After a blowout loss to Iowa, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer took to 97.1 The Fan's airwaves with Paul Keels and Jim Lachey on Thursday to discuss all things Buckeye football and preview Saturday's hosting of Michigan State.
Urban Meyer said after "getting hit in the mouth" the best thing to do is rally around your people. On if the nine captains can help with that, it's "to be determined."
Meyer loved being able to write a recommendation letter for Billy Price to intern at Limited Brands. He'll leave with a Master's Degree. Predicted a first-round selection for him.
On Jamarco Jones' injury against Iowa: "It's just that time of year. He got dinged up in that game and we've been careful in practice."
Demetrius Knox got pulled from practice yesterday but "should be good to go" against Michigan State.
Isaiah Prince has "been playing very well for us," but Meyer noted the lack of offensive line depth—something he's mentioned for weeks—came back to haunt them in Iowa.
COFFEE WITH THE COACH QUESTION from RICHARD in CHILLICOTHE: What is Michigan State doing with their passing game? How do you defense that?
- "Much different than earlier in the season. They used to try to establish the run but have abandoned that altogether."
- Unsure if Spartans will come out slinging or go back to the run, but they'll be ready for both.
- Brian Lewerke is a "an accurate quarterback and very athletic."
"This is going to have to be one of the best games from our receivers." Noted Michigan State makes teams go over the top to beat them—as Devin Smith did in the 2014 win in East Lansing.
On Terry McLaurin: "He's an A+ person. A guy who has done a lot for us. One day he may turn into an NFL prospect."
Ohio State got away from dominating the trenches against Iowa. "The defensive line needs to control this one," Meyer said while lauding Dre'Mont Jones' recent play.
"Damon Webb has had a good couple weeks hawking the ball." There are still big games to be played, so Ohio State can fix its recent lack of turnovers on defense.
Lachey: "Jordan Fuller has 54 tackles, which leads the team. We've never really had a safety lead the team in tackles..."
Meyer lauded the Spartans No. 1 rush defense. "They've always been good against the run." Noted they don't change what they do, still running the 4-3 front with pressure from all angles. Meyer noted "they have a little more man-free coverage than they have in year's past."
"SOCIAL MEDIA" QUESTION: HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SERIES SO STILTED TOWARDS THE AWAY TEAM?
- Meyer hadn't heard the home team hadn't won since 2007.
- "Obviously that's got to change."
- Didn't read anything too far into the stat, though.
GARY in COLUMBUS: HAVE YOU CONSIDERED J.K. DOBBINS AND MIKE WEBER ON THE FIELD?
- "We've had discussions about that." Made it seem this would be the week we'd finally see Dobbins and Weber on the field at the same time.
- Trying to figure out ways to counter defenses like Iowa, which forced J.T. Barrett to keep the balls in option reads.
JAKE in COLUMBUS: CAN YOU TALK ABOUT KENDALL SHEFFIELD'S PROGRESSION?
- "Our corners... we're not quite where we have been in the past."
- Noted Sheffield came from junior college and Alabama, where they learned different techniques. Said "he's come on" in recent weeks, but that'd be a better question for Greg Schiano.
Pete Werner, Jeff Okudah, Baron Browning, and Marcus Williamson earned praise for freshmen that have fought through the freshman wall this season.
"We made some personnel changes on kickoff coverage, and it worked." Moving Austin Mack back to coverage, and shifting the positions of Jeffrey Okudah and Justin Hilliard aided that.
On the influence of NFL players around the Woody Hayes Athletic Center: "Every player that comes to Ohio State wants to play at the NFL. We treat them very good around here. Actually, we treat them great. We're very pro-NFL around here."
Noted sometimes it puts units in binds when guys leave after only three years in the program, but "that's life in the big city." He would rather have that problem than guys not getting picked up.
