Following Ohio State's 36-31 win over Nebraska on Saturday and as the week of preparation for the Buckeyes' 10th game of the season against Michigan State begins, Urban Meyer met with the media on Monday for his first press conference of the week.
A bullet-point recap of what he had to say:
- Brendon White (defense), Keandre Jones (special teams) and Ohio State's offensive line were named players of the game for Saturday's win. J.K. Dobbins, Johnnie Dixon, Parris Campbell, Luke Farrell were the Buckeyes' other champions on offense, while Jonathon Cooper, Jashon Cornell, Dre'Mont Jones, Tuf Borland and Damon Arnette were the other champions on defense. Meyer said Mike Weber received an honorable mention, but wasn't named a champion because of his two fumbles. He said Farrell played "arguably his best game."
- "Obviously a big one this week against Michigan State. Very strong rivalry, and we have a lot of respect for that team."
- Meyer said he is seeing improvement as the season progresses from his linebackers, but "we still have far too many missed tackles." Said the Buckeyes had six or seven tackles for loss that they missed.
- On Dwayne Haskins sliding, Meyer acknowledged that his slide on Saturday "wasn't the most graceful," but the coaches want him to get down as much as he can.
- On Haskins' lack of running: "Those are the yards that you have to get from somewhere else if you're not getting them from the quarterback."
- Meyer said there is a "big" impact from losing Nick Bosa on Ohio State's defense, but that happened awhile ago, and the Buckeyes had to move on.
- Meyer said he thinks the team's leadership is "growing." Said the receivers, Isaiah Prince and Michael Jordan are leaders on offense, and "Dwayne's trying to get there." On defense, the Buckeyes need leaders to step up.
- Meyer said the decision has not yet been made on whether Brendon White will start at safety on Saturday, but "he's certainly going to play. He's earned that right."
- White's performance is making Meyer think about substituting in some more players who haven't played as much this year, but noted that the Buckeyes haven't had many opportunities to play their backups this season because of all the close games.
- Meyer said the Buckeyes' shift from RPOs to more traditional running on Saturday resulted from the "hours and hours and hours" of work they spent working on the running game during the bye week.
- Will what worked against Nebraska be sustainable against Michigan State's No. 1-ranked rushing defense? "It has to be," but said the scheme will change this week because Michigan State's defensive scheme is completely different.
- Ohio State put together the package with Wyatt Davis as a sixth offensive lineman because they felt they had to get Davis on the field one way or another.
- What stands out about Michigan State's defense? "Their boundary corner's an excellent player ... their defensive front's outstanding, and their 'backers are outstanding."
- Meyer said Brian Hartline, who landed a commitment from 2020 wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on Sunday, is doing a "very good job" in his first year as a recruiter. Said the conversation of whether Hartline will go from being the interim wide receivers coach to getting the position full-time will be addressed at the appropriate time.
- On whether he's considering personnel changes at linebacker: "We'll put the best players out there that can help us win a game."
- Meyer acknowledged that he was at a disadvantage in evaluating the freshmen because he wasn't able to attend fall camp, but said it didn't take long to see that wide receiver Chris Olave belonged on the field for the Buckeyes, and said he didn't think his absence from camp made a sizable impact on who's playing because the position coaches make most of the personnel decisions.
Stay tuned with Eleven Warriors for additional coverage from Monday's press conference.
