Urban Meyer is not fond of the word "surprise." If you experience surprises with your football team whether it be due to personnel or something unforeseen during a game, you made a mistake in recruiting or didn't prepare well enough.
“That's disrespectful realizing that we have talented guys,” Meyer said on Monday.
Meyer answered that way when asked if how much the 44 freshmen on his team developed so quickly thus far in 2016 perplexed him. The Buckeyes, considered the country's most inexperienced team before the season began, are 4-0, ranked No. 2 in the country and charging hard into Big Ten play.
“The young players, you really enjoy coaching them,” Meyer said. “Once, as you say, the game slows down, you start to see some terrific players develop.”
That is happening at a torrid pace so far this year and Meyer knows it. He is also aware the Buckeyes will only be as good as that youth is when it's all said and done, which is why he's counting on the leaders in his program to prepare them for a more than game Indiana squad.
The Hoosiers, fresh off an overtime upset victory against Michigan State, visit Ohio Stadium at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. It's on players like the team's seven captains to stress how even though the Buckeyes are outscoring opponents 228-37 through four games, anything can happen.
“If the leaders of your team are idiots, then you've got a problem.”– Urban Meyer
“I think the best thing is when it's real and, for example, Indiana is real,” Meyer said Tuesday on the Big Ten teleconference. “The players are engaged and really good players come in and watch video tape and we respect every opponent, but sometimes when the film is not very good that's where you have to create scenarios or maybe not even show them much film.”
Beyond that, the culture with which Meyer brands his program shines through in the vast amount of competition apparent at every position. The Buckeyes are as deep as they've ever been in his tenure, a direct correlation with how many available guys are thirsting to make a splash when their number is called.
“Coach Meyer made a comment to us that when the young guys come into the game, everyone expects us to stop scoring or let up, but all they know how to do is go hard because that’s the way we’re trained,” defensive end Sam Hubbard said. “That’s why the scores keep going up and up, and we don’t give up anything at the end of the game.”
Always guarded against potential surprises, you can bet Meyer is driving that point home extra hard this week. Indiana can score, and represented a thorn in Ohio State's side the last four years. Meyer said on Monday that Kevin Wilson's 2016 team is the best group he's had in Bloomington yet, then belabored that point on the teleconference. He doesn't, however, believe it should be a concern because of what the Hoosiers did to the Spartans.
“When the team is really good like Indiana, they just beat Michigan State, there's no issue (in motivation),” he said. “It's a problem when the team is not very good, but that's not the case this week at all.”
Ohio State is good too, a machine armed with weapons everywhere and an attacking defense responsible for more points than it has allowed. Recruiting is responsible for the majority of that—players can't make plays at Ohio State if they're not in Columbus—but Meyer and his staff continue to stress how one slip up could cost the team a game. Or in last year's case against Michigan State, a season.
“I think ultimately through what we've done here and what we've built here and the culture the coaches really designed and inbred, it's a team,” defensive coordinator Luke Fickell said. “No matter what the situation is, someone is slow or someone struggles, we still rely on another and we feed off each other. I think that's the great thing we've got going right now.”
A confusing and frustrating loss can occur at any time in college football. Meyer doesn't want it to ever happen, which is why he is telling the media that he and his assistant coaches are emphasizing Indiana as a "real" threat in the days leading up to the game. That way, it is clear come Saturday night they were not.
After that, it falls on the leaders to further drive the point home. So there are no surprises due to lack of preparation.
“Normally 17-year-olds can't make those decisions because they don't know,” Meyer said. “But they follow the leadership of the team, and if the leaders do the right thing, then normally you'll see a nice development of the team. If the leaders of your team are idiots, then you've got a problem.”
