Interview with Buckeye Grove Editor on Rivals Radio
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.
This isn't just coach speak. OSU has serious offensive problems. Miller has all the potential in the world, but still needs to improve his accuracy significantly to be consistently good. However, even if he improves his accuracy, OSU still doesn't have a proven outside receiver threat and no established tailback. Furthermore, they lost two future draft picks (Adams and Brewster) off of a pretty poor offensive line.
The defense will keep them winning, but expect no more than 8ish wins and a couple really embarrassing outings.
...may be in earnest in this interview, in my opinion. The Buckeyes have serious depth issues in several places on the offense.
For starters, Braxton Miller could end up being consistently great for them - time will tell there. What if he is out though? Could Kenny Guiton or Cardele Jones step into the spread offense seamlessly? Supposely, Meyer isn't a fan of Guiton and Jones literally just got there, so I am assuming not.
There are good WRs in that offense, but very little experience overall despite several returning players. Jordan Hall in the slot perhaps, but then what? Meyer does not have a lot of time to figure this one out either. I would be interested to see who starts at this position on September 1st.
OL depth is probably the most glaring hole now that the Walrusball Empire has fallen in Columbus. I see a lot of experimentation on the line this season for them (between figuring out positional strengths and the implementation of the spread), considering that Bollman himself wasn't terribly concerned with who played where. They'll have to figure out where players SHOULD be, I believe, so once again, there may not be huge production here.
Pete Carroll 6-6 in year 1
Nick Saban 6-6 in year 1
Meyer at Florida 7-5 in year 1
Jim Tressel 7-5 in year 1
Bob Stoops 7-5 in year 1
I expect we'll see a whatever season from Ohio State this year but that they will be ready to go in year 2.
Very true. Another kudos for Hoke. While I'm skeptical of this report here's to hoping it's true. Hopefully they look (and are) awful.
for the name "Flamebait". Very topical in the post-voting freedoms era of MGoBoard.
Pretty crazy that all the OSU fans are sure they will go atleast 10-2 next year. Though they do have a pretty good roster for being 6-7 last season and are in better shape than most programs that have their head coach fired. But if a coach is rather down on his teams chances during press interviews, it should be a sign to watch out. I'm sure no one here forgets the patience that RR asked for during the preseason practices his first year. He knew the team wasn't going to be good that year.
Rich Rodriguez 3-9 in year 1
Your year 2 assumption doesn't always hold (unfortunately)
I do expect the Buckeye offense to struggle early in the year, but by the time we play them, they might have a lot of the kinks worked out. Like others have said, though, their biggest question is QB play.
I will try to pound out another diary with my observations in a timely fashion hopefully the same weekend of April 21st. The OL and offensive skill players are a big question mark in my mind so I am not suprised that optionball 2.0 has not entirely taken root in the Olentangy floodplain just yet.
I agree with what a lot of posters say here that OSU is not going to just steamroll through its competition next year because now we have Urban Meyer as our coach. There will certainly be growing pains. And even though The Game is at the 'Shoe this year (and we almost pulled it out at the Big House last year) I would still imagine that you guys would be the clear favorites to win that game given Denard's star-power and the emergence of your defense, etc.
I do disagree with what a lot of you have said about Braxton Miller. I'm sure you guys did not watch all of his games last year, and most of you are probably going off of stats. But the reality is that Fickell coached not to lose last year (as evidenced by him starting Joe freaking Bauserman for a few games). When he finally started Braxton he called almost no pass plays for the kid. One game (i forget which) Braxton threw the ball three times all game, or something crazy like that (one did go for a TD though).
The few times that we HAD to pass the ball (like the Wisconsin game) Braxton always came through. The Michigan game was a bit of a shock to most OSU fans, not because we didn't think he could throw the ball, but because we didn't think Fickell would let him. We came out in the Shotgun and called pass plays, often. It was insane. this mostly had to do with the fact that Posey was back but it also was a nod to Braxton as he kept improving each practice and each game.
As for Urban's comments, I didn't hear that or read that (and I would have if they were true since I read, and subscribe to, a lot of OSU blogs and the like. But nevertheless, even if Urban was "down" on Braxton it's clearly a motivational tactic. I say this because everything I have read on Urban regarding Braxton is that he thinks he plays beyond his years and has the best all-around skillset of any QB he's ever coached, including Tebow.
What i HAVE read is that our offensive line gets schooled by our D-line. And the number one gripe is that our WRs are not playmakers. They're solid, but they're not Posey. Hopefully someone steps up, but it's not likely.
Either way, figured I'd give the OSU perspective from someone who's tapped in into anything Urban and OSU related. Best of luck to you guys and here's to the first year of the Urban-Hoke rivalry.
Man, I really miss the "Like a Baus" era of Ohio Football...
I'm a young coach, and if you really think about what OSU is trying to do from a football point of view it's going to be a tough year. Scheme wise OSU has always favored a an I-formation/power type of game save the Pryor years. But even then they still had elements of the power. I'm a big scheme guy so I tend to think in those terms. You obviously recruit completely different athletes to do completely different things in whatever scheme you favor. I.E. Georgia Techs athletes wouldn't be favorable to run a pass heavy spread. And it isn't just QB's, WR's, and RB's I'm talking about. I think people just assume "Yeah, get big OL to block the guys in front of them." Which isn't always the case. That works great in a power/zone blocking type of scheme. But when you're talking spread option/spread to run you're asking OL to block second level guys and occasionally pull and trap. This requires somewhat small and more agile offensive lineman. Not to mention different types of RB's. OSU has lots of talent and Meyer is a great coach. But Vince Lombardi himself couldn't walk into a transition like that and make it work overnight. You're asking players to do completely different things now. Realistically, they only have had a few months so far to try and implement these things and its a big time switch in philosophy they're making. So I don't really think anyone should be surprised if OSU has a 7-5, 8-4 season. Meyer has had some great teams, but after Tebow left FL they were no longer an elite team. Even though Meyer had top 5 recruiting clases and elite talent to work with. I saw several early predictions that had OSU winning their division (even though they obviously are not eligible for the post season) and I just couldn't understand it. I don't care how much talent they hav this isn't going to be an easy transition and there are going to be growing pains. And not that I'm complaining at all. This is almost a perfect storm for us. Recruiting wise, and momentum wise we have a great oppourtunity here to use this moment to take an upper hand in the rivalry. And I don't think Hoke and company are going to waste it.
It is not like Urban is working with an empty cupboard (ala RichRod). Urban gets to develop Braxton Miller as opposed to someone like John Brantley, and a decent stable of running backs of all styles. The WR corp is young and unproven, but at least they are deep and he can whittle it down from there. I wholeheartedly agree that the offensive line is a complete opposite of what Urban wants; I'm just hoping he can mold them appropriately by fall.
The biggest upside I think is that OSU returns a large chuck of their defense including all their playmakers. They should be able to ride their defense to a respectable record (8-4 or better?).
the vast majority of Buckeye fans I know are targeting 9-3 as a good first season. I'd be perfectly happy with 8-4 and signs of cohesiveness with the new offense. Braxton and the receivers don't worry me as there is a ton of talent there. I'm positive that 2 out of Spencer, Smith, Brown, Reed, Thomas, Hall, and Williams will step up as reliable options. Braxton is lightyears ahead of what Pryor was at the same stage and hoenstly, Denard as well. His mechanics and footwork are much better than both at the same point in their careers. The questions as others have stated will be the O-line. I expect Meyer to have replaced 2-3 OL starters by the 2013 season. And that is the year most OSU fans are really waiting for.