Ohio State's Urban Meyer speaks at start of 2014 spring practice

Ohio State football officially began spring camp today. Head coach Urban Meyer spoke to the press afterwards, just days removed from a medical procedure to alleviate headaches he'd been having recently.

Meyer spoke to his health, the status of a defense that was shaky at best last year, as well as some of the early standouts from Tuesday's inaugural session.

Some of the highlights from Meyer's session with the media were as follows:

• Coach Meyer said he feels good after having a minor procedure to get rid of a recurring cyst. "I feel good. Not great, but good," said Meyer.
• Coach Meyer touched on the defense and said he felt the unit had lost something last year. "I felt like we lost something on defense. We have a culture that I want to make sure that we don't lose. I feel like we were a What it? defense last year," he said.
• Meyer also added that he didn't want anyone afraid to make mistakes on the field.
• On senior quarterback Braxton Miler, coach Meyer said his issues are mental. "His issues now are verbal communication and keeping the eyes on the secondary," he said.
• Meyer said he will have Miller call out what he sees in the secondary on every play this spring. He also said his biggest loss from not taking snaps this spring is the loss of game reps.
• Coach Meyer said he was not particularly impressed with either quarterback taking reps today (Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett).
• Coach Meyer said he likes the safeties on the defensive side of the ball. "I like Vonn (Bell), Tyvis (Powell), and Cam Burrows." He also added that Doran Grant looked a lot more aggressive.
• Meyer was asked about his thoughts on the new proposed rule to slow down offenses in college football. "It kinda came outta nowhere. I think it's interesting conversation but there's no way they should start passing rules without a lot of conversation," he responded.
• Meyer ended by saying he does not want any restrictions put on players. "I just want them to have fun and play the game," he said.
• Meyer added that second-year wide receiver Jalin Marshall looked like a completely different player than a year before. He gave the coaches credit for letting him blossom.