Urban Meyer joined Paul Keels, the voice of the Buckeyes, and former player Jim Lachey for the first 2015 broadcast of the Urban Meyer Coach's Show on 97.1 The Fan. Ohio State's fourth-year coach talked Hawai'i and all things Ohio State football.
The offensive line is still beaten up as of yesterday. "[Virginia Tech] had one of the best defensive fronts we've ever gone against." Said they're still fatigued due to the short turnaround, but "I don't hear any complaining."
"We have a very nasty offensive line."
The ability to throw over the top of the defense is one of the reasons they went with Cardale Jones at QB.
Urban liked the adversity in the first half as much as he did the team's response. "It's the leadership that we need."
They went into Blacksburg with a plan to get Braxton Miller involved in a number of ways, and that will continue this season.
Paris Campbell "is a starter." They didn't grade him down on the dropped pass — "We don't grade down on stuff like that." — but noted he'll need to catch those in the future. Noted he's a great student. "He's what we're all about."
Urban said the way they'll handle the QBs might be "a little unorthodox." Noted Cardale took the last snap vs. Oregon, so he'd have to be beat out. "He wasn't beat out." But said J.T. Barrett will continue to play.
Speaking of J.T. Barrett, Urban noted that he'll coach at Ohio State one day if he wants. Said he caught Barrett coaching up teammates throughout the game.
Urban said they went with direct snaps to Miller to get a numbers advantage on the Hokies in the running game. "People say 'Why don't you just turn and hand it to Ezekiel Elliott?' Well, you can't do that if there are two guys already there."
On Hawai'i: Noted they're on a 10-day prep, compared to Ohio State's four-day prep. "Very Baylor-like offense. If you're screwing around, they can hurt you." They have a strong-armed QB and two receivers who "could play anywhere in the country."
"This is where Ed Warinner earns his keep." Noted they trained hard for Virginia Tech and the Bear defense, but Hawai'i's 3-4 defense will bring different exotic looks."
Meyer said Ezekiel Elliott is the best blocker he's ever been around. Noted he had two knockdowns on Braxton Miller's long touchdown run. "He's so selfless. Where does he get that from? I go back to his family. There must've been some training."
"95% of our team is one-for-all.'"
"I'm trying to find ways to get Curtis Samuel the ball. He's an incredible kid."
On TE depth: "We're kind of a mess at tight end. We've recruited well at other places, but tight end is not one of them. Ohio State should not have two freshmen in the mix."
Marcus Baugh has had his best two weeks of preparation, and they're going to play him.
"Nick Vannett didn't play very good... but he's going to play better."
Urban is willing to take the risk of the ball going out of bounds on the angled kickoffs. "Athletes like space, and so you put 22 people inside the hash." Losing contain is also a risk, but that's why Ohio State keeps fast guys on the field. That's what led to Ezekiel Elliott's punishing hit at Purdue in 2013.
They're going go out at 2:30 today, and whoever kicks the best will be the kicker against Hawai'i.
Cameron Johnston did "pretty good" but wasn't his usual "outstanding" self.
"Bri'onte Dunn didn't start out well here," but he's come around. "We coach people through [fumbling]." If it was a lack of effort, he wouldn't play. The fumble didn't come from a lack of effort.
On ball security issues: "Very alarming," but Ohio State works on ball security every day in practice. "At some point, those who turn the ball over won't play."
Virginia Tech's throwbacks were a result of Ohio State's aggressive defense. "I told coaches that would happen sometimes," when Meyer switched to a more aggressive defense after the 2013 season. He's willing to deal with it.
Urban lauds the interior defensive linemen. "We're starting to get some depth there."
Joshua Perry "didn't play his best game," but they have high expectations for him.
Darron Lee "played well," and Raekwon McMillan "graded out as a champion."
Eric Glover-Williams and K.J. Hill are two freshmen on the brink of playing time. They're going to try to get some depth in this weekend.
Brady Taylor "needs to get a lot better."
Matthew Burrell is "really coming on." Again noted they needed to "de-fat" him upon his arrival.
Torrance Gibson's sprained ankle set him back. He's good enough to play, but Ohio State has depth at the position.
Mike Weber is another guy who was setback by injury. He and Gibson "need to be patient," but Urban noted freshmen sometimes aren't good at that. But "that's probably what makes them good players."
Marshon Lattimore is going to play this weekend.
"Our scout teams are much better than they've been."
"Those young offensive linemen... we have the best offensive line scout team in the country right now."
Urban's home game tradition going into the fourth quarter: Taking off his headset and listening to the band play 'Hang on Sloopy.'
Full replay available through 97.1 The Fan.
