Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd earlier today, where he discussed the proposed 10-second rule, whether the play has impacted his team's recruiting and more.
The proposed rule, which would be tabled hours after Meyer made his appearance, was the meat of the conversation. Much as he did yesterday when meeting with the local media, Meyer reiterated his opposition to a rule change without further data.
When asked if the no-huddle stuff increased the odds of injuries, Meyer said he wanted to see more research. “When I did start hearing the comments about player safety, it does make you think. But, until there's enough research done and it's proven, you know, just to start drastically changing rules... we've all been affected by when people say 'Let's change this rule,' and then it's like 'Why'd the hell did you do that?'”
On the moment he made the decision to ditch the huddle: “We were playing Oklahoma for the national championship and it really shrinks repertoire of defense you're allowed to have because you have to practice against the no-huddle so much and that's when we made the decision to go no-huddle.”
On drawbacks of the no-huddle: “It can put your defense into really precarious situations. If you're struggling on defense, the worst part about a no-huddle offense is if you're three-and-out in 12 seconds and they're back out there. But once again, that's called game management. I don't think it's time to put rules into place. That's the way it is. On third down and long, you throw it long or check it down and punt the ball. That's all game management. That shouldn't be done by rules.”
On whether players like uptempo ball: “Our offensive line hated it at Florida. The Pouncey twins and those guys didn't like it at all. It was hot – it was a trip to the dentist's office. Here, our players for some reason have adapted to it. They see the advantage that an offensive lineman has over a defensive lineman once the fatigue factor takes over. And it's a little bit of the culture. We didn't fully buy-in down there. Here we've bought in.”
Here's the full audio from Meyer's appearance:
