Jim Tressel, the last Ohio State head coach to bring a college football national title to Columbus prior to Urban Meyer's evisceration of Oregon, hardly has energy to put toward the game anymore.
"We're so busy doing what we're doing, it's so important to Northeast Ohio, what we're doing," Tressel, now university president at Youngstown State, told Kenny Roda of Canton's 1480 Sports Talk Radio Thursday afternoon. "You get to learn something new every day, you get to see if you can be helpful in a larger arena, so I haven't really had time to miss anything."
Tressel spent roughly 15 minutes speaking with Roda before making an appearance on a Cleveland radio station, but his comments about Meyer and some of his former players winning the first ever College Football Playoff National Championship show the football fire is not dormant in The Senator's stomach.
Below is the Q&A between Roda and Tressel, complete with his thoughts on the 2014 national title team, Terrelle Pryor and the new head coach of the Penguins, Bo Pelini.
On what it meant to be at the national championship game in Dallas as a fan (Tressel was there as a member of the 2015 College Football Hall of Fame class):
"I was a fan that had some very close affiliations obviously with the university, but with the some of the coaches and of course some of players. I sat in the their living rooms and told them that wonderful things were going to happen if they came to Ohio State and it's good to see that those things are happening and they're leaving there with their degree and their leaving there with perhaps opportunities in the NFL and opportunities to be prepared for life. Plus they can take that nice big championship ring home with them."
On not having to make difficult coaching decisions in a big game like that, instead just enjoying the game and watching some of his former players (spoiler: he knew Ohio State was going to win):
"It was a lot easier. I didn't make any mistakes with my decisions. It was fun. I knew that when Oregon went down and scored we had them right where we wanted them. Everyone thought that Oregon was going to be the winner and I don't know if you were there when I told the media that we were going to win 38-20, I was off by (four) points. I thought that there was no question that our guys were prepared and they had some real suffering in their careers. The coaching transition, the tough year, then a new staff, then injuries, lost their quarterbacks, all those things contributed to them being mentally ready to handle things on the biggest stage."
On if he ever misses coaching:
"Not really. Every once in a while you miss having those arguments in the staff room and having the excitement of trying to compete against someone and see if you can be the best in the country at it, but we have the same kind of goals in mind at our programs. We want to be the best university in the nation. We want to have the best engineering program in the nation. We want to have the best graduation rate in the nation. We still have plenty of things to keep your blood flowing and I feel like I'm coaching 12,000 kids rather than 100."
On if he would ever consider getting back into coaching, even at age 62:
"No, I've completely ruled that out. When you're away from something for four or five years, you're not as up to date and I would be a dinosaur in coaching right now. I'm trying to be up to date in what I'm doing. They need the younger generation in there right now."
On whether or not he thinks former quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who was claimed by the Cleveland Browns as a wide receiver Tuesday, could still make it in the NFL:
Tressel said he and Pryor are still close today. Photo via ZUMA/Icon Sportswire.
"If anyone can, he can. He certainly has tremendous athletic ability and a passion to help wherever he can be helpful. If anyone can do it, he can. And, he could be the bonus of, he could be the team's third quarterback. That way they only have to carry two which gives you a chance to have one more good player on special teams or whatever else. I think he could be a bonus."
On any advice he would give Pryor as he tries out a new position at the highest level of football in the world:
"He's gotta pay close attention and understand that he's in a new world and he's gotta assume that he knows nothing. He's also gotta take the advantage of having been the guy under center, with the knowledge there, but he's also gotta learn the intricacies of playing another position. Just understand that he's starting from the beginning and work hard every day and believe in himself. He's really grown, I talk to him off and on. I got a call from him the day he went to the Browns, but I was in one of those many meetings so I didn't get a chance to talk to him. I'm sure he'll do well."
On how close he is with his former quarterback today, even though along with some poor decisions by Tressel himself, was a cog in his eventual resignation as Ohio State's head coach in May 2011:
"He's also the reason why we won a whole bunch of games. So I better not forget that. Things happened, he's learned from them, we've all learned from them. Hopefully he'll do well in the future."
On Youngstown State's new head football coach Bo Pelini, who was fired from Nebraska following seven seasons with the Cornhuskers, each which he lost four games:
"Bo is an outstanding young man, he's from Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, highly intelligent young man, lot of experiences in the NFL and college football. He's been a head coach and a very successful one. Our community's excited. They would like the opportunity for him to take us back to the promised land and I know he's going to try hard to do that."
Tressel's exit from Ohio State was messy, but his mind is still as sharp as ever and it's evident he still has continuing relationships with his former players even though he now heads a university he used to coach prior to his time in Columbus.
He might never coach again, but it's pretty clear Tressel is determined to make a difference on the minds of individuals in their mid-20s. It's also pretty apparent he's still a fan of the Buckeyes by the way he used the words "we" and "us" when he discussed the team.
