Urban's not afraid to share his thoughts
Dave Thurman (9:18 am)
While the Olympics are grabbing most of the sports headlines, and rightly so, it is about time for things to heat up for college football fans. Ohio State begins their fall camp this Friday, a week after hosting a huge event for high school prospects called "Friday Night Lights." So what is grabbing my attention this week? Nothing earth shattering but a lot of stuff that is worth considering:
Not Dunn Yet: The news on Saturday night (which really surfaced on Sunday) wasn't good, as Bri'onte Dunn nearly hit a patrol car in Alliance, Ohio, before being pulled over. Dunn was cited for not wearing a seat belt, and then officers found a pipe and small amounts of marijuana in his car. Dunn was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Frenzied fans began to speculate about potential punishments, with everything from a two-game suspension to removal from the team. But not so fast my friend.
Yesterday, Alliance police issued a statement that Dunn will not face drug charges, but instead will merely be charged with disorderly conduct and a seat belt violation. Basically, since Dunn was driving his mother's car, continually denied that the pipe and weed were his, and conducted himself politely, the heavier charges were dropped. For the full report, check out Dunn's hometown paper. Although one has to believe Bri'onte will face extra work from Urban and Marotti, it seems doubtful he will be suspended, which is good news, especially considering Jordan Hall's injury.
Quotable Urban: Although Jim Tressel was a great coach, he didn't give us many good sound bites, unlike his predecessor, John Cooper, who was always good for a laugh and a bit of homespun wisdom. Beginning with last week's Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, Urban has provided a few meaningful comments, and I have tried to compile a few of the nuggets for those who might have missed them:
Concerning the post-season ban handed down by the NCAA last December, Meyer said it hit him "like a 2"x4"!" He went on to say that in the past a coach had four years to build a program, but today you have to win immediately. Meyer made it clear that is what he intends to do. Although he expressed concerns about how the team will react if they hit a speed bump in the middle of the year, he praised the leadership on the 2012 squad, saying, "I have some incredible leaders on the team. We've started a leadership committee, and I meet with them very often."
Surprising people with his boldness (something we rarely heard from JT), Urban put the pressure on his sophomore quarterback when he said, "Braxton Miller is the most dynamic player I have ever coached at quarterback." Music to our ears!
While the Olympics are grabbing most of the sports headlines, and rightly so, it is about time for things to heat up for college football fans. Ohio State begins their fall camp this Friday, a week after hosting a huge event for high school prospects called "Friday Night Lights." So what is grabbing my attention this week? Nothing earth shattering but a lot of stuff that is worth considering:
Not Dunn Yet: The news on Saturday night (which really surfaced on Sunday) wasn't good, as Bri'onte Dunn nearly hit a patrol car in Alliance, Ohio, before being pulled over. Dunn was cited for not wearing a seat belt, and then officers found a pipe and small amounts of marijuana in his car. Dunn was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Frenzied fans began to speculate about potential punishments, with everything from a two-game suspension to removal from the team. But not so fast my friend.
Yesterday, Alliance police issued a statement that Dunn will not face drug charges, but instead will merely be charged with disorderly conduct and a seat belt violation. Basically, since Dunn was driving his mother's car, continually denied that the pipe and weed were his, and conducted himself politely, the heavier charges were dropped. For the full report, check out Dunn's hometown paper. Although one has to believe Bri'onte will face extra work from Urban and Marotti, it seems doubtful he will be suspended, which is good news, especially considering Jordan Hall's injury.
Quotable Urban: Although Jim Tressel was a great coach, he didn't give us many good sound bites, unlike his predecessor, John Cooper, who was always good for a laugh and a bit of homespun wisdom. Beginning with last week's Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, Urban has provided a few meaningful comments, and I have tried to compile a few of the nuggets for those who might have missed them:
Concerning the post-season ban handed down by the NCAA last December, Meyer said it hit him "like a 2"x4"!" He went on to say that in the past a coach had four years to build a program, but today you have to win immediately. Meyer made it clear that is what he intends to do. Although he expressed concerns about how the team will react if they hit a speed bump in the middle of the year, he praised the leadership on the 2012 squad, saying, "I have some incredible leaders on the team. We've started a leadership committee, and I meet with them very often."
Surprising people with his boldness (something we rarely heard from JT), Urban put the pressure on his sophomore quarterback when he said, "Braxton Miller is the most dynamic player I have ever coached at quarterback." Music to our ears!
Surprising nobody, Meyer called the SEC the "kingpin" of college football, and let it be known the B1G would have to get better and faster players if they plan to compete.
Meyer also let it be known that he didn't think his team will need any gimmicks or motivational speeches in order to win this year. He said, "If you have a team that you really have to encourage and motivate to go win a game, that's a really bad team. If we're in that situation, then I'll do whatever we have to do to go try to win. But I'm hoping, as of right now and being around these players, I don't think there's going to be a problem with motivation to go win a game."
Finally, you have to love Urban's attitude heading into fall camp. He promised that by the end of day four players would not be worried about going undefeated but would only be concerned about getting to day five. "It’s going to be a really, really hard training camp," the head coach guaranteed. In addition, he hopes that the fact that the team can't compete in a bowl game will tick them off. "Every coach wants an angry team," Meyer said at the Big Ten media days last Friday. "I want them to take that anger and channel it into getting better." Me, too, coach...me, too. Especially on November 24th against those weasels from up north!
Some Recruiting Links: If you have not noticed, 247 Sports has tweaked their recruiting rankings, and is now providing a composite ranking, using Rivals, ESPN, Scout, and 247 Sports to come up with a final number. Using this criteria, Ohio State's 2013 class ranks fifth currently, behind USC, Michigan, Alabama and Florida. Joey Bosa is the highest rated Buckeye using the composite rankings (#19 in class of '12), followed by Eli Woodard (28), Cameron Burrows (30), Jalin Marshall (51) and Marcus Baugh (96). Check it out for yourself by clicking here...If you have a lot of time and love old recruiting information, then you have to spend a couple hours at Buckeye Planet, checking out the incredibly thorough work of LordJeffBuck. He goes through each of Tressel's 10 recruiting classes, shows how the players were ranked, and then gives his final rating looking back on their OSU career. In addition he breaks the recruits down by region (Cleveland area, Dayton area, etc.) and by state, if they did not play high school ball in Ohio. It really is amazing stuff, and if you have not seen it yet, don't delay.
Meyer also let it be known that he didn't think his team will need any gimmicks or motivational speeches in order to win this year. He said, "If you have a team that you really have to encourage and motivate to go win a game, that's a really bad team. If we're in that situation, then I'll do whatever we have to do to go try to win. But I'm hoping, as of right now and being around these players, I don't think there's going to be a problem with motivation to go win a game."
Finally, you have to love Urban's attitude heading into fall camp. He promised that by the end of day four players would not be worried about going undefeated but would only be concerned about getting to day five. "It’s going to be a really, really hard training camp," the head coach guaranteed. In addition, he hopes that the fact that the team can't compete in a bowl game will tick them off. "Every coach wants an angry team," Meyer said at the Big Ten media days last Friday. "I want them to take that anger and channel it into getting better." Me, too, coach...me, too. Especially on November 24th against those weasels from up north!
Some Recruiting Links: If you have not noticed, 247 Sports has tweaked their recruiting rankings, and is now providing a composite ranking, using Rivals, ESPN, Scout, and 247 Sports to come up with a final number. Using this criteria, Ohio State's 2013 class ranks fifth currently, behind USC, Michigan, Alabama and Florida. Joey Bosa is the highest rated Buckeye using the composite rankings (#19 in class of '12), followed by Eli Woodard (28), Cameron Burrows (30), Jalin Marshall (51) and Marcus Baugh (96). Check it out for yourself by clicking here...If you have a lot of time and love old recruiting information, then you have to spend a couple hours at Buckeye Planet, checking out the incredibly thorough work of LordJeffBuck. He goes through each of Tressel's 10 recruiting classes, shows how the players were ranked, and then gives his final rating looking back on their OSU career. In addition he breaks the recruits down by region (Cleveland area, Dayton area, etc.) and by state, if they did not play high school ball in Ohio. It really is amazing stuff, and if you have not seen it yet, don't delay.
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