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On Monday, Ohio State Football’s head coach Urban Meyer met with the media to provide an update on the team’s progress during fall camp. With roughly two and a half weeks until the Buckeyes open the season, Meyer said that preparations have moved to a more traditional “game week” structure, focusing on getting ready for what the Indiana Hoosiers do on both sides of the ball.
The Buckeyes will kick off the 2017 campaign against conference foe Indiana on Thursday, August 31st in Bloomington at 8:00pm ET.
Position Battles
- Meyer sad that the competition to back up starting quarterback J.T. Barrett is primarily between Joe Burrow and Dwayne Haskins, though Tate Martell is still somewhat in the mix.
Meyer said that he is pleased with how the competition has progressed, but this coming Saturday’s scrimmage will go a long way to determining who will be the team’s No. 2 QB.
- The head coach said that Martell was an offensive weapon, and added that he was a great, fast-twitch athlete.
Meyer said of Tate, “He’s a very confident guy... I just love where he’s at right now... He’s a real competitive guy, he wants to play real bad.”
- In terms of the battle to be the team’s starting right guard, Meyer said that Malcolm Pridgeon, Branden Bowen, Demetrius Knox and Matthew Burrell are still in contention. There is currently a leader, but the coach declined to say whom that would be.
- Meyer added that a number of freshmen will have their black stripes removed at today’s practice, but didn’t spoil the surprise.
On-field Performance
- Meyer says that having seven fifth-year senior starters on the team has been incredibly valuable. He doesn’t believe that he has ever had that type of senior leadership before.
- Meyer declined to comment on suspended defensive tackle Mike Hill.
- The head coach added that the biggest improvement for Barrett during camp has been his passing accuracy.
- He also said that the starting QB has developed an incredible relationship with new quarterback coach Ryan Day.
- He added that the fact that the offensive line is more experienced has given him a chance to be develop more of a relationship with the wide receivers.