Interview with Buckeye Grove Editor on Rivals Radio

Submitted by Kaminski16 on

Take this for what it’s worth but I was just driving home and flipped on Rivals radio (or whatever it’s called…) and the host was interviewing one of the editors of Buckeye Grove.

The Buckeye Grove guy mentioned that after watching two complete spring practices Meyer is very dissatisfied with how things have generally gone (yes, potentially a motivational tool but the guy also said he felt a lot of it was genuine) and that Miller’s passing isn’t up to par what one may expect in regards of the freshman-to-sophomore jump. He went on to say that the transition to a different style of offense might be a more problematic process than many expect (we know all about that…).

Not a whole ton to take out of it, as the interview was short, but noteworthy nonetheless. 

hart20

April 8th, 2012 at 1:40 AM ^

Been saying since the beginning that Ohio won't be as tough as everyone thinks. Their defense will be really good. I'm fairly certain they return all their defensive starters from last year, but we put up 40+ on them, so there's that. Their offense will be facing a lot of struggles, with the new scheme, new RB, new star WR, new coaches, etc. Of course, I'm among the more optimistic on the board, thinking we'll beat Bama, go the MNC, or at the very least, go to the Rose Bowl.

hart20

April 8th, 2012 at 2:24 AM ^

Coming out of Spring ball is alleviating most of my concerns about the D. Granted, it's Spring ball, but things are looking good on D. Even if the D takes a step back this year, the offense will presumably take a step forward to cover up those deficiencies.

MDave

April 8th, 2012 at 9:40 AM ^

You need a little more emphasis on that + after 40 points.  Is it bad that I am still a little bitter over that horrible removal of our TD that led to a game to be much closer than it should have been?

jblaze

April 9th, 2012 at 9:20 AM ^

but their D is very good, they are returning most of the prior coaching staff, they have an excellent QB, who played the year before and is perfect for the spread, and they haven't suffered significant departures from the coaching transition.

Doesn't OSU start Spring practice later than us? Is this like their 4th or 5th one?

Scarlatina

April 8th, 2012 at 5:40 PM ^

Urban seems pleased with the defense, particularly John Simon, Johnathan Hankins, and Michael Bennett. Among the linebackers, reports are saying that Ryan Shazier is near unstoppable and Curtis Grant is finally showing flashes worthy of his 5* ranking. I don't know how much of it is due to facing a young O-line, but at the moment I'm expecting a least an above-average D-Line from OSU next season. (On a side-note: I'm honestly really excited to see what kind of secondary Everett Withers can produce. I do not think we've had a truly fearful secondary since Jenkins, Chekwa, Russell, and Coleman were on the field together.)

On the offensive side, it's a much different story.  The only positions Urban seems somewhat happy with are the running backs and tight ends.  The running backs are have tremendous depth (Roderick Smith, Carlos Hyde, Bri'onte Dunn, and possibly Jordan Hall) with Smith and Hyde looking to be the frontrunners.  Jake Stoneburner anchors the tight end position with a suitable back up in Jeff Heuerman.  Braxton Miller isn't fully developed yet as a passer, but I wouldn't necessarily say he's behind schedule either. Ultimately Braxton is still the perfect athlete that Urban needs to run his system. The WR corp is missing a Percy Harvin-type playmaker and it has definitely caused some problems, but it is a young and deep group so it is possible for someone to emerge by fall. The biggest disappoint so far is the O-line, the linemen Urban is used to working with are the polar opposite of what Bollman wanted and recruited. Jack Mewhort is the most consistent lineman, which is why he holds down the LT position as of right now. However, Urban has said "we don't have tackles" and they're just making due with what they have right now. Also that he may consider trimming down the offensive playbook to match the current personnel.

It does seem that the players are buying into Mickey Marotti’s conditioning program. 

 

 

Scarlatina

April 8th, 2012 at 6:43 PM ^

I'm still a little disappointed that it took the previous coaching staff so long to elevate him to a starter.  I understand that he was a true freshman, but the LB corp was a mess and nobody was stepping up... why not give the special team standout a chance to prove himself?

Shazier is labeled as a speed rusher, but I'm really impressed by his ability to play inside when asked too. Above all, the kid hits like a truck and now that he's added a little more weight I'm not as afraid of him getting injured when laying down the wood.

Michigan J. Frog

April 8th, 2012 at 1:27 AM ^

Sounds like coachspeak to me. This is the same kind of stuff that was coming out of Hoke midway through last season, and we know how that turned out. End of the day, Meyer already has the kind of QB he needs, and he has a heck of a lot of talent on that roster. His recruiting has been as good as you can expect, and I believe that they’ll be a solid team next season. Should make The Game very interesting.

RationalBuckeye

April 8th, 2012 at 1:29 AM ^

Admittedly, I haven't read up on this a whole lot, but the main thing I've heard is that the defense is actually slowing down the offense's progress. The veteran defensive line has been so disruptive over the course of the drills that the offense hasn't even had the ability to run plays like they should be in a growth setting. 

RationalBuckeye

April 8th, 2012 at 6:23 PM ^

No, Im sorry if you thought I was trying to make excuses, I think any fan of college football can agree that no offense learning a new scheme will be polished the first time they step on the field. But to ask the DLs to play 50%, or have the starters play a scout team would be doing a disservice to the entire scheme. I think this offense will only be marginally more productive than last year, but I also think that they will gain valuable experience while trying to block what could be the best DLs in the Big Ten. Also, with the emphasis that Urban puts on "winners" at offense/defense practice, they're probably getting the best possible competition to grow this way. Don't construe my comment as making excuses, but do realize that the competition in practice is as tough as any that they'll see in games this season.

ThadMattasagoblin

April 8th, 2012 at 1:33 AM ^

Miller wasn't that good last season.  Most of his throws were way off line in most of the games I watched other than a long pass against Wisconsin.  Sometimes stud recruits don't work out although he has 3 more years to prove himself.

a2_electricboogaloo

April 8th, 2012 at 3:09 AM ^

I don't know what you're talking about.  Had he completed that pass to Posey during the final drive where Posey was just wide open, I think we would have lost, or at least would have needed another "Denard-moment" to win it. 

Edit: This one:

 

Maize

April 8th, 2012 at 4:08 AM ^

Yeah, we would have still won. Even had that pass had been a td there was still a 1:40 left on the clock with two timeouts left and we had already put up forty and had our last TD called back twice. So saying we would have lost is just flat wrong. That game was full of Denard moments. If the Ohio defense would have played better that game then we might have lost I guess but they didn't.

In reply to by Franz Schubert

BlockM

April 8th, 2012 at 8:10 AM ^

Er, we've been over that. They made the correct call. If they got it right, you can't come back saying they shouldn't have overturned it because it was too close to call. The goal is always to get as many calls as possible right.

clarkiefromcanada

April 8th, 2012 at 9:26 AM ^

I could be wrong here but wasn't the original run ruled a touchdown?

I have seen the analysis on MGo on the call but I did wonder why  that was the specific game/situation where the referee in the booth determined to apply fidelity to the concept of absolute ruling clarity. 

I understand the principle but it did seem a rather unique application given the body of work I anecdotally observed in replay across the B1G last season...just saying.

Tater

April 8th, 2012 at 9:07 AM ^

Denard's "mistakes" are usually underthrown, and result in "jump balls" if the defender adjusts.  Often, though, the passes look intentionally "underthrown" to take advantage of the defender being behind the reciever.  

Consequently, I can't buy into Miller being "a lot like Denard."  Let MIller put up good numbers in two totally different offenses like Denard did, and I might agree, but not now.

born1ntheArbor

April 8th, 2012 at 1:57 AM ^

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.  They still have months of S&C, practice and even games before we play them.  While I do agree that people are over estimating Ohio simply because it's Urban Meyer, I think judging them right now is silly. No coach is ever happy with how their team looks.

Let's not forget, Michigan last spring was kind of scary for fans.

FrankMurphy

April 8th, 2012 at 2:15 AM ^

They don't have the personnel issues we had during the Rich Rod transition, so I don't expect a trainwreck of a season from them like our 3-9 campaign in '08.

Maizenblueball

April 8th, 2012 at 2:19 AM ^

Meyer is just trying to keep the kids working hard, in order to improve.  I also think Meyer realizes that the bar has been set extremely high for him, and he wants to lower the expectations of immediate success.

ThadMattasagoblin

April 8th, 2012 at 2:23 AM ^

That's why I'm still angry about that play.  It never should have mattered since we scored a TD to go up by 10, but the refs called it back which leads to the constant we almost beat you if Miller didn't overthrow Posey gripe from Ohio fans.

ThadMattasagoblin

April 8th, 2012 at 2:28 AM ^

I honestly think that Roh, Black, Campbell, and Pipkins can be just as good as the front we had last year if what we're hearing about Jibreel and big Will out of spring ball is true. 

cm2010

April 8th, 2012 at 1:03 PM ^

but i'll have to see it to believe it. If the dline ends up being just as good, it'll be due to more than just those four guys. They'll have to rotate more than last year and show better depth. It's possible, but far from certain. The growth potential in the d is in the back 7, imo.

cbuswolverine

April 8th, 2012 at 6:17 AM ^

I don't buy it.  Attempting to predict next fall's performance based on a coach's comments after two spring practices is a silly and pointless exercise, anyway.