Members of the OSU football team huddle around coach Urban Meyer during the first day of fall practice Aug. 4 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center in Columbus.
Credit: Tim Moody / Lantern sports editor
Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer took to the weekly Big Ten coaches teleconference Tuesday afternoon and discussed topics ranging from his team’s depth chart to the Buckeyes’ weekend matchup with Cincinnati and an HBO “Real Sports” episode featuring the third-year OSU coach scheduled to air Tuesday night.
The Buckeyes are 2-1 on the season coming off a bye week following a 66-0 win against Kent State on Sept. 13.
- As he has in the past, Meyer said the offensive line is “still a work in progress.” He said the coaching staff is looking for the best five or six guys at the position to put out on the field.
- He said the depth chart is mostly set outside of the offensive line, apart from a couple of positions where players still rotate in and out.
- Meyer said he didn’t know the path the HBO “Real Sports” interview would take when he accepted it. Ended up focusing largely on health concerns towards the end of his coaching stint at Florida. He said those health concerns only came towards the end of his tenure with the Gators. “Most of my career I was very health conscious, and I’m doing that right now.”
- Meyer said “academic people have a lot of respect for” junior defensive lineman Adolphus Washington. Added that Washington is a “very good student” but still has a ways to go to reach his potential as a player, “because he is a really talented player.” Said he is close to becoming a “special player,” just needs to find his way onto the field as an every-down guy.
- He said the best players want to go against the best competition in practice. Named junior offensive lineman Taylor Decker wanting to take on sophomore defensive lineman Joey Bosa as an example.
- Meyer said senior cornerback Doran Grant is “night and day” from where he was last season as a leader and player. “He’s always been a decent person and a pretty good teammate, but he was never a great player.”
- He said OSU’s game against Cincinnati on Saturday will be Grant and the pass defense’s first legitimate challenge of the season. “This will be a giant test for us.”
- Meyer said the matchup with the Bearcats will be a “great environment” for recruiting.
The Buckeyes are scheduled to take on Cincinnati on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Ohio Stadium.
