Coach Meyer talks football after practice No. 6 – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 31, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State Buckeyes were in pads once again for a two-hour practice Tuesday morning at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. This was practice No. 6 on the 15-practice spring calendar which also includes the LifeSports Spring Game, presented by Nationwide, April 18 in Ohio Stadium.
As he has done each week this spring, Coach Urban Meyer met with the assembled media following his team’s Tuesday morning practice. His 15-minute session was long enough to include 17 questions from eight different reporters aligned with seven different media entities.
Some Meyer thoughts:
On the play of the running backs (with Ezekiel Elliott being held out of contact after having wrist surgery): “Bri’onte Dunn has got a little momentum going. We’re taking a look at Curtis Samuel as a receiver/H-back/running back since Ezekiel has missed some time. He [Samuel] is a guy we are looking at as a Top 5 playmaker for us. The days of Curtis Samuel playing 10 plays are over. It’s our job to get him on the field for 40 or 50 plays.”
Meyer said the team had 10 playmakers last year, but with Evan Spencer and Devin Smith gone, figuring out who those 10 are this year and what order they touch the football is a challenge but it is also one of the “fun parts of coaching.”
He mentioned some guys who are on the list, including WR Michael Thomas, H-back Jalin Marshall, TE Nick Vannett, Samuel and “obviously, Zeke Elliott is high on that list,” and guys who are vying to be on the list, like Noah Brown and Marcus Baugh.
Some skill position stats:
- WR Michael Thomas – 54 receptions for 799 yards (14.8 avg.) and nine touchdowns in 2014;
- H-back Jalin Marshall – 38 receptions for 499 yards (13.1 avg.) and six touchdowns;
- TE Nick Vannett – 19 receptions for 220 yards and five touchdowns;
- RB Ezekiel Elliott – 1,878 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns plus 28 receptions for 220 yards; and
- H-back Noah Brown – 240 pounds in 2014; 222 pounds in 2015.
On playing two quarterbacks: “I don’t know about that; you may have a specialty quarterback. I’ve thought about that a little bit, but I think it’s one day at a time. Let’s get Braxton healthy, get J.T. some reps and Cardale has still only played three games.”
On Bri’onte Dunn’s momentum: “It is showing on the field. It started with his contributions last year on special teams.”
On collecting/evaluating talent: “We look for the best player. I just talked to the team and there are three characteristics we look for: competitor is No. 1; toughness is No. 2 and go hard. And obviously he has to have skill, but if he has those three characteristics, we’re recruiting him.”
On what he is seeing from the defensive line group: “I was very disappointed a year ago with the backup group. A lot of pressure has been put on them. I would say that Tommy Schutt has had a very good off-season … has cut weight. I think Joel Hale is a guy you forget about but he’s going to help us. We’re being very cautious with Adolphus [Washington] because he’s played a lot of reps. The other guys have shown signs: Mike Hill, Donovan Munger, Jalyn Holmes, Darius Slade, Sam Hubbard … You have Tyquan Lewis, who is running at the other defensive end position (opposite All-American Joey Bosa) with the ones. We have bodies at the position but we aren’t even close to where we need to be. Are they trying and getting better? Yes.”
On Joel Hale coming back and switching back to defensive line: “I just have great respect for guys [like Joel]. He’s a competitor. He’s tough. And he goes hard. Now we just have to find the right place for him. It was a mutual conversation we had and we have a lot of respect for Joel Hale around here.”
On pass defense: “We need to enhance it and keep going … great strides a year ago. We are expanding our package a little. We’ve been in it a year. The kids know it. There are a lot of returning players. Eli Apple is playing well. Gareon Conley is a bright spot. So I like our secondary.”
Superb secondary stat: Led by Vonn Bell (10-year Ohio State high six interceptions) and Tyvis Powell (five interceptions), Ohio State finished fourth in the nation last year with 25 interceptions. The total was the second-highest total in school history (29 by the 1986 team).
On secondary depth: “Eric Smith is doing well. Cam Burrows is kind of a ‘1’ because he rotates in there. And you have Damon Webb at corner. We’ve got some numbers but we have some good guys coming in.”
