We don’t have a guy on the ground at the B1G Media Day, but we do have BTN2Go and we were able to listen in to Urban Meyer’s turn at the mic. A few thoughts.
First and foremost, it’s clear that Urban was going to get a lot of questions about the current status of Carlos Hyde (including responding to Braxton Miller’s claim of “we have good news”). He handled those questions deftly, defelcting any real answer to the “we’ll wait until we see all the facts” response.
He did mention he was “furious” when he received the call about the various issues that cropped up with players (Hyde, Roby, Baugh and Gardner) and mentioned a certain amount of lament that two of them were freshmen and that his staff wasn’t able to “educate them” on certain things. His concern for players really came through, referring to them as “family” and that “you have high expectations for your own children. To walk away from a player, it’s always very difficult to do (knowing their circumstances).”
That being said, he was quick to mention that there will be no leniency. He said that, “disruption is what bothers me. The head coach needs to set the standard, direct, guide, mentor, push and direct these guys but every young person is responsible.” He said that he has people looking to see what other programs do in their cases of discipline and that he “wants to make sure our punishment is hard or harder than any other discipline out there. I want to make sure we are setting the tone.” He feels for the other players who might end up suffering because of the mistakes of “a couple of knuckleheads.”
With respect to actual on-the field matters, he mentioned that Curtis Grant has had an excellent spring and is developing into a leader. He alluded to how Ryan Shazier was “average” at the beginning of last season but developed into a great playmaker. (I wonder if he is comparing the progression of the two. That would be good things if he is.)
When asked who would be the leaders on this team after losing vocal leaders like John Simon from last year’s team, he said that he is, “counting on our quarterback (who) has to become that leader. Our offensive line without question is the heart and soul of our team. They’re strong leaders.” He also said that on defense, he looks to his two safeties, Christian Bryant and CJ Barnett, to step into that leadership role.
It was clear Urban Meyer knows how to handle the media. The difference between his thoughtful, personal answers are in stark contrast to Jim Tressel’s coach/senator-speak. I think considering everything that has led up to this moment in front of the media, Urban Meyer handled things very well and was very much a great representative of Ohio State and its football team.
Thoughts?
Well I was busy disproving the notion that video killed the radio star but it sounds like he did a great job to me…