In the midst of their preparation for Saturday's game against Indiana (Noon, Fox), Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, wide receivers coach Brian Hartline, co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison and defensive end Zach Harrison met with the media on Wednesday to discuss their preparation for the Hoosiers, how they feel as though the season has gone so far and what they worked on during the unexpected weekend off following the cancellation of last week's game against Maryland.
A quick roundup of what each of them had to say:
Justin Fields
- Fields said Indiana has “a lot of great athletes on defense” and is doing some different things on defense from last year. “They bring so many different blitzes.” He says the Hoosiers have “great athletes in the secondary,” and he thinks they have one of the best defenses Ohio State will play this season.
- Even though he has mostly targeted Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson so far this season, “I feel comfortable with all of our receivers.”
- On not throwing any interceptions yet this year, Fields says it's a point of emphasis for him to make sure he doesn't throw the ball to the other team. Fields thinks most of Indiana's 10 interceptions have come off of quarterbacks panicking under pressure, so it's his job to make sure he doesn't do that.
- Fields said he thinks a lot of people were sleeping on Indiana at the beginning of the year, but the Hoosiers have shown they're a great team with great coaching.
- On his performance so far this year: “I think I can improve in all aspects of the game ... but I think I've done a good job taking what the defense gives me, and keeping our offense on schedule.”
- “Throughout this whole process, the one thing I've learned is that you're gonna get surprises.” Said you have to be able to react to those surprises appropriately, like last week when the game against Maryland was canceled.
- Fields said Indiana's defensive scheme is “definitely different from the teams we've played so far this year ... they blitz a lot more.”
- Asked whether running backs should be involved more in the passing game, Fields responded, “I like to do whatever Coach Day thinks we should do to win the game. I'm not gonna tell Coach Day how to run this offense. I think he's been doing this long enough to know what we need to do on offense to be successful.”
Brian Hartline
- Hartline says he tries not to focus on what other programs are doing in recruiting, but what Ohio State has to offer as a program. He wants recruits to have a clear picture of who the Buckeyes are, “and if that's not for them, that's fine.”
- Hartline says he still talks a lot with Washington Football Team wide receiver Terry McLaurin. “I think Terry's a phenomenal player, I thought he was a phenomenal player when he was here.” Said that what McLaurin has accomplished in the NFL so far “has not been overly surprising to me.”
- On the freshman wide receivers: “They're all studs, man.” He said they're “doing a really good job“ in practice even though most of them haven't seen much playing time on offense yet. Because it's been such an unusual year, the expectations have to be different than they'd be for a typical freshman. “These guys keep you very, very, very optimistic about the wide receiver room at Ohio State.”
- Hartline said the rotation can change from week to week, but he said that because it's a shorter season than usual, there isn't as much needed to rotate the starters out of the lineup and limit their play counts. He also said there's been less snaps to go around for the backups because of how often the Buckeyes have used two-tight end sets and because of the tempo they've played with. But he feels good with where they're at right now.
- Hartline says he likes to see receivers prove they can do their jobs on special teams in order to earn regular playing time on offense.
- Hartline says Olave and Wilson still have to continue to improve. “They can't play in Week 8 the way they played in Week 3, or we will not be where we want to be.”
- Hartline said he had coached Julian Fleming on catching technique, and he didn't necessarily take it to heart the way he should have, but he's been more focused since the drop against Rutgers.
Greg Mattison
- Mattison says Ohio State has been “very pleased with our linebacker position.”
- Mattison said Josh Proctor is a “tremendous athlete ... This guy can really, really run, he's played a lot of football and he's really physical.”
- On some of the veterans not grading out as champions every week: “The thing that makes the Silver Bullets something special is there's a bar, there's a certain level that you have to play at ... if you didn't make champion, then there's a reason why, let's get that corrected and then move on to the next week.”
- Asked what the biggest issue was for the backup defenders who played against Rutgers in the second half, Greg Mattison said, “Tackling was everything.”
- On Zach Harrison: “All he has to do is keep doing what he's doing ... listen to the coaches, and you're going to end up where you're supposed to be.” Mattison said Harrison is a “special” talent.
- Mattison said he is “so proud” of the way the Buckeyes have handled the challenges of this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “I don't know if I'll ever be around another group like this.”
- On middle linebacker Tuf Borland: “Tuf is definitely playing the best football he's ever played.” He thinks Borland is playing faster now that he's two years removed from his Achilles injury.
- On Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr.: “This quarterback can put the ball where he wants to put it.”
- Mattison said he thinks Ohio State's secondary has had its best week-and-a-half of practice since the Rutgers game.
- Mattison said it is important for the Buckeyes to get backups in the game when they can so that they can build depth, and that's why they put the backups in early in the second half against Rutgers. He acknowledged that those opportunities have been tougher to come by this year without the three non-conference games.
- On the pressure to perform every game at Ohio Stadium: “When you're going into the Shoe, you better play like you're supposed to.” He said “home games are still home games” even without full crowds in the stands.
- Mattison says the young linebackers have shown signs of being special, but you just don't know until you see them play in games.
- Mattison says the defensive tackles have “played really, really well.”
Zach Harrison
- Harrison said he thought the Buckeyes handled the cancellation well and used the extra time to begin preparing for Indiana early.
- He said the Hoosiers have long offensive tackles, so they're going to give Ohio State's defensive ends a challenge.
- On his progress this season: “I'm getting better every day.” He thinks that if that keeps happening, everything will fall into place.
- On the defensive end rotation: “The rotation's just there to help us.” He said all the defensive ends understand that, and they think they make each other better.
- Has the season started out the way he envisioned? “Yeah, we're 3-0.” He's more focused on the team's record than his individual playing time.
- Harrison says the Buckeyes miss having fans in the stands at Ohio Stadium, but they can't use that as an excuse, because every team in the Big Ten is dealing with the same thing.
- Harrison says the defensive ends know they're not gonna get a sack or hit the quarterback on every play, but they can still affect the quarterback by bringing pressure and getting hands in his face.
- Harrison said Jonathon Cooper is like a big brother to him, and the biggest thing Cooper has taught him is “hard work.”
- On Justin Fields: “Justin's a special athlete, and we're happy to have him as a Buckeye.”
