“You’re getting to see his command the more you watch him play… just an air of confidence. He has experience in big-time games.” – Ryan Day on quarterback Will Howard (above). (Press Pros Feature Photos)
A second Tuesday press conference between games delves into all kinds of things and sheds light on how some of the so-called little things are progressing for a team yet to play a big-time opponent.
Columbus, OH – Coming out of an off week – or more precisely, Improvement Week – what are coaches and players supposed to talk about? What are reporters supposed to ask?
Throughout the questions and answers about this player and that player, this trend and that trend and how Ryan Day spent Saturday (family stuff in the morning, football watching at noon) without a game to coach, much was said about the so-called little things that translate into game-changing things.
The big things are known.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
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The defense is boring good through two games against outmanned opponents at every point of contact. They haven’t allowed a touchdown and might do the same again this Saturday against Marshall. We know they’re better than just good, and so does the future schedule. Super important big thing.
The offensive line appears to be much improved. The opponents haven’t been too resistant, but you can see it in the execution. Really big thing.
And the choice to bring in Will Howard from Kansas State to play quarterback has opened to positive, if not rave, reviews. Obviously, the skill surrounding him is some of the best in the country. The big thing that makes headlines.
Beyond those biggies, the often overlooked or unobserved little, unseen, unnoticed things are preparing the Buckeyes for much better opponents ahead.
Start with anything on a list too long to address from noon to 1 on Tuesday or in this space. But one thing is sure. Success often follows when your quarterback treats film study like an academic pursuit.
Buckeyes receiver Carnell Tate gets good marks for his blocking as well as his pass catching.
“This semester I have class at night, and – don’t tell my professors – but sometimes I watch a little film in class,” Howard said. “I love the game football, and I love the chess game that it is.”
The Buckeyes are also putting a new rule to use that allows them to review plays on the bench and in the booth on iPads. Every team is doing it, but with experienced minds like offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, the new use of an almost old technology is an immeasurable benefit.
High school teams have been using iPads and large-screen TVs to review plays and make adjustments for several years. NFL teams use Microsoft Surface tablets, which is an innovation that was unavailable when Kelly coached the Philadelphia Eagles. Although, he said, every coach watched replays on the scoreboard to see what they could learn.
“It’s cleaned some things up,” Kelly said. “It puts people on the same page, and I think you can make corrections a lot faster.”
As Howard said, football is still about blocking and tackling, but the instant iPad feedback can’t hurt.
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Beyond the improved line play, running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins have performed well in pass protection. Both have been seen stonewalling blitzing linebackers.
The other blocking key is what the wide receivers try to accomplish on run plays and for each other. Getting open and catching passes earns scholarships, but blocking well is necessary for getting on the field and becoming a starter.
Howard recalled a sequence against Western Michigan that stood out to him as an example of the importance of the little thing of blocking downfield.
“A player’s like a tea bag – you never know what you’ll get till you put it in hot water.” – Chip Kelly
“We ran a speed option to the right, and Carnell (Tate) just drove his dude down the field, and then the next play made a 38 yard-catch,” Howard said. “That stuff adds up.”
So do mistake-free plays on special teams. Day turned play calling over to Kelly this season, and a positive result is his involvement with special teams. When the head coach is watching, players’ natural tendencies are to be more focused.
The punt teams, in particular, have been less than a good thing in recent seasons. But with Brandon Inniss running down punts, fielding them and putting the Buckeyes in better field position, it’s obvious more attention is being paid to detail.
“I’m much more in control of it than I was probably in the past and making sure you get the right guys in the right spots,” Day said. “We want to get better in every way. We want to grab every inch we can possibly grab and that’s a phase that can be critical.”
Day’s message this year of being the hardest working team in America has shown up on special teams. And he’s using it to reward playing hard.
Lorenzo Styles Jr. earned the team’s special teams player of the week against Western Michigan for his stops on kick coverage. Day said that’s earning him a little more time at cornerback.
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“The more and more trust you’re building, the more you’re earning an opportunity,” Day said. “We’ll see how that all shakes out game to game, but somebody who’s competing every day in practice, that’s big for us right now in terms of we want the hardest playing guys in the country. He’s shown he’ll do that.”
Styles’ play builds depth, which has been a theme since the spring. The season could be as long as 16 or 17, so quality depth is critical. An injury to left guard Donovan Jackson created more depth on the offensive line. Austin Siereveld started in place of Jackson the first two games and played well. Jackson will be in the lineup Saturday, but Siereveld has earned some playing time as a backup.
“That’s provided us some depth that we didn’t know we had going into the preseason,” Day said.
Depth at tight end is evident with four of them playing. The Buckeyes have run plays with as many as all four of them – Gee Scott, Jelani Thurman, Will Kacmarek, Bennett Christian – on the field together. Kelly said those plays are only run because the coaching staff has confidence all four will execute their assignments.
“Guys are fighting for opportunities to get in the game and play. There’s pride in each unit to be able to do that.” – Ryan Day
Depth also creates internal competition, and that’s always a good thing.
“Everybody is competing against each other, but there’s also that competition sometimes between personnel groups, and you want to get on the field,” Day said. “Guys are fighting for opportunities to get in the game and play. There’s pride in each unit to be able to do that.”
Much has been written and said about Howard. His play speaks for itself, but so does the fact that he speaks to the media every Tuesday and after every game. His leadership is no small thing.
“You’re getting to see his command the more you watch him play,” Day said. “That’s probably the thing that jumps out, and also just an air of confidence. He has experience in big-time games.”
Finally, coming out of an off week, a coach who says things in interesting and unexpected ways – much like certain quarterbacks do about their study habits – is a little-thing bonus in a slow week for everyone. Kelly is good at that underrated skill.
When discussing the way the staff believes more in running back depth because of the performance of James Peoples, Kelly praised the true freshman.
“It’s kind of like the old analogy,” he said even though it’s unlikely anyone in the room had ever heard such an apt description before. “A player’s like a tea bag – you never know what you’ll get till you put it in hot water.”
Just like you never know what all the little things will add up to when the opponents, starting next week at Michigan State, get more hot to the touch.
