeting rooms at halftime or whatever, but I’m not sure that anything in terms of the rankings are going to change. I mean, Wisconsin is going to be ready, so I don’t know that that will change it.
REPORTER: Is it fair to say that this is unlike any test that you’ve had so far, at another level playing these guys on the road particularly at their place?
COACH TRESSEL: You know, they’re a very good football team and I think the reality of seasons is that how you say, man, this one’s a big one and then next week you say, man, now this one’s really a big one, and that’s just the way it goes. But I would think that this is going to be as difficult a challenge as we could ever imagine and will certainly be a physical one. But again, I think we have to really try to work hard at staying focused on, okay, what do we have to do to prepare. What are the things we have to do to be successful and not, okay, let’s say it is the stiffest challenge we’ve ever had, okay, we’ve got to go do the things you have to do to be successful and not spend any time on pondering the challenge.
REPORTER: I want to ask Brandon Saine, it seemed after the game he talked about how his role has changed a little bit and he wasn’t getting quite as many reps at practice and tailback. Was that maybe a response to not having Jake Stoneburner and you needed to have another guy out there that could catch the ball or is this where he’ll be going forward primarily as a slot receiver?
COACH TRESSEL: You know, as an evolution occurs on any team, you always sit there talking about, how do we get our best guys on the field, and that’s how position changes happen in spring practice, for instance, guys switch from one side of the ball to the other or whatever. So that’s an ongoing discussion. We want Brandon on the field as much as we can get him. I don’t remember any discussion in relation to Jake Stoneburner because they do different things and so forth, but we want to find ways to get B. Saine the ball and on the field and we added another responsibility to him as well as a contain guy on our kickoff coverage and he made a heck of a hit and he did that when he was young and then he got the knee thing as a freshman and then he got the hamstring as a sophomore, so he kind of drifted away from that, but we added that, we want to get our best guys on every team, it doesn’t matter who it is, to see if we can become the best team we can be.
REPORTER: Is Stoneburner back?
COACH TRESSEL: He was back doing individual drills on Sunday night. I’m told that he’s probable, but that was said cautiously with let’s see how he does banging into people a little bit today, so I think we’ll have a little better idea after today.
REPORTER: Do you expect anything lingering with J.B. at all?
COACH TRESSEL: I think his foot will be bothering him all season like it did all — he’s got bad feet. I mean, I don’t mean movement-wise, I mean, he just, his feet bothered him all of last year and I don’t know if it’s the makeup of them or — when you’re down there in the trenches, your feet get tromped on all the time, so, yeah, I think he’ll be fighting that battle all year. I’m sure he could have gone back in last week, but we thought it was a good opportunity for Andrew Norwell to get 30 plus snaps and we think very highly of Andrew, but you need experience to be ready. So hopefully while it may linger, it won’t change J.B.’s effectiveness.
REPORTER: Do you think you need the two-way threat of Terrelle this week? Is he ready to provide that? And also looking back on the game where he led the late drive up there, the last one?
COACH TRESSEL: Sure. We feel going into every game that we need the two-way threat because sometimes the best decision that a quarterback makes is to tuck it and take off and it just so happens when he tucks it and takes off, it could be 60. So that’s huge to us, having that ability. Do we have to design a whole bunch more runs?
REPORTER: I just mean is he ready if it’s there?
COACH TRESSEL: Yeah, he’s ready.
REPORTER: What do you remember about that game two years ago, the last drive?
COACH TRESSEL: The last drive I really thought that a young guy like Terrelle was a little calmer than I thought a young guy could be because we were about 80 some yards away, I think, and he stood in the pocket and nailed a couple balls in. Now, he threw a couple up there that were a little scary in that last drive, but I thought his calmness and his focus — you know, for a young guy, he certainly didn’t seem to be affected by the difficulty of the defense and the difficulty of the crowd and all of those things and I thought that was a very important moment for him to step up for his teammates.
REPORTER: Jim, you talk about the atmosphere and how much you kind of sell that actually to recruits and your guys seemed to enjoy it two years ago, why would that be a negative? What makes an atmosphere difficult for a visiting team to play if they’re going to enjoy it along with the home team?
COACH TRESSEL: I’ve always said that about Ohio Stadium, they’re coming to our place, you have a great advantage. I said, they love coming to our place. They love this atmosphere. You can feel the energy in the place. I don’t look at it as being a bonus for us here and being a negative for us there, you get to go do those things. How many people get to go be a part of those things and that’s — do enjoy it.
REPORTER: Line play is always important particularly with a team as physical as Wisconsin. I mean, is this where the game will be won?
COACH TRESSEL: Oh, yeah. Well, every game is won there. We were 24 for 30 throwing the ball on Saturday, but we had great protection, you can’t be 24 for 30 — some days we can’t be 24 for 30 in perimeter and there’s nobody rushing. The trenches is where it will be. Run game certainly. Pass protection, for sure. Both sides. That’s where the game is won and lost, but it’s hard to quantify that. I guess you can do it in sacks and those kinds of things, but sacks don’t quantify the impact of what’s going on in the trenches there.
REPORTER: Jim, how accurate is it to describe your offense as pass first and if that’s true, is that mostly by design? Is that by necessity? How would you gauge that?
COACH TRESSEL: Well, I would be surprised, we would have to mark it down, October the 12th that we were called pass first. I hope that we can be called balanced, you know, that you’re not sure on any down which we’re going to do and then I think we’ve progressed. So you may say it’s pass first, but the D line coach on the opposing team that we’re playing probably says, now, you better, on first down, not just go rush the passer or they’ll go screaming out of there on a draw like we did for the long touchdown to start the scoring there against Indiana. So I hope people have to play us balanced.
REPORTER: How much of a comfort level does it give you to have a guy like DeVier and a guy like Dane, that they’ve been able to take on such a role on the offense?
COACH TRESSEL: I think they’re coming along. We’ve always had high hopes for them. I really think that you can see them growing in confidence and in — just in their execution. The nice thing is you don’t have just one guy you’re throwing to and people say, well, let’s double this guy and make this guy beat us. Well, if that happens and hopefully if they’re doubling this guy, then that guy can beat you. So it’s good to have that. We feel as if we have to spread it out though, more, and not just be those two guys and that’s why B. Saine is such a critical part of it, the tight end position, whether it’s Reid or it’s Jake is a good part of it. I think Taurian is coming along, gaining a lot of confidence. He does a nice job as a leader and — he’s a young guy player-wise, he’s a senior, but he hasn’t played that much and he’s growing a little bit from that standpoint, and Philly (Corey) Brown is coming along, you see getting better, and Chris Fields you see some sparks out of in practice, plus I like the way all the tailbacks have caught the ball. They did a good job at their checkdown spots and we’ve done a good job of when it’s not there, dropping it down to them, but DeVier and Dane are the guys that get that all started.
REPORTER: Is he maybe enjoying the season more, that maybe they’re catching more passes and —
COACH TRESSEL: It’s a lot more fun catching than blocking. You know, guards don’t have that choice. Receivers, if they had their druthers, they’d spend maybe one period a day, would go on blocking and the rest of the day they’re catching balls. That’s what they like to do. So those two guys, though, I don’t think you’d ever get them complaining or it bothering them if they don’t get quite as many balls as they’d like. I’m sure they have goals and things they’d like to do and those would never be above the group’s needs.
REPORTER: Last time up there Sanzenbacher and Herron were both knocked out, would you talk about that? Seeing your skill position guys go down like that.
COACH TRESSEL: It’s a physical game. And I think that was a little bit unusual, those kinds of things, you know, you might have X number of tackles and not have anyone get their bell rung. We just happened to, that night, have two and actually the guy that was on the giving side of the thing was Number 12 who’s now wearing Number 2. Now, he didn’t play this past weekend, but I’m sure he’ll be ready for this game, but, man, he’s like the great eraser back there, it looks like you’re going to make a play and ready to draw that line for a touchdown and here he comes and whacks you. But that’s the way Wisconsin plays and that’s why they’re good. And someone told me they’re 40-3 or something in the last number of home games and they’ve got good intention to smack you.
REPORTER: Do you bring up with your team what happened with Alabama this past weekend?
COACH TRESSEL: Huh-uh.
REPORTER: Does that even come in? You’re going in with a target on your back, is there a lesson from that game though?
COACH TRESSEL: I would suppose if our guys watch the game, they’d see if you don’t do the things that you have to do to win the game and the other people do, I don’t care who you are, where you’re ranked, what your name is, you’re not going to win the game, but, no, we don’t have a board sitting in our room with all the teams’ names on them and see what happened to them and move them down. Now, our guys watch lots of football. When I came in on Sunday, they were all chortling about that crazy lateral over the head.
REPORTER: Do you have that play?
COACH TRESSEL: Do we have that play? Not where it bounces. When you catch it on the fly, we do it that way.
REPORTER: Does Terrelle ever express frustration that he’s never graded a winning performance? He had a really good game against Indiana. Has he ever expressed frustration of never grading a winning performance after he’s had some pretty good games?
COACH TRESSEL: You know, I’ve never seen it, but maybe with Coach Sis he does, but I’ve never seen him playfully do it.
REPORTER: What did he do against Indiana? It seemed like he had a really sharp game, his running was limited, he said he couldn’t run the ball at all, but he was very sharp throwing the ball, what could he have done even better in your opinion?
COACH TRESSEL: The thing that we have to get to the point is that we have great discipline in our drops and one of the hardest things to grade perfect on is when you’re in a shotgun and still get the drop because, in my mind, you think, I’m already back here, let me read this thing, well, the problem is the timing with the receiver is off, because you are ready to break and he’s not ready to break, your feet are set, his aren’t. So discipline in sets is huge. Making sure the ball is played right on the rhythm. We talk about throw on rhythm. You know, bang. We had some of those 24 completions that I’m not so sure shouldn’t have been just a touch sooner. But now the grading scale is difficult and we — everything we do, we do it in mind of how are we going to beat everybody and not just how are we going to complete that pass, the guy slipped or something, and we threw it late, but it was still fine, well, how are we going to — if they’re playing their best and we’re playing our best, how are we going to do it and that’s the way it’s graded. So just little things. I mean, there wasn’t anything — he didn’t have any interceptions so there was nothing that really whacked his grade, but he didn’t get as many plays. It’s harder to grade a winning performance when you have less plays. If you’re in one of those games where you have 75 plays and you hand it off 45 times, well, unless you’re just lazy, you’re going to get pluses on those and then what’s going to happen on the other 30 — well, he only had 30 some plays, so it’s a little bit harder, but — Natalie, are you ready to go?
REPORTER: I am. Real quick, you mentioned evolution of the team and I can’t help but wonder, as the team gets ready for their 7th game, how has this team evolved from what you thought it would be at the beginning?
COACH TRESSEL: You know, this team is really interested in being good and very willing to be coached and then they love to go prepare and they love to prepare on their own as well, not just in the practice when you’re monitoring them and so forth, they love to go prepare on their own. And I think they react pretty well to constructive critiques, criticisms, however you want to put it, and then go get to work on it.
I think they’ve come out prepared and ready to go in every ball game we’ve played. And now in my mind, here’s the difference, now we’ve got to go and be ready to play Wisconsin. That’s a different level of readiness up there, but I think these guys are interested in being good and I think they want to go and be ready. Is Lori here or did she bail? Okay.
REPORTER: Is Mike Adams the only player sick at this point? And is this the kind of thing you’re worried could spread through the team or you’re confident being this early it will burn itself out by Saturday?
COACH TRESSEL: There were two guys. Mike Adams, who is the other one? Wait a minute. There were two guys that came in for sick call. Now, who was that? Am I worried that it’s an epidemic? Not this moment. We had one last week. J.B. was out Tuesday’s practice. As we mentioned, there’s so many thousand kids around here and we hope, I haven’t heard of any of those things like last year, remember last year was terrible across the country, not just for us, Andrew Miller was out for a month. We had a lot of guys down. Hopefully that won’t be the case and J.B. didn’t seem to be any less for the ball game after missing Tuesday and hopefully Michael will get some rest and be ready to go. But, man, I feel bad, I can’t remember who the other one is.
CAMERON HEYWARD: Dom was sick. Dom Matheney.
COACH TRESSEL: But that was last week. There was someone else this morning that came in. I can’t remember. But anyway, from Peachtree Ridge High School.
CAMERON HEYWARD: I’ve got a question for you.
COACH TRESSEL: Oh, you have a question.
CAMERON HEYWARD: Yeah.
COACH TRESSEL: Okay. Go ahead.
CAMERON HEYWARD: How’s practice going to be?
COACH TRESSEL: Hard. Hard and long. Step up there, Cam. You’ve got your own press conference. Mike Adams bailed out on you.
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REPORTER: Whenever you guys go up there, we always talk about the atmosphere, but you guys had so much fun two years ago, I would think it would not be a hard game to play in. I mean, in other words, what is a difficult atmosphere? Is it a game like this?
CAMERON HEYWARD: When you’re not winning. I think we just thrive on just everybody just cheering hard and we know we’re going to deal with a lot of adversity this year, but the best way to deal with it is just embrace it.
REPORTER: Is that adversity, though, to have a full stadium? You know what I’m saying? Why is that adverse as opposed to a noon game against an opponent you’re supposed to crush?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I don’t know. Maybe it’s just the night game. But sometimes when they give the ball movement a lot and the fans start to get hyped and everything, but we know we’re going to deal with a lot, they’re going to make some plays, but the main thing is just stay on task and just to improve and just embrace every moment we get.
REPORTER: Terrelle referenced the jump-around thing, he said, we’ll be jumping with them. Do you guys look up there and notice that when that happens? It’s hard not to notice.
CAMERON HEYWARD: Some guys jump around, but I don’t. The last time we were there, I was a little too hectic for that. We didn’t play the best game on defense. Hopefully if we do, I might be, but I’m not guaranteeing anything, so —
REPORTER: Cam, Coach said that John Clay was extraordinary, John Clay said he idolized Jim Brown coming up, his dad turned him on to Jim Brown. I know he’s not an NFL Hall of Famer in a sense of a rugged nature or do you see a guy after 21 carries, and you think, oh, he’s tired, then he comes back with another big run.
CAMERON HEYWARD: I met him at the Big Ten Conference, we talked a little bit. But he doesn’t even look like a running back, he’s a linebacker. He’s a great player. He does a lot for that team. He’s so explosive you don’t even know it, but sometimes the team can be feeling down and he makes one big play and he can turn around the game. He’s a game changer and it’s going to be a great challenge we have this week.
REPORTER: Is White more of a fastball? What does White bring when he comes into the lineup?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think he’s a little more shifty, but he can be explosive as well. It’s going to be critical for us to contain both of them. It’s going to be a hard task and it’s not just going to be one guys it’s going to take the whole team and just to swarm to the ball.
REPORTER: Is this going to be the best offensive line you’ve faced so far?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think they do things well. I think Miami was a great offensive line as well and there’s a couple teams that have a couple good players on the offensive line, but I think this is the most complete. They run so hard and finish blocks very well. They’re some trees and they get so much push, it’s going to be critical for us to keep up the line of scrimmage on our side.
REPORTER: Dex was talking about how big they are. When you’re facing a line that’s that size, what’s difficult for you guys facing guys that are bigger, do you have to use your quickness more?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think the main thing is, we have to stay low, fire off the ball, use our hands a little more. We know we’re not going to just overpower them, but the main thing is just getting off blocks, they pride themselves on running the ball and we have to do a great job of stopping the run and then reacting to the play action.
REPORTER: Is it amazing, Cameron, how many different offenses you face in a year, just style and stuff? I mean, you couldn’t be really more different from Indiana than Wisconsin, I mean —
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think that prepares us for a bowl if we make it to a bowl, but preparing for all these offenses is only going to make us more versatile and prepares us for every situation we’re in.
REPORTER: Going into Saturday, though, is it a different kind of frame of mind you have to have when you go against an offense like Wisconsin that’s clearly going to line up and physically challenge you?
CAMERON HEYWARD: Compared to Indiana, yes, preparing for Indiana was just stop the pass. They use the pass to create the run and this is completely opposite. We have to do a great job of stopping the run and then reacting to the pass, but they have a great quarterback and it’s going to be a great challenge we have this week.
REPORTER: Many Ohio State fans might not even know the names of most of the guys that play on the defensive line or offensive line, but you kind of go into a game with the knowledge that you guys most likely decide the outcome?
CAMERON HEYWARD: Definitely. Every week. We do our homework and we have to study these guys so well, and I think all games are won on the offense and defensive line, and I think in the summer and spring we emphasized if we win every battle in the trenches, we’ll have a great chance of winning.
REPORTER: I know you guys don’t like to talk rankings, but with the BCS polls coming out, do you think this weekend is a chance for Ohio State to prove that it deserves a chance to be No. 1?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think every week is a chance. We have so many opponents left on our schedule, no matter what the ranking is, it’s not even an upset or anything, it’s just Big Ten football. We know every opponent is going to give us their best shot and every week we have to prove to everybody that we deserve that ranking.
REPORTER: Cameron, here’s an out-of-left-field question here, but there’s a chance Colt McCoy will be starting for the browns Sunday at the Steelers, what are your memories, real quick, of him from the Fiesta Bowl?
CAMERON HEYWARD: He’s a gun slinger. He was getting it out so quick the last time we played, best of luck to him.
REPORTER: In that situation.
CAMERON HEYWARD: Those Steelers are nothing to play with, but —
REPORTER: I think he’s aware of that.
REPORTER: Cam, you talked about doing your homework. How much does that contribute each week and especially in a week like this, studying the guy or guys you’re going to go up against and what do you get out of that?
CAMERON HEYWARD: You have to study everything. It helps so much and I think our guys do it really well. We have to look at their stance, their tendencies, how they use their hands, how great of a run blocker as compared to a pass blocker they are, there’s just so many things we have to look at and I think it helps out our whole defense, it helps out our linebackers a bunch to see if they actually do release to our second linebackers and it just shows us what we can capitalize on and what we can improve on and what we have to look out for.
REPORTER: Do you have like one or two moves that you think will work and have to adjust or how do you —
CAMERON HEYWARD: Yeah, I think last year we did it so much, we sometimes still pass rush moves in and I think it only helps us. We’re so capable of being versatile with so many moves and we have so many guys that just absorb it so well and I think it helps us out every game.
REPORTER: Is this the biggest to this point any way, is this the biggest test you’ve had?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think each game is a test. We had Marshall at the beginning of the year, that was our first test, and it’s going to be our biggest test because it’s going to be our second road game and it’s going to be very critical and very hostile environment we’re going into and we’re looking forward to it.
REPORTER: What was the lesson you learned as a team from the Illinois game, the Illinois trip? Coach Tressel was referring to that a little bit. Obviously it rained all morning, the wind started blowing, did you think there was any kind of focus situation or anything like that with this team?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I don’t think it was the focus. I think we’ve got to play through any element, and, just, no, we didn’t play good open any side of the ball and our special teams weren’t great but they were pretty good, but I think we just wanted to improve from that. Offense didn’t have a great day, defense didn’t have a great day, but we just look to getting better just from that weekend, just looking to build on how we take on these road games.
REPORTER: Cam, you guys are halfway through the season, you’re number one in the conference in total defense how would you grade the play of the defensive line and the defense as a whole maybe through this first half of the season, if you can separate those two out?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think as a defense, just giving ourselves a grade B, you know, I think we’ve done a pretty good job. There are some times where we look out of character and we don’t play like we’re supposed to play, but as the defensive line, I don’t think we’re playing that good. I don’t think we’re getting the job done yet because we’re not getting the sacks we need, we’re not getting the tackles for loss, we’re not creating that much havoc, but there are so many games ahead in our schedule that we have opportunities and just have to seize the moment.
REPORTER: Wisconsin is so good at ball security, I wonder if the approach is, we’ve got to even try harder to get take aways or we’ll just take them if they happen.
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think we’ve just got to do both. We are going to force the situation a lot, but if they drop it on the ground, we are going to take advantage of it. If they throw it up, we’re going to take advantage of that as well and the main thing is that as we — we want to get turnovers as much as possible and I think our defense just prides itself on just making big plays, eliminating their big plays, so we’re just going to look to get better and this is going to be a tough game and they’re not going to just give it to us, but we’re just going to have to force the situation.
REPORTER: What do you define as havoc?
CAMERON HEYWARD: Havoc?
REPORTER: You shoved your guy into the quarterback a couple times last week, what do you want to see more of, I guess, by you guys? You were talking about tackles for loss and sacks, didn’t pass that, I mean —
CAMERON HEYWARD: Just forcing them into long situations. I think we’re getting to the quarterback, I’m not doubting our pressure or anything, but finishing plays, I think we do a great job of swarming to the ball but if we can just get him in the backfield and just capitalize on just getting a couple more sacks and getting a couple more turnovers. Our coach said it to us the other day, he said, you know, three’s the limit — three’s the minimum for turnovers. We want more sacks and the main thing is we just want to improve each week.
REPORTER: Physical nature of the games against Wisconsin, in your experience, is this one of the games where you really buckle up, their style of offense, your style of defense?
CAMERON HEYWARD: Yeah, you know, going back to the ’08 game, I just watched that the other day, and they kicked our butts on the defensive line, but you know, it’s a very physical game. Dane and Boom, we were just joking about this the other day, but they got concussions that game and they knocked us out pretty good that game. We were very lucky to win that game. It’s going to be hostile an we know we have a great challenge ahead of us but we’re looking forward to it.
REPORTER: When you were watching that game, obviously they moved down the field on you guys in the fourth quarter and scored the go ahead points there. What did you see on that drive, why were they able to do that, what could you learn from rewatching that or remembering that?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think tackling and getting a good push as the defensive line. I think if we controlled that a little better, it would have helped our linebackers out a little bit more. But I think our overall pursuit, we have to do better as well, but there’s so many things we have to correct from that, but we know they’re not just going to do that game plan, but it’s going to be very critical that we run to the ball and have at least five guys, but we really want the whole team in.
REPORTER: Coach Tressel talked about how well Nathan has been playing, what have you seen from him?
CAMERON HEYWARD: He plays a lot like Thad last year. He’s running to the ball, he gets in on so many plays, he’s very productive. He’s having a really good year and I just tell him to don’t just settle for just that. I would like to say he’s been our best defensive lineman so far and definitely caused a lot of havoc so far, but I think the defensive line, we definitely have to prove that and he’s definitely gave some offenses a headache this year.
REPORTER: Is he outplaying you then?
CAMERON HEYWARD: Right now he is.
REPORTER: If he’s facing — again, talk about this big offensive line, if a guy like Nate is facing a guy that’s 50 or 60 pounds bigger than he is, what does he do in that match-up? How can he maybe exploit his quickness or do some things to counter that?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think a lot of times they think he’s just going to give up on a play, but that’s not Nate’s mentality. He always runs to the ball and gives 110 percent effort and I think he’s gotten a lot better with his hands this year, just getting off blocks, in general, and it’s really benefited us because he’s stopped the run with that and I think it’s only going to help us pass rush and you said about the speed rush, you know, I think he gets so fast off the ball, it’s only going to make them bail out more and create a couple of chances to go up and under or just speed rush the whole time.
REPORTER: Talk about Big Hank a little bit, he seems to factor in your plans, he plays as much as Dex and the other guys, talk about how much he’s come along and if you’ve been surprised by the way he’s taken to the college game?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I wouldn’t say surprised. I think he’s become more comfortable with the system. Every week he’s talking more and more and it’s hard to get him to shut up now, but the main thing is, he moves so well for his size and he’s just producing, that’s all you can ask of a defensive lineman and I think it gives Dex a little spell sometimes, but we can have them both in, but they’re some big boys and when you have those guys on your side, it only makes your job easier.
REPORTER: I was going to say, what does it do for you guys to have a guy like that on front that’s 334 pounds that’s clearly a plugger, what does it do for the whole dynamic in the front?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think it helps us stop the runner even more. They have a really good pass rush. Hank, we were really surprised by that, we knew he was going to stop the run, even though he’s that big. He moves so well. And he surprises so many people and he can definitely get to the quarterback too.
REPORTER: Do you think there are any guys who think that the number one ranking is like a little extra pressure or kind of a pain in the neck because now we’ve asked you a lot of questions about No. 1, is there anybody that doesn’t want to be No. 1?
CAMERON HEYWARD: We always just want to be No. 2, then we just go under the radar, but we know since we’re No. 1 we’re going to have the bullseye on our back even more, but I don’t think anyone’s complaining about it. We know we have great responsibility. We have to take care of business on and off the field and it says a lot about our guys that we have to focus even more.
REPORTER: Do you think there’s a difference between 2 and 1 that maybe you honestly can be a little —
CAMERON HEYWARD: Yeah, no one expects 2 to do everything, but when you’re at No. 1, everyone’s looking to you to fall and we know everybody does and we look forward to just proving them wrong.
REPORTER: Does it help you at all focus-wise to see what happened to Alabama at South Carolina last week? Fourth quarter South Carolina just sort of took control, do you know what I mean? Does that help you to have that lesson?
CAMERON HEYWARD: I don’t think so. I think we know through our experiences that we can get knocked off any week, and the Big Ten schedule is so hard this year, and week in and week out we have a challenge and it’s going to be very tough, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.
REPORTER: The oldest guys, you guys have been No. 1 before, but the juniors and younger, this is their first experience with it, is that a different experience at all? Some of you have lived through what it means to be No. 1 and some of you haven’t.
CAMERON HEYWARD: Yeah, I think our older guys really understand what No. 1 means and we know it doesn’t mean anything right now. And the main thing is, we want to be No. 1 at the end of the season and we just want to continue to just improve each week and not really focus on the rankings and just to get better and everything will happen.
REPORTER: Devon Torrence, what’s he mean to this team? I mean, getting to be as a teammate on and off the field?
CAMERON HEYWARD: He’s very critical of himself and he demands a lot of himself. He’s a very good competitor. Him and DeVier battle so much and it’s funny sometimes because they get into little arguments about it, but he wants to be really good on this team and he’s got a great drive and he does so much, everybody just doesn’t get to see — you know, him and Jermale were always getting in extra workouts and to have seniors like we do, it’s really nice, because as captains we don’t even have to lead really because we have so many guys that just lead well and Devon’s just one of our leaders and does a great job at it.
REPORTER: Cameron, talk about Tolzien again, just what’s the difference you see in him compared to a year ago and just where has he made progress and what just kind of stands out about him? He seems almost like a perfect quarterback for their system.
CAMERON HEYWARD: I think he stays very poised under pressure and he controls the offense very well, that play action kills so many people on it, and he understands their offense very well and he’s definitely like their point guard, distributes the ball and he’s definitely a main asset. He does so much for that team and he gets it out to their playmakers, but I think he’s grown just absorbing it more and just looks more calm. Even last year I looked at it, we hit him a couple times, but he was still getting back up and it’s going to be critical that we just get after him for 60 plus minutes.
REPORTER: Why do they have thrown at the tight ends, they’ve done it ad nauseam and they still have guys wide open, what is it that they do that causes that? Obviously they come at you hard physically.
CAMERON HEYWARD: I don’t know. I think their tight ends are good blockers and sometimes I think teams get caught up in just them blocking and they’re able to escape for little spot routes, but we’re definitely going to look for the tight ends, we can’t underestimate them and it’s going to be critical that we know where they are and just pay attention to all their playmakers.
