Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer discussed everything surrounding the Buckeyes during his weekly appearance on the Big Ten coaches conference call on Tuesday. While answering questions from the media, Meyer spoke addressed concerns about quarterback J.T. Barrett's play, the defense and previewed Ohio State's game against Army this weekend.
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The transcript of quotes from Meyer's Big Ten press conference is below. The general questions are bolded, with Meyer's answers in quotes below.
On where J.T. Barrett needs to improve
"I won't get into our conversations we have, that's between the quarterback and coach. There are areas of offense that we'd all like to get better at - receivers and obviously the quarterback position. We have conversations but I don't like to share those things."
On Barrett's level of aggression
"I think as an offense we need to be more creative and take more chances. If we hit some of those plays and some of those guys go up and make some of those plays and we hit them, it's obviously a different ball game. That's the way it is. That's a good question and one that's being addressed."
On facing Army's defense
"I have a lot of experience with the service academies when I was at Utah and Colorado State for all those years, and obviously at Notre Dame we played them quite often. There's a nice little system that the service academies use. It's the Star Wars or odd, bring it from everywhere defense that is very hard to prepare for, and then the wishbone offense which is hard to prepare for. And then you put good players in it that play extremely hard, and they're a very a good team. You can see why they beat Navy and are playing at a very high level."
On his message for Ohio State's defense
"A very similar message that's program-wide right now that we're not playing on all cylinders. I think we're playing hard but we're not playing necessarily smart. We turned some guys loose in coverage last year and some guys are stepping outside the defense trying to make plays and not doing exactly what they're taught to do. Understand that this is a very different week. It's very hard to work on your base fundamentals because this is such a unique offense. Every waking moment is going to be spent on preparing for the wishbone, but over the next several weeks, it's all about getting better, improving and doing exactly what you're coached to do."
On seeing similar leadership qualities in J.T. Barrett and Tim Tebow and if Barrett can lead Ohio State to a national title
"I do. That's a tall order to place on someone but that's the respect I have for J.T. I know that there will not be any commemorative speech, will not be anybody working harder or push his team harder like Tim said that day [following a 31-0 loss to Ole Miss]. It remains to be seen, but to answer the question, without question I do."
On balancing winning with improving the passing attack
"It's the task at hand. To continue to win games is obviously the priority and has been a priority. Now we need to see the rewards of the priority."
On any difference in preparing Ohio State to play a service academy instead of a regular opponent
"No. Tremendous respect for them, but it's a ball game and you're going to do the very best you can to beat them. Before and after [the game] maybe, but not during the preparation."
On how much his coaching philosophy takes from military philosophy
"A high percentage of it. I always tell people that it's the highest possible regard for leadership, highest possible regard for selflessness and teamwork is our United States military. And it's really unchallenged as far as how successful they are and the kind of people they develop. A high majority of what we do is centered around that."
On making any changes defensively
"We're constantly evaluating our pass defense because we've been exposed the past two weeks. There are two things. One, just making sure we're doing the right things and that's everyday evaluation. And also, making sure these young players getting their first opportunities to play are continuing to improve."
On evaluating Ohio State's option attack
"There's always going to be an element of it. I think the option can create big plays, especially from our offense, big plays and big hits. There are two ways to do that, really three ways. One's obviously handing the ball off and you have a great player and you block it. [Offensive lineman} pulls and a Zeke, a J.K., or a Mike Weber breaks a long one because you blocked the edge for him. The second one is option football, and there's where you get out in space with good athletes. The third one is the execution of pass game, and we're working on all three. Obviously, we'd like to get better in all three of them and when you do this is a very potent offense. We're working hard at it."
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