Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer met with the media Wednesday to talk the Buckeyes’ upcoming nighttime bout with Virginia Tech.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Notes:
- Meyer said NBA mega star LeBron James should be in attendance for Ohio State primetime bout with Virginia Tech Saturday. “I think he’ll be in town.”
- Meyer said Saturday’s game almost feels like a season opener. “Our defensive coaches were actually saying, it’s hard enough to play Navy and the week after, you wish you had an easier team than this because we’re re-teaching the pass defense that’s really new from spring ball with a bunch of new players. That’s the way it is. We’ve had some pretty good days, but we’re gonna need tomorrow.”
- For Virginia Tech, Saturday seems to be a chance for the Hokies to seize a marquee win after struggling that past few seasons. Meyer downplayed such a notion. “I think you guys know the answer, they’re a very good team that’s extremely talented and historically one of the top 10 teams in America.”
- Meyer said Ohio State’s offensive line is “much better.” Added Meyer: “They settled down in the second half, they’re no longer rookies, they’re veteran players now.”
- Meyer on recruiting the state of Virginia: “It always has (been a big part of the plan), just the respect we have for the ball players that come out of that area.
- Meyer said he and Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer are “very good friends.” Added Meyer: “Just from the Nike trips we’ve done for years, Cheryl and my wife are very good friends. I talk football with him and special teams, I told that story, back in 1998 or something like that was the first time that I ever became engrossed with the kicking game and that was because of Coach Beamer.”
- Meyer on Beamer Ball and the Hokies’ emphasis on special teams: “He’s kind of aggressive, In the old days, punt return wasn’t hold up and hope for a fair catch, get the ball back. He was a guy that would just start storming the castle and start blocking punts, just really aggressive. You remember back in the day, even not that long ago recently, where they would win games because of that.”
- Meyer said he feels good about his team’s special teams. “This is a good unit, we have more depth than we did last year -- last year we had one guy on all four phases. This is, it remains to be seen, but they played very well Saturday. We just gotta knock one out -- a return. But the coverage units are really good.”
- Meyer reiterated Saturday’s importance for recruiting. “It’s a big national audience, it’s Ohio State night, Buckeye football at night time. Night game, Buckeye style and that stadium’s awesome. We’ve had some great things over the last two years.”
- Meyer on the new tunnel, renovations at Ohio Stadium: “That hasn’t been a huge topic of conversation.”
