Attendees at Ohio State’s 91st football coaches clinic were treated to a roundtable discussion featuring four pillars of the program’s past 35 years on Thursday.
Former Buckeye coaches John Cooper, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer joined Ryan Day on stage at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center as Kirk Herbstreit moderated nearly an hourlong wide-ranging conversation between four of the past five head coaches at Ohio State. The quartet, which had never previously assembled in such a setting, discussed everything from their fondest memories at Ohio State, the most talented players they coached and the changes in the college football landscape over the years while providing insight into their coaching styles and careers.
Day, who came up with the idea for the group to gather in front of a crowd of high school coaches from around the state, saw it as an opportunity to learn from his predecessors and give back to the coaching community in Ohio.
“I always try to learn from my elders and seek wisdom. And you think about the last three decades of Ohio State football, those were the guys who ran the program. Not too many people can say that they did,” Day said in an interview following the roundtable. “And no one else knows what it’s like. So for me to be around those guys, although football’s a lot different now, maybe, than it was back then. The players, everything that’s going on across college football, but there’s so many things that aren’t different. And in the end, those are typically the things that last, and you can always pick up on those things, especially with such great coaches. And I picked up on a lot of things tonight, which was great.
“And there’s also just a brotherhood, and then also celebrating Ohio football. I think for all the coaches here to talk about Ohio football, how important it is, the pride we have, and Ohio State’s at the forefront of that.”
Asked about the first things that come to mind when returning to the Buckeye football facilities at the beginning of the discussion, Tressel said he’s happy to see former players like Brian Hartline and James Laurinaitis now on Day’s staff. On Hartline, Tressel joked that he “doesn’t know if Ryan’s gonna let him call plays” and said the Buckeyes will “throw every down” if Day does end turning over play-calling duties to his new offensive coordinator.
Meyer, who handed over the reins to Day at the conclusion of the 2018 season, said Ohio State’s landmark College Football Playoff win in the 2015 Sugar Bowl still sticks out in his mind as one of the sweetest moments in his Buckeye tenure. The Buckeyes won their first national championship in 12 years in the contest that followed.
“When you walk in here, what do I think of? I think of that picture right there when we beat Alabama. But I don't just see the score,” Meyer said. “I see Mike Thomas, I see some of those great players. And the memories, it's almost – I can't remember my address, but I remember every play of that game. And that's what I remember when I walk out and see the pictures and the players' faces. It's great.”
Meyer also has a special place in his heart for his first Ohio State roster, which bounced back from a 6-7 record under Luke Fickell the year prior to go 12-0 in 2012 despite a postseason ban that didn’t allow it to contend for a national championship.
“I think this place is so unique because I’ve been other places and there’s not the camaraderie.”– Urban Meyer on his relationship with previous OSU coaches
Asked what makes Ohio State special in comparison to other programs around the country, Meyer mentioned the resiliency of the team that rallied around each other to produce a stark one-year turnaround amid two head coaching changes while it may have required several years for that to happen elsewhere.
“The seniors, you know how many transferred? (Zero). Think about what I just said. And why? Not because of me, but because of Columbus, Ohio, because of The Ohio State University, because of something that we call the brotherhood,” Meyer said. “That was John Simon and Zach Boren. In my opinion, every program (goes through a decline) at some point. It does. Except one. Ohio State. That was the year it could've went like that. If it wasn't for Zach Boren, John Simon, (Etienne) Sabino and (Ryan) Shazier, those players that we had, because they weren't gonna leave it. I told Ryan if there's a wall, please don't ever take that wall down. That 2012 team kept Ohio State afloat.”
Meyer openly criticized the sanctions imposed on the Ohio State program that ultimately led to Tressel’s departure due to the “Tattoo-Gate” scandal in 2010.
“It was nonsense, I can say that publicly now,” Meyer said. “It was nonsense what went on with Coach Tressel and all that, to give a penalty like that.”
All four coaches were prompted about the most talented player they ever coached at Ohio State, although some had more political answers than others. Tressel said he’s “never gone on record and said who my best player was” and that “I’m not gonna go on record tonight.” Meyer said he “started sweating” after receiving the question as he insinuated that some of his former players might be upset if he left them out.
Cooper joked that Joey Galloway “wasn’t bad” and also mused about the talent of players like Eddie George, Robert Smith and Terry Glenn, but ultimately gave the most up-front and singular answer of the bunch.
“Who's the best player you ever coached? Orlando Pace. Doesn't take me long to answer that,” Cooper said. “He won the Outland, Lombardi, sophomore, junior year. Three-time All-American, first player taken in the draft, All-Pro for about nine years in a row.”
Meyer listed Ohio State’s run of dominant defensive ends during his seven-year tenure at Ohio State, including Joey and Nick Bosa, Chase Young, Sam Hubbard, Jalyn Holmes and Tyquan Lewis. Meyer said all of them were “monsters,” although he said Nick Bosa possessed “the best combination of speed and strength that I've ever seen.” Meyer also cited Ezekiel Elliott during the discussion.
Day mentioned Nick Bosa, Denzel Ward and Young, but said based on overall talent and ball skills, it would be hard to look past Garrett Wilson when talking about standout scarlet and gray performers he's had the honor of coaching.
“He'd get bored at practice. I mean, I've never seen a guy just catch the ball in midair and just start throwing it behind his back,” Day said. “Like he'd catch a ball and just put it between his legs and then throw it to a manager who's like 50 yards over there. Like, 'What the hell just happened?' He was (NFL Offensive) Rookie of the Year this year. He's gonna be a really good pro.”
Both Day and Tressel had humorous answers when asked about their favorite plays, as each issued a reply that more or less summed up common stereotypes about their style of play. Tressel joked “I only had one play: off-tackle.” As for the defensive side of the ball, Tressel jested that his staff “didn’t even tell me where they met.” Day said his favorite play is simply “four verticals,” which incited laughter from the crowd.
As for the differences in the world of college football since Cooper, Tressel and Meyer wrapped up their Ohio State careers, the latter two both said many of the same issues head coaches face nowadays aren’t all that dissimilar from the problems that arose years ago. Tressel said there may be more selfishness among players today than there was in his era, and Meyer said between that and social media, Day’s job is more difficult than it was for him, Cooper or Tressel.
“I think his seat is more difficult than any seat that we ever sat in because everything is (online). … What you see in here stays in here when you leave, and there was a big sign we had in there,” Meyer said. “And as long as that happens, you keep your team within. Which, Ryan's doing a heck of a job. You're gonna deal with some of the individuality. That doesn't mean you have to like it. You have to coach them through it.”
While all four Buckeye coaches have clear distinctions in personality and the manner in which they operate a football program, it’s evident they share a bond that Meyer said is uncommon at other schools.
Tressel said there’s “nothing more special than being back here” and Meyer said “it won’t be the last time” he returns to campus for similar events in the future.
“I think this place is so unique because I’ve been other places and there’s not the camaraderie,” Meyer said. “It’s been that way, I understand that before Woody Hayes it was that way. John Cooper, I’m as close to him and Jim Tressel, I would call him. I’d call Coop and Coop’s around all the time. They all pull for each other. That’s not the case everywhere.”
