Ohio State works and then plays under blue skies – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 28, 2011
Photo Gallery | VIDEO: Coach Fickell | VIDEO: FB Boren | VIDEO: TE Fragel
Ponte Vedra, Fla. – Coach Luke Fickell led the Ohio State Buckeyes through a two-hour workout Wednesday at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Field. The session was held under superb blue skies. Temps were moving toward the 60-degree range and it was brisk at times, but not enough to keep the players from a working up a good sweat.
And the sweating started early, as Fickell and the coaches had the players work off a little of the holiday enjoyment with a series of wind sprints across the field and back.
“Those weren’t bad at all,” sophomore quarterback Kenny Guiton said back at the team hotel. “We did about four sprints, and they weren’t bad at all.”
After the warm-ups the team worked through a typical 20-period practice but with a high level of enthusiasm and spirit. It’s bowl week, folks!
Thoughts from the Day
After practice, Fickell and four players – Zach Boren, Reid Fragel, Jordan Hall and Andrew Norwell – met with the media for interviews on the practice fields. Some thoughts from the day:
Zach Boren on…
Braxton Miller: “I expect big things. The last couple of years our quarterback has come out and done huge things in the bowl game and we’re expecting the same thing from him. He’s gotten better throughout the season and now he’s seeing what the defenses are giving us pre-snap, and even after the ball is snapped he is making quicker decisions.”
The game slowing down for Braxton: “The game slows down once you get mentally into it. Once you start knowing that they are showing cover 2 pre-snap but then are going into cover 3 after the ball is snapped…once you start mentally and physically seeing that in your head and knowing that, the game slows down.”
Jordan Hall on…
What he likes about bowl games: “I like getting to play another team from another conference and seeing where we can match up.”
Ohio State’s offense: “I think we have all the pieces to be a good offense and one of the best offenses in the country. Things just didn’t go our way, but I think that we will be all right.”
The pride factor for this game: “This game isn’t about the bowl game. This is about Ohio State and Florida. And Florida is a good program. We are a good program, and we obviously want to beat them.”
Andrew Norwell on…
Florida’s defensive front: “All the guys really move well and they really move their hands well.”
On the 2006 Game: “It doesn’t matter to me. I was in high school then…maybe a freshman. I’m just focused on this game.”
On one of the teams having a losing record once game is over: “It means a lot. You prepare for every game like you want to win. You just have to work hard this week in practice and we’ll see who the better team is.”
Reid Fragel on…
The importance of the game: “We all want to go out on a winning note. Obviously Florida is a good team and a winning program so it’s going to be a big game and we are looking forward to it.”
Luke Fickell on…
The team’s spirited practice: “They were ready to get back to work this morning. We got up this morning and had decided we were going to get rolling at it. We had a good four or five days off, and they were excited to get back at it this morning.”
Two powerhouse programs having atypical years: “We [Fickell and Will Muschamp] haven’t really talked about it but we both understand the situation we are in. … We are excited about where we are. It is a definite privilege and I reminded our guys of that this morning.”
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Jordan Hall leading the pack at Adventure Landing.
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Good Afternoon
The players and most of the coaches spent a couple hours Tuesday afternoon at Adventure Landing, a hybrid water park-game park. The water portion of the park was closed but everyone seemed to get their fill of the Adventure Speedway go karts, the Wacky Worm Family Coaster, laser tag and the Treasure Island putt putt coarse. And pizza; everyone had their fill of pizza, too.
No Longer a Hidden Talent
Ryan Ross, a second-year receiver from Akron, can play the piano really, really well. Best way to describe his playing is “wow!” Or quite simply…
“Awesome,” Nathan Williams said as he sat for at least 20 minutes listening to Ross and offering up song titles for him to play.
Sitting at a grand piano near the lobby area of the team’s headquarters at the Sawgrass Marriott, Ross breezed through a series of songs and a series of genres, including music by Bach, John Mayer, Wonderwall, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a number of songs that he wrote himself.
“I have eight or nine songs that I’ve written,” Ross, a biology major, said. “I took lessons from kindergarten through my sophomore year in high school. Then I started to write my own songs. I didn’t need to go to lessons anymore once I started writing so I just continued playing on my own.”
Ross, the first boy in his family and with three older sisters, says his mom made him take either a dance or a music class when he was young. All his sisters took dance and he wasn’t about to, so he chose music and his mom chose the piano.
Seems as if she knew what she was doing getting Ryan involved in music. Don’t know if she has much musical ability, but her name sure rings a nice bell: it’s Diana Ross.
Zap Patrol
That somewhat loud and powerful staccato snapping sound midway through practice? The police officers assigned to the team were testing their taser guns.
“We have to test them every day,” one of Jacksonville’s finest said near where the Buckeyes were practicing. “These things cost twice as much as our weapons.”
The tasers didn’t look much different than some of today’s toys, but that shouldn’t be a deterrent to their might. The X26 model that was being tested is powerful enough to take down a bull, according to one officer on the scene.
