BUCKEYES CHAT WITH THE MEDIA AHEAD OF MATCHUP AGAINST MARYLAND
11/17/2022 10:00:54 AM | Football
Ohio State players met with the media after Wednesday’s practice to discuss team progress ahead of Saturday’s road competition against Maryland.
On getting double-teamed by Indiana:
“If they want to double-team me, that’s great. Then we can run the ball and there are fewer people in the box. When we have one on one coverage on our other receivers, I know they’re going to win for sure. It’s my job to go out there and take two for the team. That’s all I can do.”
On his block for Xavier Johnson:
“We all want each other to succeed. Especially with someone like X, who has been through a lot as a walk-on and has switched positions a lot. To see him have success, we just try to do our part.”
On missed plays:
“I think everything happens for a reason. If it wasn’t meant for me to make that play, it wasn’t meant. Maybe plays I did make I would not have if I had made the play that you’re talking about.”
On finding out 20 minutes prior to kickoff about starting position:
“It was kinda cool, Coach Day tells you and you get excited the nerves start going but then you get on the field and you’re like this is just like practice, you go in and do your stuff.”
On playing against Indiana:
“It was special because my dad played at IU it was cool to play against his alma mater and get that one up on him.”
On proving himself:
“I don’t think I’ve proven myself, I never want to bask in the glory or sit on top I want to keep working at it and keep getting better and become the best.”
On needing to be tougher after the loss to Michigan last year:
“Taken pretty big steps as far as toughness, we preach it all off-season, we practice out in the snow we usually didn’t do that last year but now we’re just trying to change the culture here into being tougher and I think we have definitely done that at this point.”
“We’re a lot closer this year as a team, people celebrating during plays, you can really feel the energy a lot more than last year.”
On becoming a starter:
“It’s just consistency. Every day I came to practice like I wanted to be a starter… I just wanted to come to practice, go to games having that same mindset that I can make a change in the program.”
On how the team has changed over the past year:
“The team has come together. We have a goal, we have one goal in mind. We want to beat the team up north… Having the same goal and us playing together, we have something special this year and we want to do it together.”
On settling into the offensive scheme:
“In fall camp, I did pretty well coming in as a summer guy, but I probably didn’t get comfortable until mid-August. Everything was new to me.”
On being able to step into a more prominent role:
“Coach Alford kept motivating me and saying I was going to get more reps. The more reps I got due to that [motivation] made me better and made me play a lot faster.”
On his mentality throughout the game against Indiana:
“When you first go in, sometimes you might be anxious or questioning what you see. At the end of the day, you just have to trust what you see and go with it.”
On how it felt to watch Kam Babb’s touchdown:
“I’ve been with him since 8th grade, watching him and playing with him. It was a dream come true for me. I’ve seen all the obstacles he’s been through and I’ve witnessed every injury he’s had. I was there with him every step and I’m so glad that I was able to be out there with him when he scored.”
On the depth of the team:
“The young guys right behind me are very talented guys. If I’m not able to go, I have no doubt that they would be able to compete.”
On teammates returning from injury:
“I’m excited for us to be full go and for us to all be out there and be healthy. Once we’re out there and all healthy, I feel like no one can compete with us.”
