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Ohio State poised for big things

By RICK THORP

Times Leader Sports Writer

COLUMBUS — Urban Meyer doesn’t like to dwell on the past.

Ohio State’s sixth-year head coach is more of a forward thinker.

So, when discussing his team’s prospects for the upcoming season, Meyer prefers not to talk about last season; or the year before that, or the year before that.

His sole focus is on what’s ahead. And what’s ahead, he hopes, is a trip to Atlanta at the Mercedes-Benz Dome for the national championship game in January.

It’s a game the Buckeyes fell short of last year. And it wasn’t even close.

In the Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State was taken behind the woodshed by Clemson, 31-0, in a ”New Year’s Eve Massacre” that, in many ways, set the tone for this year.

While Meyer wouldn’t come right out and say his team is ready to avenge that loss this year, it’s clear the beating has stuck in its craw and plenty of motivation has been garnered from it.

”We kind of let that one go,” Meyer, 61-6 in Columbus, said during Big Ten Media Days in suburban Chicago last month.

”We’ve been known in the past to use different forms of motivation, a loss here or there or whatever have you.

”That ship has sailed. It’s gone. And we’ve not addressed it. We’ve not talked about it. Professionally, it changed how we do some business on offense and we’re moving forward.

”So, it’s in the back of everyone’s mind, and whether I’ll use that during training camp or not is to be determined. But where we’re at as a team, I like where we’re at. So, we’re just pushing forward.”

It could be argued the Buckeyes, who finished 11-2 overall and 8-1 in the Big Ten a year go, overachieved in 2016. With a roster laden with inexperience, Ohio State still put forth a remarkable season, filled with a plethora of big wins.

”Last year, we were the most — we were the youngest team in college football,” Meyer said in the Windy City. ”And this year, we’re not.”

It’s true. Ohio State lost just seven starters and return 15.

”We lost six juniors to the NFL Draft, nine the previous year. So, there are obviously some shoes to fill. But I was thinking about we have three fifth-year seniors here (at media day) representing Ohio State, and I don’t know if I’ve had that before. Nowadays, fifth-year seniors at Ohio State are hard to find.

That’s true, too. If last year was, personnel-wise, a bonus year for the Buckeyes, then this year Meyer and his staff could be reaping the benefits of all the experience those youngsters garnered.

”I feel extremely strong about the top tier leadership of our team, and history shows that usually indicates a good, solid team.”

As indicated earlier, the Buckeyes only lost seven starters, but they were seven solid contributors.

Offensively, center Pat Elflein finished his career, as did H-back Curtis Samuel and wide Noah Brown.

Elflein was one of the anchors of an offensive front that ranked ninth nationally in rushing at 258.3 yards per game. Samuel, selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by Carolina, was the only college player last season with at least 700 rushing and receiving yards. Brown was taken by Dallas in the draft.

Defensively, the secondary was hit hard as Malik Hooker, Gareon Conley and Marshon Lattimore were all selected in the first round of the draft. Linebacker Raekwon McMillan is also gone.

The three DBs selected from Ohio State in the opening round was a tied a record with the 2002 Miami Hurricanes and completed a two-year period in which four Buckeye DBs were selected in the first round. Eli Apple was taken by the Giants in 2016.

Hooker was a unanimous first-team All-American in 2016 as a redshirt sophomore. He ranked third nationally in interceptions with seven and interception yards with 181, and he was first in the nation with three interception return touchdowns, including a critical 16-yard return for a score in the win over Michigan.

Conley, named second-team all-Big Ten by the league’s coaches in 2016, ranked second on the team in 2016 with four interceptions and had six for his career along with 15 pass break-ups. Lattimore started every game last season en route to being named first-team all-Big Ten by the league’s coaches. He was second on the team with four picks and also registered 41 tackles.

The trio of draft picks were underclassmen, a testament, Meyer said, to those around him in the program for keeping it well-stocked with talent and able to compete annually amongst the nation’s top squads.

”To me, that’s the hardest thing we’re dealing with is plugging holes and maybe playing guys before they’re ready, and that’s the sign of a good program,” Meyer said during training camp.

”When you say good program, you’re not talking about just recruiting, you’re talking about development behind the scenes of (assistant strength and conditioning coaches) Jeff Uhlenhake and Quinn (Barham), the strength staff, getting those cats ready to go. That’s when you say — I’m sure most coaches would say good program is you don’t just recruit good players but they start to play, maybe sometimes a little bit easier than they should because of the transition to the NFL juniors.”

Greg Schiano and Kerry Coombs coach the safeties and corners, respectively. Schiano, the associate head coach, is also in his second season as the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator. Coombs, was promoted to assistant defensive coordinator this summer. He’s also special teams coordinator.

Tony Alford, whose uncle, Roger, was enshrined this month into the OVAC Hall of Fame, in his third year with the team. He’s the associate head coach for the offense and coaches the running backs. Billy Davis enters his first year as linebackers coach after spending last year as an analyst for Meyer.

Larry Johnson and Greg Studrawa both return, coaching the defensive and offensive lines, respectively. Johnson also serves as assistant head coach.

Zach Smith returns for his sixth season as wide receiver coach/recruiting coordinator, while West Liberty grad Mickey Marotti remains with Meyer as his assistant AD for football sports performance.

”They’ve been outstanding,” Meyer said of his staff. ”If you would’ve asked me maybe 10 years ago if I would’ve took former head coaches on my coaching staff, that’s a little bit on me, too, maybe I would’ve been intimidated — maybe intimidated is not the word, but — and I’m at the point where they get ‘were going to do it a certain way, and my hat’s off to them, to go in and dive in, to e a position coach and to be a coordinator has been outstanding.”

In an effort to spice up the offense, Meyer brought in ex-Indiana head coach and ultra-successful Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson to spice things up.

”Kevin is the first established offensive coordinator I’ve ever hired — if you go through the history, either guys promoted on my staff or a young up-and-comer like Tom Herman,” Meyer said. ”But this is a veteran coach that’s led some of the top offenses in America, very well-respected in our profession.”

Also joining the staff is Ryan Day. Day is the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

”He’s a starring coach,” Meyer said of Day, who had a cup of coffee with Meyer at Florida and spent last season with the 49ers. ”And his relationship with J.T. and the rest of the other quarterbacks is very strong.”

Through the team’s first scrimmage, Meyer was pleased with what he saw out of the revamped offense. And while it has some new wrinkles, the veteran coach cautioned everyone not expect too many changes.

”It’s still going to be the Ohio State offense,” he said. ”However, we had some weaknesses a year ago, and I’d like to see some improvement. And I think Kevin will have a major impact.”

The Buckeyes’ new-look offense will get its first test of the season against Wilson’s old team next Thursday night in Bloomington.

Then, the following Saturday night, Ohio State opens its home slate with a showdown against Oklahoma (No. 8 Amway Coaches Poll). The Buckeyes overwhelmed the Sooners, 45-24, in Norman, last season.

Following home games against Army (Sept. 16) and UNLV (Sept. 23), the Buckeyes resume Big Ten play at Rutgers on September 30.

The month of October begins with Ohio State’s homecoming game against Maryland and ex-Meyer assistant D.J. Durkin on October 7. The Buckeyes visit Nebraska a week later.

Following a bye week. Ohio State returns to action at home October 28 vs. Penn State. The Nittany Lions, ranked sixth in the preseason coaches poll, handed the Buckeyes their lone regular-season loss in 2016, 24-21.

Following a trip to Iowa on November 4, Ohio State returns for a pair of games at the Horseshoe against Michigan State (Nov. 11) and Illinois (Nov. 18) before ending the season at arch-rival Michigan on the 25th.

The Big Ten championship game is set for Saturday, Dec. 2 in Indianapolis.

Ohio State’s failure to advance to the Big Ten title tilt a year ago hinged on one loss. And, even though the Buckeyes won their last two regular-season games, a spark seemed non-existent from the offense.

That’s why Wilson and Day were brought in.

”We want to be a great running team that sets up the pass and gets the ball outside and down the field,” Wilson said following the team’s first workout of the season last month. ”We have to take care of the ball and take care of the quarterback. That’s never changed in anything I’ve tried to do.”

Wilson heaped high praise upon quarterback J.T. Barrett following Indiana’s visit to Columbus last season, and through his work with the senior, that admiration has grown.

Barrett (6-2, 220) returns after throwing for more than 2,500 yards and 24 touchdowns last season. He’s 26-4 as Ohio State’s starter and is seven TDs away from Drew Brees’ conference record of 106 career touchdowns responsible for.

Candidates to back up Barrett include: former Ohio Mr. Football Joe Burrow (6-3, 215), a sophomore, Dwayne Haskins (6-3, 214), a redshirt freshman, and true freshman Tate Martell (5-11, 205).

”He’s in the fight,” Meyer said of Martell, who hails from Las Vegas.

The core of Ohio State’s offense is its line. Returning are starters (who have more 900 snaps between them) center Billy Price (senior, 6-4, 312), left tackle Jamarco Jones (senior, 6-5, 310), left guard Michael Jordan (sophomore, 6-7, 310) and right tackle Isaiah Prince (junior, 6-7, 310).

”Obviously, that’s where the whole thing starts,” Meyer said.

The coach doesn’t see Jordan having any type of sophomore slump and he said his playing every game last year will only benefit him this year.

”There is no price tag you can put on experience,” he said. ”We can try to create it as much in practice, but there’s nothing like it. He’s doing great right now, had a great finish to the summer.”

Right guard is the only spot up for grabs, and Meyer said there was quite a battle going for it camp between four players — Malcolm Pridgeon (junior, 6-7, 315), Matthew Burrell (sophomore, 6-3, 300), Demetrius Knox (junior, 6-4, 308) and Branden Bowen (sophomore, 6-7, 312).

”We need to be in sync,” Jones said. ”We all have to go 100 percent and communicate. If we don’t trust each other, we won’t deliver.”

The offensive line paved the way for Mike Weber to become the third Ohio State freshman to surpass the 1,000-yard barrier last season (1,096, 9 TD). Not bad for a guy facing high expectations for having to replace Ezekiel Elliott.

Weber started camp with a hamstring issue, leaving the door open for players like Demario McCall (sophomore, 5-9, 195), who was Weber’s top backup last year, to get some touches, along with sophomore Antonio Williams (5-11, 208) and true frosh J.K. Dobbins (5-10, 208).

”Demario is going a little bit of hybrid on us right now, so we’re using him a little bit all-purpose,” Meyer said. ”But I kind of like where we’re at at tailback. Every one of them made really nice strides this summer, and they’re playing pretty well.”

Senior Marcus Baugh (6-5, 250) returns at tight end, but he’s been bothered by injuries in camp. He didn’t practice in the spring while recovering from shoulder surgery. Baugh is the team’s leading receiver (24 receptions, 269 yards).

”Tight end is wide open,” Meyer said in Chicago. ”It was a position of not one of our strengths a year ago.”

With sophomore A.J. Alexander lost for the year, that leaves a pair of redshirt freshmen — Jake Hausmann (6-4, 252) and Luke Farrell (6-6, 250) to battle Baugh for playing time.

Junior Parris Campbell (6-1, 208) is the lone starting receiver back. He’ll be joined in the mix by juniors Terry McLaurin (6-1, 204) and Johnnie Dixon (5-11, 195) and sophomores K.J. Hill (6-0, 198) and Austin Mack (6-2, 215).

”To me, the wide receiver position is wide open,” Meyer said. ”We were not where we needed to be a year ago. And we have some talent. More than that, we have as high character a group as we’ve ever had in that room as far as work ethic, doing things right.”

Defensively, Ohio State returns seven starters. However, tackle Michael Hill will miss some time at the start of the season after being suspended. Meyer hadn’t determined the length of the suspension, but said he’ll miss the Indiana game.

Starting tackle Dre’Mont Jones (sophomore, 6-3, 295) returns, as do ends Tyquan Lewis (senior, 6-4, 265) and Sam Hubbard (6-5, 265).

”Those defensive ends are freaks,” Jones said. ”We have to come to practice every day to face our defensive line”

Studrawa agreed.

”We’re not going against blocking dummies,” he said. ”Those guys are really, really good.”

Other ends in the mix include: sophomores Nick Bosa (6-4, 270) and Rashod Berry (6-4, 260) and sophomore Jonathan Cooper (6-3, 250). senior Tracy Sprinkle (6-3, 293), who missed almost all of last year, is in the mix at tackle, too, along with sophomores Robert Landers (6-1, 283) and Davon Hamilton (6-4, 300).

Linebackers Chris Worley (senior, 6-2, 230) and Jerome Baker (junior, 6-1, 225) started last year and return. Worley has moved to the middle. Senior Zach Turnure (6-1, 228), junior Dante Booker (6-3, 240) and sophomore Malik Harrison (6-3, 235) are other players in the mix.

Senior Damon Webb (5-11, 195) is the lone returning starter in the secondary. Senior Erick Smith (6-0, 203) and sophomore Jordan Fuller (6-2, 207) could grab the other safety spot.

At corner, sophomore Damon Arnette (6-0, 195) and junior Denzel Ward (5-11, 191) return. Also in the mix are freshmen Jeffrey Okudah (6-1, 193), Shaun Wade (6-1, 185)and Marcus Williamson (5-10, 180).

Junior Sean Nuerenberger (6-1, 225) returns this fall after going 16 of 24 on field goals for his career. His 106 consecutive extra points is a school mark. Redshirt freshman Drue Chrisman (6-3, 212) will punt. Sophomore Liam McCullough (6-2, 228) is the long snapper.

The Buckeyes opened the Amway Coaches Poll at No. 2 and were selected as Big Ten East Division favorites, but Meyer said those things have no bearing on how the team moves forward.

(Time TBA Unless Noted)

Aug. 31 — at Indiana, 8 p.m.

Sept. 9 — Oklahoma, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 16 — Army, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 23 — UNLV

Sept. 30 — at Rutgers

Oct. 7 — Maryland

Oct. 14 — at Nebraska

Oct. 28 — Penn State, 3:30

Nov. 4 — at Iowa

Nov. 11 — Michigan State

Nov. 18 — Illinois

Nov. 25 — at Michigan, noon

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