The Buckeyes Spoke to the Media After Spring Practice
3/19/2025 12:23:00 PM | Football
When does ‘can he be the quarterback of Ohio State’ fit into his evaluation of the players:
“A lot of that was done in the recruitment process. I'm confident that all three of them could be the guy at Ohio State. I think those guys have already checked that box. Now it's just a matter of who goes out and wins the job. We are so far away from that point, but when we when we're recruiting a guy we try to figure all that stuff out. We're gathering as much data as we possibly can to learn about the person and to understand their mental makeup and to make sure that they're a fit.”
On what the current quarterbacks learned from Will:
“When it came to intangibles I can't say I've been doing this for 35 years or anything crazy like that, but was by far the best I've ever seen do it. As far as what he did the best, I think that having such a complete understanding of the offense—the run game to the pass game, the protections, understanding the ins and outs, the little details, everybody's job, and where certain concepts, protections, or play styles were weak—and how to adjust them if we were going to see something that made us weak there. He had total command. A big part of trust is showing that you're competent and understand. Will built that trust in his teammates by showing that he was extremely competent. He understood everything—all the ins and outs—and he could tell everybody on the field what to do. From there, he grabbed the trust of all of his teammates, and then he could start to lead. The biggest thing—it's tough to say—but everything that he did was built off his total understanding of what we were trying to do offensively.”
On how he has grown from last year:
"I’d say my confidence and leadership. The past few years, I've had older guys in front of me, and getting to learn from them on how to be a leader and how to take control of it all. Now, I’m the oldest guy in the room. I feel that now; I feel more confident and feel like I need to be a leader for the quarterback room."
On feeling pressure at practice:
"There's always pressure. Being a quarterback here at Ohio State, there's always going to be pressure, but I think pressure is a privilege."
On Will Howard:
"Will was a really great leader for this team, and it was fun to watch. He was someone who everyone could relate to and was liked by all. I think if you went around the Woody and asked about Will Howard, everyone would have good things to say about him. I think that's something I'm trying to take as an approach."
On feelings after being in the program as a quarterback:
"I think when I first got here, I was still learning how everything worked and figuring out what I was doing. Now, I feel like I know what I'm doing within the plays and how the program works. It's been good to get adjusted, but I'm still trying to improve."
On preparedness:
“I saw that last year how much noise there is, but you have to block out the noise. I'm just focused on spring practice and just getting better every day.”
On leap from year one to year two:
“I would say just knowing where I'm going with football and understanding football IQ. I learned a lot from Coach Kelly, Coach Day and Coach Fessler. There's still more room to improve and room to grow but I think I've learned a lot.”
On being at Ohio State so far:
“It's been great. It's been everything I thought it would be, coming to Ohio State. I've had plenty of meetings with quarterback coaches. I've had great counseling and leadership from the older guys in the room and the other players on the team as well, getting wisdom from them. I'm learning the culture and really trying to enhance myself in it and showcase what this team is all about.”
On what current team members did to help with his transition to college:
“A lot of them said, “It's going to be hard.” Ohio State is not for everybody. It's not easy mentally or physically, but once you persevere through that, push through it and you lean on your brothers next to you, you feel like you can accomplish anything and you'll come out a better person because of it.”
On his intensity and being intentional with his coaching:
“I always say to the backs it’s always the little things, so, be intentional about what you're working on. So I have to be intentional about what I'm pouring into them because everything starts with me they're gonna take on my mindset and if I come out here with lukewarm enthusiasm they're gonna be the same way. I don't coach that way so every day I come out here and attack this feeling whether I’m feeling well or whether I’m feeling sick because the backs are going to feed off my energy.”
On wanting RB's with different strengths:
"I want different styles, I never try and take the same back. I don’t want to take someone with the same strengths same style, whether they're big guys, small guys, pass catchers, in between the tackle runners."
On what he has learned from Coach Locklyn:
“I have learned a lot. A lot of all the little things matter, all the techniques. I'm just trying to take it all in."
On how he would describe himself as a RB:
“I would say I'm pretty versatile I can catch and I'm fast. I also feel like I'm pretty big and pretty strong.”
On experiencing the Rose Bowl as a recruit:
“It was an amazing experience. I remember when they first reached out saying that they wanted to bring the recruits out to Cali to go to the Rose Bowl, it blew me away. Being able to be with the team throughout that entire process and seeing how those leaders led us all the way to the championship kind of set the foundation for us. Now, we have to do it again."
On his takeaways from being around the team:
"I learned that a player-led team is always going to beat a coach-led team. We had some strong leaders—guys like TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins, and Gee Scott. They pushed everybody and set the standard. That’s something I’ll take with me moving forward."
On advice for freshmen:
"You're not going to be up late at night. You have to be locked in and know when to go to sleep early. You're going to have classes at night and tasks you didn't do in high school that you'll be doing here. You'll be attending meetings late, especially during fall camp, when you're here all day."
On relationship on Coach Locklyn:
“I think it changed tremendously. We weren't really talking but now we have those man to man talks and we have conversations so it's really better.”
On learning pass protection:
"You aren’t really blocking in high school. Coming here you really have to lock into the pass protection because we're the last resort before getting to the quarterback
On feelings for this season:
“I’m feeling good. Last year I learned a lot, especially with the guys in the room with Trey and Q. This year I’m looking to get better and improve the areas I need it in and help these young guys come along with me.”
Takeaways from last season:
“I learned from Trey and Q. They approach every day like it's your last day. I talk a lot with Trey. He picked one thing that he could get better at every day. Taking that and bringing it into this year, one thing I can get better at every day is upholding the standard in the running back room. It's been great. So, that's one thing I did take away.”
On Coach Locklyn:
“He is definitely on the team all the time. Today he encouraged me about my finishing. He said everything else was good, but told me I have to finish more. He said, “I'm going to make you great.”That just shows that in everybody's game, there's always something you can get better at—always something to improve upon, no matter who you are, how tough you are, or your abilities.There's always something that he's gonna nitpick on. He's gonna push you to get better at because that's gonna bring out the best in you in every situation.”
On being around to watch Ohio State in the playoff run:
“It was amazing to watch the process with TreVeyon and Quinshon, that are currently trying to go to the draft. Watching their preparation and watching them take the little details to make the biggest impact. Analyzing and watching how they were as a family and a brotherhood was amazing to watch.”
On how he has seen Ohio State develop him as a player so far:
It’s been off the charts. They’ve developed me from day one. Since the day I stepped on campus, we worked out, talked about my eating habits, where I need to get my body weight, and what I need to improve on to develop into an NFL running back and have an opportunity to reach that level. They’ve invested in me as much as possible, day in and day out.
