Coming off of his team's biggest win of the season to date, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer met with the media on Monday to discuss the Buckeyes' 27-26 comeback win over Penn State and look ahead to Saturday's sixth game of the season against Indiana at Ohio Stadium (4 p.m., FOX).
Meyer talked about how his team was able to pull off a thrilling victory in Happy Valley, what his team needs to do to avoid a letdown this week and provided updates on several injured players, including defensive tackle Dre'Mont Jones.
What you need to know from Monday's press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center:
- On Saturday's game against Penn State: "That was a real one." He described Trace McSorley as a "war daddy."
- Champions for Saturday's game were J.K. Dobbins, Mike Weber, Binjimen Victor, Johnnie Dixon, K.J. Hill, Austin Mack, Isaiah Prince, Demetrius Knox, Michael Jordan, Jonathon Cooper, Davon Hamilton, Malik Harrison, Pete Werner, Tuf Borland, Kendall Sheffield, Jeffrey Okudah and Jordan Fuller, in addition to players of the game Terry McLaurin on offense, Chase Young on defense and McLaurin, Drue Chrisman, Okudah and Justin Hilliard on special teams.
- Meyer said Weber is still battling a foot injury but "should be closer to 100 percent this week."
- Meyer once again compared McLaurin to Evan Spencer, praising his performance as a blocker and on special teams on Saturday.
- Meyer said McLaurin and Okudah were "blown out, to the point that most human beings would pull themselves out" to get some rest, but they kept playing through their significant workload on offense and special teams. With McLaurin and Okudah leading the way, Meyer said Ohio State's punt coverage has been "elite."
- On Drue Chrisman: “Our punter, I can’t imagine one better."
- On the prospect of avoiding a letdown after a big win over Penn State, Meyer said he didn't want to look back at last year's game against Iowa, only wanting to look forward.
- Meyer said the Buckeyes had a "call to arms" meeting and told some of the Buckeyes' younger players that they need to step up and contribute more than they have so far.
- On how far the Buckeyes still are from their ceiling: "We're 5-0 and we haven't played close to our best game ... There is a tremendous ceiling on this team, and we haven't gotten close to it."
- Dre'Mont Jones and Damon Arnette are both probable to play this week despite suffering injuries against Penn State. Meyer described Jones' ankle injury as a sprain.
- Meyer described Ohio State's wide receiver blocking as "elite." "Great's probably not a strong enough word." Said Brian Hartline has done a great job working with the receivers on their blockers. Meyer singled out Binjimen Victor as a player who has improved in that regard, acknowledging that Victor "darn near refused to block" earlier in his career.
- On K.J. Hill: "He can do it all." Said Hill is another receiver who is a "great blocker."
- Meyer said McLaurin's block that sprung Hill's game-winning touchdown on Saturday was shown to the entire team. Wanted to set an example for everyone on the team, including the younger players who might think they are better than they are.
- While Meyer says Ohio State "isn't even close" to its ceiling, he also wants what his team has already been accomplished to be recognized: "We've won on the road twice against top-10 teams ... I don't know if any other team in the country has done that," Meyer said, also making note of the fact that Ohio State has lost "one of the best defensive players in the country" in Nick Bosa.
- On Luke Fickell and Mike Vrabel, who are having success as head coaches with Cincinnati and the Tennessee Titans: "Those are two of my favorite people, on top of coaches."
- Jahsen Wint, Shaun Wade and Brendon White are all potential candidates to start at safety with Isaiah Pryor suspended for the first half of this week's game after incurring a targeting penalty in the fourth quarter against Penn State.
- Chase Young has been dealing with "a bit" of an ankle injury, but has played through it. Meyer described Young's potential as "unlimited."
- On Indiana's defense: "They play very well. They've got a bunch of new starters. Their scheme is outstanding. They're very well-coached. They have answers for everything."
- On Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey: "This guy's a very good thrower, because he's also got the other element (running the ball)."
- On the targeting call against Pryor: "To say I agree with it, we don't have time to argue about it." But Meyer hinted that he didn't agree with it, saying that Pryor was going for the ball and there was no intent to injure Penn State receiver KJ Hamler. Meyer also said he found out that targeting penalties cannot be appealed.
Stay tuned with Eleven Warriors for additional coverage from Meyer's meeting with the media.
