It really has been perplexing to me that we have struggled with this aspect of the game pretty much ever since Meyer has been here. He's a special teams guy and his Florida teams always had electric returners. Between Philly Brown and Dontre we have had some "breath-holders" (and not in a good way!) during his tenure.
Philly actually had a couple nice returns to go along with his way too frequent gaffes. I cant remember a return of more than 15 yds on a punt or 35 yards on a kickoff with Dontre. Dontre has made some very nice catches over the last few years and deserves reps at receiver but I am glad that the Dontre experiment as PR/KR has ended for now.
My main question is why did it take so long? With a guy who values ball security as much as Meyer (any coach really) why has he tolerated the mishaps? I have my suspicions but they are simply conjectures because I have NO insiders to talk to nor do I peruse the web looking for OSU football minutiae that might be discussed over the course of a week. My feeling is that it might have something to do with Meyer bending over backwards to treat a Texas recruit fairly. He understands how important word of mouth is in recruiting circles and he wants Texas HS coaches to relay to their guys, who might be looking at OSU, that they will get treated right and Columbus presents a GREAT opportunity of rthem. Texas is a hotbed of talent and you dont want to piss off a Texas kid who might bad mouth you. Especially a guy who was nationally sought like Dontre.
This is not a shot at Dontre BTW. I dont mean to suggest he IS demanding such treatment only that this might play into Meyers long leash with him. He clearly has not lived up to his "next Percy Harvin" hype he came to CBus with and in fact he's sat and watched Curtis grab that mantle.... and thats gotta hurt some. I know this is a big boys game but these are humans with their own frailties and insecurities and I think Meyer may have been trying( a little too hard maybe) to help him shine here and have his moment.
If Im right I think its a big picture move by Meyer and I can see some value in it.
