Upon receiving an inevitable Jim Harbaugh question at Big Ten football media day on Thursday, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer kept his thoughts mostly to himself.
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For the last week, after Braxton Miller announced he would be moving from quarterback to wide receiver, the probability was nearly as great that the opening inquiry would be about that decision. The key, Meyer said, is how Miller adapts to running routes with a physical defensive back jamming him at the line of scrimmage.
But that was the direction the first question took when Meyer stepped to the lectern. And Meyer did not shine any more light on the situation than the press release provided. So if it was a legal something, if you have to address it externally, then I do that.
Meyer opted not to disclose the details of the violations, saying it was an “internal” team matter.
It was a far cry from 2010, when the Big Ten went 0-5 in New Year’s Day bowl games while the SEC was in the midst of an unprecedented run of seven consecutive national championships.
The Buckeyes open the season September 7 at Virginia Tech.
Meyer said he and his team are forging ahead, regardless of the one-game suspensions against a Virginia Tech team that handed Ohio State its only loss previous year. But it is not totally insignificant, either. Marshall averaged almost twelve yards per kick return with a touchdown and also rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Tyquan Lewis was penciled in to start opposite Bosa, so he’ll be counted on more in Week 1. “When you lose that big of a defensive end, it’s a concern, but we’ve recruited pretty well”.
I learned over the years, Coach Marotti is my right-hand man. While I’m here, he’s with the team.
“I think people finally realized that, ‘Okay, maybe the Big Ten does have a conference. And we have all of camp to get those guys ready”.
“If we win every game this year I can assure you it’s not going to be miserable”, he said. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached, he’s got an incredible first step.
Welcome back to life as the defending national champion with a loaded team. This might have made it just a little harder. “You’re not hearing that anymore”, Ohio State offensive tackle Taylor Decker said. “Everybody deals with stuff“. “When you’re Ohio State or some of these other big-time programs, stuff becomes a major deal”.
Miller, who was not among the players Ohio State brought to Chicago for Media Days, gained some added admiration from his teammates for deciding to give up playing quarterback for his final year of college ball.
“We could put names in a hat or something”, Perry said. We’re not going to do that.
Even the bombshell news of OSU player suspensions couldn’t halt the overall momentum.
They must instead try to build on last season.
“Basically, we’re keeping score of everything”, Meyer said.
Virginia Tech, which might have the defense to challenge Ohio State in week one, could have the best shot of disrupting the narrative now.
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All Meyer must do is pick between the fifth-place finisher in the Heisman Trophy and the quarterback who came off the bench to win three postseason games for the national title.
