Ohio State Coach's Show Recap: Dwayne Haskins' First Start, Offensive Tempo and Defensive Woes

Urban Meyer is back with the team during practice, but he's not back with the media.

Acting head coach Ryan Day will continue to coach the Buckeyes on Saturdays for the next two weeks and will continue to handle all media duties, including Urban Meyer's weekly show on 97.1 The Fan, along with defensive coordinator Greg Schiano.

The coaches went on the radio waves to discuss Ohio State's blowout win, Dwayne Haskins' first start, an uptempo offense, the weather delay, some defensive woes and of course, the upcoming matchup with Rutgers.

Here are the highlights:

Ryan Day

On offensive tempo:

• "We talked about early on getting to a fast start, playing fast"
• "When you're playing with tempo, if you substitute you have to slow down." 
• "You can't spend a lot of time calling plays when you're moving fast." Said everything is simplified and quicker.
• "There's an art to (playing with tempo)." Receivers have to get the ball to the referee, get back to the line, get set. "It's all part of it and we practice it."

On offensive line depth:

• "That's a huge advantage" Day said, when asked about offensive line depth
• Day said it's great to have second and third team guys they feel comfortable putting in there

Coffee with the Coach question from John in Byesville: "How did you feel about Dwayne Haskins during the week and before the game?"

• "Dwayne has a great spirit about him."
• "He's calm, but confident."
• "I know there were nerves there, but he kind of has that approach that he knows that's what he's here to do, play quarterback at a high level."
• "I think tempo helps him get into the rhythm of the game."

On the wide receivers:

• "We know it's a veteran group, they bring a lot of experience.
• Said they help Dwayne Haskins and he can lean on their experience
• "there's not a selfish guy in the whole group."
• "Any given game could be a big game for any of those guys."
• "There's going to be sometimes where one position gets less (production) while another gets more."

On rotating running backs:

• "When you're playing that many plays, you need each other."
• "Both of those guys are playing, we're rolling them and both are capable of big games."
• "when you're playing 88 plays, to think that a guy can have more than 45 plays a game is unrealistic."
• "A fresh J.K. Dobbins or Mike Weber is huge" when going against a worn-out defense.

On the weather delay:

• "We had such a good rhythm going in the first half, and they were chomping at the bit to get back out there."
• They told the players to relax, take off their pads and get off their feet when they realized it would be a lengthy delay.
• Praised Mickey Marotti's leadership through it.

On the new headset rule:

• A new NCAA rule limits the number of coaches with headsets.
• Ohio State had to adapt to the new rule.
• Communication had to be great, since headsets are limited.

On changing signals and calls against Chris Ash:

• There are remnants of plays, calls, and schemes, and Ohio State will change a little.
• "If you overdo that too much, you start to get out of what the kids know."
• "We take it into consideration, but don't overdo it."

Scouting Rutgers:

• "They really change up their (defensive) front."
• "Very veteran too," Ryan Day said. When a team has a veteran defense, it makes it easier for the defensive coordinator to adjust.
• They have potential NFL players on the offensive end.
• "Without knowing behind the scenes what's going on, it looks like a Chris Ash defense"

On special teams:

• "We were solid."
• Said having Urban Meyer back is a big boost to special teams in practice.
• The one punt was excellent, it set up a score for us.

On Master Teague and Brian Snead:

• "A lot of talent there."
• "They run hard, they're strong, they're powerful."
• "They're still young, so they're going to make mistakes as they go, but you can see once they have the ball in their hand they run hard."

On Tate Martell:

• The play where he had a late pitch for a first down was "a little of the script."
• "He's explosive in a lot of areas."
• "He's hard to prepare for if you're a defensive coordinator because he can do things with his arm and his legs"

On Chris Chugunov and Matthew Baldwin's development:

• There isn't much time for development for Matthew Baldwin or Chris Chugunov in practice.
• "The struggle there is he hasn't been able to take any reps."
• All practices are about getting ready for the coming game.
• "Dwayne and Tate need those reps to get ready to play.

Greg Schiano:

On a single player that impressed in the opener:

• "I think Pete Werner did a heck of a job."
• "I thought he showed great promise"
• Noted the sack fumble that led to a touchdown

On the defensive struggles:

• Many of the big plays happened with third or fourth team guys on the field, but it's still unacceptable.
• "If you're on the field, you're a starter" is their view, regardless of depth chart position
• Said they worked in practice about angles, tackles and discipline.

On getting so many guys in the game:

• "It's always a good thing."
• You get young guys with experience, and old guys rest.
• Nick Bosa and Dre'Mont Jones only had to play around 30 snaps, which Schiano said was perfect.

On Tuff Borland's return:

• "We do have a pitch count and it will be more than it was Saturday."
• "Baron Browning played really well" in his place.
• "We're going to play more than three linebackers because we have more than three." You never want a good player that doesn't play.

On Shaun Wade:

• "Shaun is a multitalented guy. I think shaun could play in the nickel, he could play safety, and he can play corner."
• "We're going to move Shaun all over the place."
• "He's going to have a bigger and bigger roll as time goes on."

On true freshman quarterback Artur Sitkowski:

• "I happen to know this young man from my time in New Jersey."
• "Really a tough kid," mentally and physically.
• He'll be prepared, but he is young.
• "Hopefully the 110,000 screaming and yelling will help as well."

On the Rutgers offense:

• "It's pro football, it's NFL – motion and shift every play, changing personnel groups."
• "It's different from what you usually see in college football"
• "We really have to be able to see what's coming, get in the proper call, and let our kids go do it."
• "We try to play as much as we can out of our base people, but we do have some different packages."

Ohio State's Saturday matchup with Rutgers kicks off at 3:30 in Ohio Stadium.