Urban Meyer’s weekly radio show featured discussions about Ohio State’s special teams play, Nebraska’s explosive offense and more.
What follows are the main takeaways from Meyer’s time on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus, in addition to some updates from offensive coordinator Ryan Day.
- Said Blake Haubeil and Drue Chrisman have impressed him all year on special teams. Haubeil lost his black stripe this week.
- Compared Nebraska’s current offense to what Ohio State ran in the past with J.T. Barrett at quarterback. A lot of zone read, bubble screens.
- Noted that Nebraska runs a lot of ‘Bear’ defense, which is utilized to stop the run.
- Praised Ohio State’s pass protection of Dwayne Haskins. Added he expects that, and said the Buckeyes need to improve in many other areas.
- Meyer said he has continuously been impressed with Nebraska’s wide receivers, especially JD Spielman. Spielman, the adopted nephew of former Buckeye legend Chris Spielman, caught 11 passes for 200 yards against Ohio State in Lincoln, Neb. last season.
- He referred to Nebraska as an “elite program.” Said it was special to visit the Cornhuskers’ stadium last year.
- Meyer said junior offensive lineman Branden Bowen, who has had multiple surgeries since breaking his leg against Maryland last year, will be “on call” this weekend, but isn’t quite ready to go. Bowen is expected to return next week against Michigan State.
- He also said redshirt freshman offensive guard Wyatt Davis is expected to play “a little bit” against Nebraska.
Ryan Day Notes
- Day said the Buckeyes spent the past couple weeks focusing on what they do well and enhancing that while trying to correct some issues.
- Day said the 73 passes against Purdue were a product of how the second half went. “That was a lot,” he said.
- On Dwayne Haskins: “His talent speaks for itself.” Noted that Haskins has done a good job of giving the receivers the ball in a place where they have a chance to run after the catch.
- Day acknowledged that the running backs – J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber – would like to carry the ball more, but have provided a boost in the passing game. He said they’ve focused a lot on the run game since the Purdue loss.
