CHICAGO — Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer wasted no time. He got right to the point in his opening statement Tuesday morning at Big Ten Media Days.
“I’ve been answering a lot of questions about a young team, but the issue would be if it was a non-talented young team,” Meyer said. “That’s not the case at all. It’s a very young team, but talented.
“But this is probably the most critical coaching month that our staff will — I’m speaking for myself — that I’ve ever been through.”
Meyer certainly wasn’t lying.
The Buckeyes are young — he was also quick to point out Ohio State’s 44 scholarship players who have freshman eligibility — but expectations are still sky high. In a recent poll done by media members covering the Big Ten, the Buckeyes were tabbed as the favorites to win the league. If you’re into betting and Las Vegas odds, Ohio State is the co-favorite there with Michigan to take home a Big Ten title.
The Buckeyes’ lack of experience certainly doesn’t seem to be factoring into much of anything at this point, but Meyer’s players can’t gain that experience without simply just playing games. It’s for that specific reason he said Ohio State’s upcoming fall camp is so critical.
“If we’re going to get to where the expectation of Ohio State is, if we’re going to get there, we’ve got a lot of work to do,” fifth-year senior center Pat Elflein said. “I’m not worried by any means, but like every year when we go to camp, we’ve got a lot of work to do. I feel a lot of pressure on me and J.T. [Barrett] as well because we’re in charge.
“It’s going to be fun, though. It’s going to be a good time.”
Ohio State opens fall camp in just over two weeks on Aug. 7. The Buckeyes don’t play a game until they host Bowling Green for the season-opener Sept. 3. There’s plenty of time to get things right and Ohio State’s veteran players — Elflein, Barrett and Raekwon McMillan — are confident that will happen.
“[Meyer] does a great job coaching us and his staff does a great job coaching us as well,” McMillan said. “It’s a very critical camp because of all the young guys.”
Mike Weber. Jamarco Jones. Dante Booker. Malik Hooker. Those are just a few of the names Ohio State will count on this fall for big-time production. None have played any sort of significant role to this point. That’s where Meyer’s challenge lies.
A year ago, it was about proven players improving. This time around, it’s about getting a group of relatively unknown players to a certain level where they’re able to compete for a Big Ten championship.
“We have to get these guys ready,” Meyer said. “Our practices are going to be much different and they were in the spring and we’ve carried it out throughout the summer.”
“It will be interesting,” he continued, “but I’m very excited to be around them as all our coaches are. This will be a new challenge for us and one that I can’t wait to get our hands on.”
