The praise began after Kenny Guiton reached rock bottom. When the new coaching staff started to take form in late 2011, Guiton was in a bad place. Playing time was non-existent, classroom production dipped and Guiton carried a poor attitude. Head coach Urban Meyer said the quarterback almost earned himself a one-way bus ticket back to Houston.
A series of events in winter conditioning and summer workouts flipped a switch in Guiton. With his career winding down and what seemed like a positive regime change, he didn’t want to be the odd man out. Thus began the transformation of Kenny Guiton.
Meyer quickly went from angry head coach to impressed by Guiton’s knowledge of the game. The “Coach Guiton” moniker was born soon thereafter. In the past year, Guiton’s saved the undefeated season of 2012 and created a mini quarterback controversy with an astounding level of play during Braxton Miller’s three-game hiatus in September. Guiton set numerous school records, but perhaps his greatest influence has come in meeting rooms and on practice fields.
“The impact Kenny Guiton has made on this program and Braxton Miller, what's the right word, just profound. It is profound what he’s done,” Meyer said. “He’s an excellent preparation guy. He’s the guy that really studies the game, is a nut about his fundamentals. As a result, every other quarterback sees that. That’s really helped Braxton.”
On Saturday, Guiton will play his final home game in scarlet and gray. It’s possible he’ll receive the biggest ovation of all. But it might not be the last time Guiton is seen on the Ohio State sideline. If a professional playing career doesn’t materialize, chances are you’ll see Guiton with a headset next season.
“That’s the plan. Yes, sir,” Guiton said. To be a graduate assistant, one must have a 3.0 grade-point average. Guiton said he remains 0.1 away from being eligible.
“I gotta do something,” he said.
An invite to training camp seems plausible for Guiton. He’s completed nearly 70 percent of his passes this season for 749 yards, 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Three hundred eleven rushing yards and five touchdowns adds to the impressive nature of what Guiton’s been able to accomplish. At 6-foot-3, he has the size NFL front office personnel covet in a quarterback.
“I’m hoping for a chance, but I’m not sure,” Guiton said. “I’ll look into it, but if it’s nothing major, I’m going to get into coaching.”
OSU is looking straight ahead.Buckeyes Look Elsewhere When It Comes To BCS
Expectations are different at every school. Losses at Ohio State are unacceptable and even some wins are pooh-poohed. Tom Herman has lived through varying degrees of fan angst at each coaching stop.
At Rice and Iowa State, all wins were celebrated. When that subject was brought up Monday, Herman replied, “Hell yeah.” That’s life in remote college towns and schools with small budgets.
The offensive coordinator’s job at Ohio State is far different. Columbus is not Ames and the Buckeyes are not the Owls. Scoring 60 points and winning a road conference game at Rice and Iowa State would be cause for celebration. Not so at Ohio State.
Media and fans hold the Buckeyes to a far different standard than exists at other places. But that’s the life of a college football superpower. As the hunt for a national championship intensifies, the focus for Ohio State shifts to itself. The Buckeyes are third in the BCS standings and in danger of being passed by Baylor.
Much has been made about college football’s postseason in recent weeks. The 15-year-old BCS is in its final weeks of survival. Meyer called the system “flawed.” Herman has been no stranger to the style points game. At Iowa State, his Cyclones ruined Oklahoma State’s dream of a national championship in 2011. So is he annoyed with where the Buckeyes stand?
“It was like last year when everybody said, ‘Is there frustration you can’t go to a bowl game?’ No, we knew we couldn’t go to a bowl game in January,” Herman said. “We’ve known about the BCS for the last 15 years. To waste brain cells thinking about it would be brain cells that I can use to help the offense or help quarterback Braxton Miller or to be a better husband or better father.”
Herman doesn’t believe lobbying changes any of the facts – Ohio State must keep winning.
“The only thing we can concentrate on is how do we advance further in the BCS, how do we keep ahead of Baylor? That’s just the reality,” he said. “How do we get to the national championship? That’s our goal. That’s the only thing we can control, and that’s really what we’re focused on.”
Meyer said his concentration is centered on the poor health of the team and a shortage of special teamers. Dating to the summer, nine players have suffered season-ending injuries. Asked about the BCS picture and Buckeye Nation’s anxiety, Meyer went in a different direction.
“Ezekiel is on our punt team, I have to teach him how to tackle,” Meyer said, laughing. “Warren Ball is running down on kickoff. He’s the number two guy in the boundary. When you run a boundary run, your job is to spill the lead blocker. He hasn’t done that since his high school career. We’re going to work hard on that in practice. Any other questions about Warren Ball's coverage?”
Whether there were or not, Meyer was going to talk about Ball. During his 19-minute press conference, Ball was mentioned eight times by Meyer, leading him to say, facetiously, “Poor Warren.”
Come Saturday, it could be poor Indiana.
Bad Getting Worse
Indiana’s defense has reached historic levels. Coordinator Doug Mallory’s unit has been putrid since the first possession of the season. The Hoosiers have allowed 35, 35, 41, 42, 42, 45, 51 and 63 points. They rank 116th in scoring defense, and 122nd in rush defense and total defense. Through 10 games, opponents are averaging 39 points and 535 yards per game.
Now, Indiana must find a way to slow down Ohio State’s high-powered offense.
The problems for the Hoosiers are many. Youth and a lack of depth are the most obvious. But the on-field play is lacking in many areas. Running and passing is done effortlessly by opponents. Last Saturday, Wisconsin gained 554 yards. Incredibly, the Badgers amassed 420 of those yards on just nine plays.
This has been Indiana’s history. In years where the Hoosiers put a decent team on the field, offense is never the problem. Missed tackles and blown coverages have always been the setbacks.
“Some of it is talent,” head coach Kevin Wilson said. “I’m going to look really hard at what we’re doing in lifting, running, change of direction. What are we doing with a culture and attitude of our building to play better defense? Then we'll look at personnel and schemes and coaching and all those kind of deals.”
Mallory called it a process. Expecting overnight results is unrealistic, he said. But this isn’t Year 1. Mallory has been at Indiana for three seasons and the defense has regressed. Instead of throwing gasoline on an already out of control fire, Wilson deflected the blame to himself.
“It’s my fault because I am the head coach,” he said. “When you’re head coach, you’re in charge of everything, and we’ve got to make some strides.”
Good defense is possible at Indiana, Mallory said. The Hoosiers have talent in Darius Latham, David Kinney and Clyde Newton. That youth is the foundation for what Wilson and Mallory hope to build.
“With a bunch of young guys that we have, it should get better, it needs to get better, and it's my job to make sure it gets better,” Wilson said.
