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Buckeye Offensive Line - 2004 (official thread)

AKAK I think we discussed this on another thread, jt instills the no mistakes no turnovers philosophy(spelling) so its always in the back of their mind. That makes it tough to play aggressive and make plays when you're thinking shit don't fuck up and turn it over. These young players need to run around make plays and make mistakes, mistakes you learn from making plays builds confidence.
 
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Kudos to the poster on the OZone who transcribed the 1460 interview.

OZone Link

By 'Cuse Buckeye on 12:45:57 10/21/04

Part 1:

Got back a bit late…. here goes:

Tress talking about the seniors. Making their last year their best. The seniors came forward as a group and said they wanted to be more active with the team.

Lachey: Asked about facing adversity. Who has stood up?

Tress: Excellent character on this team from top to bottom. People measure character based on results on Saturday afternoons. That may or may not be fair. Talk about good character from everyone to the last walk-on to AJ Hawk. Said you have adversity whether you are losing or winning. Sometimes the stakes are higher when you are winning. “Not that I enjoy being 3-3, but I don’t discount… [commercial cut Tress off]

Part 2:

Keels: Jason Caldwell and Mike D’Maria in studio.

Jason: Time for seniors to step up and make sure the whole team is on track.

Lachey: More airing of frustration or more just about what needs to get done?

Jason: Just making sure everyone is focused on facing adversity. We have had good practices. People want to win.

Keels asked Jason about moving to defense. He said he really likes it. Likes the variety of playing the position.

Mike asked about special teams. Like Tressel says, the punt is the most important play in football. Special teams can turn around games. If I get a chance on special teams I am going to make the most out of it.

Lachey asked Mike about his injuries. Said you have to be tough to play football. It is my senior year… if I can run I am going to play.

Keels: As you look toward the end of your senior year it must be nice having the national championship under your belt.

Jason: I hope it feels better down the road… because right now I am thinking about this season and Indiana.

Lachey: Asked Mike about going to China. I am going to eat my lunch. I can’t imagine anyone cares.

Keels asked about graduation.

Mike: Could have graduated last year but picked up another major. Graduate and hopefully attend law school (sucker)

Jason: Graduate in the spring and hopefully get involved with athletes in action and do physical therapy.

Back to Tress..

Keels: List of priorities to work on?

Tress: When you are not doing things on a grand scale well, I think you always go back to fundamental things. I hear from a lot of people what would help… all well-meaning… but the people I hear from that have been around the game talk about the intangible things that we need to be better at. You talk to a former player, who was a champion… they things they’ll talk about is toughness… speed… making plays. The guys that just watch on tv, or didn’t play the game as well as they likes are the guys that blamed the coaches and x and o’s then, and then do now. We just need to do the things winners do. When things go wrong… there is no slide in performance. When you play mistake-free… you don’t want to let down the person next to you. The x and o’s are important, but on a lesser scale. I have had plenty of years that didn’t go as well as other years. I forgot about the range in advice you get in these times. You need to work on mechanics… but not lose sight of being tough, fast and have fun.

Lachey: Why haven’t we played fast lately?

Tress: If you talk about toughness… I think that the most valuable toughness is that mental toughness. Why have guys that like to hit… but sometimes if things don’t go just right people slow down because they are afraid of making a mistake. The mentally tough guys have the ability to evaluate what they have done wrong and correct it while still playing fast and tough. I am not sure why were not doing that right now. – Cut off Again.

Part 3

Keels: Other big item this week the QB situation. Like what you are seeing from Troy and Todd?

Tress: I really do. Troy will be the guy under center. He has been preparing hard. We had a QB meeting this morning and he has a good grasp on the gameplan. I feel good about being ready with Troy. If Todd is going to have to contribute, it will have to be without having any reps in a game.

Lachey: How did Todd look with the ones?

Tress: People were anxious to welcome him. He was a little nervous and fumbled his first snap. But he does whatever Ohio State needs.

Lachey: Did you like what you saw from Troy last week?

Tress: Every rep you get… if you evaluate how you did… every live rep is an important one. Troy will grow from his playing. And every opportunity you have helps. There will be some butterflies and excitement and will all have to work through that.

Lachey: Asked about Indiana’s defense.

Tress: They are light years ahead of where they were. They are coming up with turnovers… they are first in the league I believe. They play with great enthusiasm. The front group is very experienced. When you are in the trenches that long, you either learn or you are gone. Their numbers are not tops in the conference except in turnovers. Which is an important stat.

Lachey: Asked about running on Indiana.

Tress: Talked about Indiana last year and how everything went right early and we were able to control the game. Probably Craig’s sharpest game of the season. We were coming off a tough Iowa game last year that was decided by the special teams and we responded well offensively. That is what we hope for this year as well.

PHONE CALLS:

Bill: I am a former offense lineman… what is being done specifically on the o-line. Doesn’t seem like they are aggressive and want to knock someone off the ball.

Tress: I don’t disagree. I don’t think we’ve played with the velocity and created enough movement. Either downfield or sideways. If I had to pick one thing… I would say we have not created movement.

Lachey: Asked about young guys on the line.

Tress: The guy that has been getting reps and will get some time on Saturday is Steve Rehring. Steve is a guy that has those characteristics. He will come flying off… he may miss a guy sometimes. He is picking up the pass protection. But he is probably the newest guy to come along. Kirk Barton will continue to come along. He knows what he did wrong and he’ll work like crazy to get better. Robbie Sims has played in the guard area a bit. We have some guys that are not afraid to look in the mirror and say “We have not gotten the movement we need.”

Keels: Can the young guys pushing advance that?

Tress: I would hope it wouldn’t take that. The pride in doing your own job should be enough. But we are dealing with humans. Perhaps people become too comfortable until they are pushed.

Lachey asked about Nicol.

Tress: Rory played with a lot of confidence. He is going to get bigger. He’ll continue to share time with Hamby.

CUT OFF

More Callers:

Bob: Asked about using the “Iowa model” in recruiting smaller o-lineman. And needed bigger o-lineman to run the ball in the big ten.

Tress: I am not familiar with the “Iowa Model”. You will see a lot of former tight ends and d-ends who are now playing offensive line across the country and in the NFL. But you need powerful guys to get movement. And you need your quickest thinkers. Yet need that power and speed and confidence. I think we have good young guys on the line to work with.

Lachey: Asked about having Dustin Fox back.

Tress: Sometimes you have to be a senior sometimes to miss time and realize how it tears your heart out. If you are out for the year, I don’t know how you handle it. Dustin handled it two ways (1) He let them do as much as he could in the weight room and the film room, (2) He also helped out on the field. When he stepped back and watched the game from a different vantage point, Mel Tucker really thinks the game slowed down for him. Thinks he has a better grasp now.

Lachey: Looks like Youbouty is getting the majority of reps at the other corner.

Tress: Youbuoty is a good football player. He is a great learner… doesn’t make mistakes. Had a little ding last week with a thigh contusion. He is a steady, dependable football player. Have a hard time keeping him out of the lineup. He can play man without a problem. We have been a zone-blitz team when we are not playing base defense. We have played some man situationally of late… especially in the red zone. When you have guys that can do it, you can mix man in. Our philosophy from Dantonio, Snyder, Tucker, etc. we have been more of a zone blitz team and leave a middle field safety to protect against the big play.

Caller: Asked whether putting the seniors in front of the media was censoring the younger guys.

Tress: The only way not to censor I guess would be to line up 100 guys in front of the media. Our fans and media get more access to players in the typical instance. Went on to talk about time limits on the team and then got cut off again.

Keels: Penn State is going to be at noon. Asked about homecoming.

Tress: Captains breakfast, I don’t know if it is unique to Ohio State. Used to be on the Sundays after the game. Wasn’t the best day for the coaches… and thought all the players would benefit from meeting the captains… not just the captains as it used to be. So now the silver anniversary captain addresses all the players. It is Doug Donnelly this year. Our honorary captain for the game is Jim Marshall. When you meet him… I thought Keith Byers had big hands. Just a great gentleman. He’s a great product of Ohio State.

Tress: You have to be inspired by what the Red Sox did. I am a Yankee fan because I have a nephew that works for the Yankees and because of Steinbrenner being an Ohio State guy. But you have to be inspired by the Red Sox and what they did to come back from 3-0. I got a call from a lady today that said, “The Red Sox lost three games in a row, no let’s see if you can do what the Sox did!”

Adam: I think that with the three losses in a row, everyone is frustrated as I am sure the coaches and players are. My question is, do you look for a spark in situations like this. Do you think trying different avenues in the sense of looking for the spark. Something different… maybe not the restricted play-calling.

Tress: I think there is a lot of good thoughts in what you are saying. What we all have to do is decide what we can do positively with our frustration. As a fan, you have to ask yourself whether you have the same passion to win a nat’l championship after going through a long drought and then winning it. We all need to find that spark. You better do the basic things better, and you better also find some things that may create a spark.

That is the End.

Go Bucks.
 
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tsteele316 said:
if osu is going to turn things around, it has to be this weekend. a win this weekend and a little confidence to carry over against psu. the one good thing about young guys is that as quickly as things steamrolled downhill, they can do the opposite quickly as well. a few big wins and the team starts coming together.
This is hitting the nail on the head. Good post, I take back my "idiot" comment from another thread...:biggrin:

Seriously, if this team can steamroll IU, it will instill confidence all around, and help morale to boot. This is a huge game. Even if we win in a struggle, that isn't enough. This team needs to roll over IU, and honestly (go ahead, attack this statement), I think Lydell Ross is going to be the man to spark the O this week. He loves to play Indiana, it is the one team he KNOWS he can succeed against...which in turn will spark the O.

GO BUCKS damn it!
 
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FKAGobucks877 said:
This is hitting the nail on the head. Good post, I take back my "idiot" comment from another thread...:biggrin:

Seriously, if this team can steamroll IU, it will instill confidence all around, and help morale to boot. This is a huge game. Even if we win in a struggle, that isn't enough. This team needs to roll over IU, and honestly (go ahead, attack this statement), I think Lydell Ross is going to be the man to spark the O this week. He loves to play Indiana, it is the one team he KNOWS he can succeed against...which in turn will spark the O.

GO BUCKS damn it!

agreed. this needs to be an example game. if osu gets up 17-0 or something of the sort, they cant let up. they need to just keep pounding it to them. leave the starters in and make try out the entire playbook. this needs to be a game where the rest of hte big ten looks up on the scoreboard and says "ooh" (for osu, anything over 28 points will do that), osu isnt down and out yet.

a perfect example is in 1998. osu was cruising against msu early. they showed scores on the scoreboard, and michigan who started 0-2 and struggled in some other games, beat a ranked wisconsin 28-0. you could feel the air get sucked out of the stadium. You even saw a few players pointing at the scoreboard.
 
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Oh8ch said:
This is right in line with what some folks are saying about kids being afraid to make mistakes. Concentrating too much on footwork and not enough on putting somebody on their ass.
Its hard to beleive that OSU has concentrated on ANY footwork when they are falling down and missing tackles so much. It would be so refreshing to see them just go out there and even if they forgot the blocking assignment, they just decided THATS IT and picked someone, anyone and knocked the piss outta that someone !!!

Has anyone head anything good/bad about OG Kyle Mitchum?? He was a big recruit that everyone was happy to get along with Steve Rehring.
 
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Just once I wish they would let a caller on that would come straight out and ask JT if he will turn the offense over to an o-coordinator. I know we wouldn't get an answer. but I owuld liek to hear him give his response followed with an "and so forth"
 
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I agree with Mili...... We're actually kind of cursing our young players by telling them not to screw up...... We should tell them what Mili pointed out and that don't make dumb/stupid mistakes. You can tell the upper class kids to not screw up because they know better, but when you're majority under class man or first year players you kind of need to let them learn for themselves and just have them play agressive. Well atleast thats what I think! haha but thats why I'm in Virignia not coaching OSU
 
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