Ohio State is in the midst of preparations for its matchup against Texas in the Fiesta Bowl and OSU head coach Jim Tressel held a press conference after practice on Tuesday. Tressel delved into a number of subjects, including Nathan Williams, Joe Bauserman, Shaq Rowell, which OSU juniors turned in their paperwork to the NFL, the health of Beanie Wells and much more.
Here is video of OSU coach Jim Tressel's press conference (about 14 minutes in duration, thanks to ScoutingOhio.com for producing this video)
Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel addressed a bevy of topics during a Tuesday press conference.
The No. 10 Buckeyes (10-2) are preparing to play No. 3 Texas (11-1) in the Fiesta Bowl, which will be held Jan. 5 in Glendale, Ariz.
Ohio State freshman defensive end Nathan Williams was arrested for shoplifting at a mall near Dayton last week. Conventional wisdom indicated that Williams might be suspended for the bowl game, but Tressel clarified the situation on Tuesday.
“Nathan has to take care of his personal business (Tuesday),” Tressel said. “We’ve gone through the steps of talking with our athletic administration first and foremost to see what policy we’d need to follow there. Then we went to our coaching staff and then we went to our seniors and we talked about the ‘what ifs.’ And the way it appears right now, from an institutional standpoint, there isn’t any mandated punitive situation.
“From a team standpoint, there is some from a physical nature and there’s some from a playing time nature that the coaches and the seniors all agreed upon. So, he’ll have some work to do and he’ll miss some time and he’ll have some constraints on the bowl trip. And so, how he’ll handle all that will determine what exactly happens on the 5th.”
As it stands now, Tressel says Williams will travel with the team to the bowl game.
“Yeah, he’ll make the trip,” the coach said.
A rumor that has been going around the last few months is that OSU redshirt freshman quarterback Joe Bauserman might look to transfer following the season. Bauserman might choose to go the FCS route (former I-AA) so he can play right away if he does decide to leave OSU.
However, either Tressel knows nothing about an impending Bauserman transfer, or he just didn’t want to say much to reporters about it.
“I have not heard that,” Tressel said. “I have not heard anything like that.”
And Bauserman is still practicing with the team and will make the bowl trip.
“Oh yeah,” Tressel said.
Tressel also shed some light on the situation that involves fifth-year senior Curtis Terry who suffered a season-ending injury towards the end of the regular season and wasn’t even announced on Senior Day before the Michigan game.
“Oh, he couldn’t move,” Tressel said. “He had two rods in his leg. It was real serious. He had surgery and was on a walker and he came to senior tackle, but he could not come to the game. He was on a walker up until our banquet and he just started walking these last couple of days. But he’s here every day. He’ll graduate in March and he’ll be ready for the combine.”
Terry played in too many games this year to qualify for a medical redshirt and possible sixth year in the program.
“No, that is not a possibility,” Tressel said.
There has also been a lot of talk recently about defensive tackle Shawntel Rowell who was a member of OSU’s 2008 recruiting class, but did not qualify academically. Rowell originally said he would be able to practice with the team during bowl preparations and would then enroll at OSU for winter quarter. However, Tressel was not able to clear up much regarding Rowell’s predicament.
“He’s still a perspective student-athlete and he’s not with us right now,” Tressel said. “I guess that’s what I’m allowed to say.”
Tressel was also asked about Dawawn Whitner – the younger brother of former OSU safety Donte Whitner. Dawawn told Bucknuts several months ago that he would attend Columbus State Community College for a semester and would then transfer to OSU if he was able to maintain a “C average.” Whitner thought he would enroll in January and would then be on scholarship. However, there was not much Tressel could say on the matter.
“He’s a perspective student-athlete,” he said.
OSU’s bowl practice schedule is set
Tressel also discussed OSU’s practice schedule for the rest of the month and how the team would handle Christmas break.
“We practiced Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week and we had a huge recruiting weekend and were able to get almost our entire recruiting class in this past weekend and our families,” Tressel said. “It gave our players a chance to meet them and host them and we thought that went very, very well.
“Then we went to work beginning (Monday) for what is really our biggest week of preparation. We practiced (Monday) and (Tuesday) and then (Wednesday) will be strictly a lifting day and a film day. And then Thursday-Friday-Saturday we’ll be at it again. And then we’ll practice Monday and Tuesday of next week and our guys will head home Tuesday morning after practice to have five solid days at home with their families. And then we’ll reconvene in Scottsdale and we’re looking forward to getting back to work as we go. The week we’re out there, we’ll be practicing at Pinnacle (High School).”
Beanie health update
Ohio State junior tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells has dealt with one nagging injury after another during the last two seasons. His latest ailment is a pulled hamstring which left him unable to finish the Michigan game.
“I think Beanie is pretty healthy,” Tressel said. “Beanie and Brandon Smith didn’t get to practice (Monday) – they got to do some physical fitness. Because we had a little issue with going on TV on the news. So, they ran quite a bit (Monday) and Beanie looked pretty sore (Tuesday) morning. They went on TV and they were late coming to practice.
“I would call Beanie probably right now 85 percent healthy. And we anticipate he’ll be 100 percent as we go into the game.”
[BREAK]
Six OSU juniors file NFL paperwork
Wells is expected to turn pro and is projected as a top 10 overall pick. However, there are six other Buckeyes that also put in their paperwork with the NFL to see where they stand in the eyes of the scouts.
“The NFL had a bit of a new way that they went about it this year,” Tressel said. “Not only could you fill out a form and they would take your name and watch the film with their committee, but they also asked for your transcripts. And I think they did that for two reasons. One, that they were looking at guys that were allowed to come out by rule. But two, I think they wanted to look at one more thing about the young people and learn more about them.
“So, we ended up with – I think – six guys filling out the paperwork and sending in their transcripts. So, we ended up with Brian Hartline, Kurt Coleman, Anderson Russell, Jake Ballard, Jimmy Cordle and Donald Washington.”
Wells didn’t turn in any forms to the NFL?
“You know, Beanie didn’t need to fill out the paperwork,” Tressel said with a smile. “I told him to save the paper.”
Tressel breaks down Longhorns
Early in the press conference, Tressel gave a lengthy comment about Texas and what makes the Longhorns such a good team this year and a good program overall.
“I’ve known (UT head coach Mack) Brown for many, many years and I’ve studied his excellence when he was back at North Carolina and on to his (11) seasons at Texas and he’s done an extraordinary job,” Tressel said. “I think his program stands for the things that we think our stands for which is recruiting outstanding young men that happen to be great players that are passionate about the school they play for and have that desire to be thought of as one of the best teams and the best players in the game.
“As you watch their film, they have great football players and great leadership. We had a chance to play them in ’05 and ’06 and those were two of the toughest games we’ve had since we’ve been at Ohio State and this might be their finest team yet. So, our guys are looking forward to the tremendous opportunity and the tremendous challenge.
“It starts with their great quarterback, Colt McCoy. He’s as good as there is. Ten years ago it probably would have been unheard of to have people completing 78 or 80 percent of their passes in games and he’s just put up extraordinary numbers. He’s their leading rusher on the football team. So, that tells you what else that adds to the difficulty of trying to deal with him. And he’s got great receivers, veteran guys. He’s got outstanding running backs. His folks up front on the offensive line are tremendous. And obviously he knows the system. We faced him when he was a redshirt freshman taking over for Vince Young and watching his progress has been extraordinary and his coaching staff has done a great job of bringing him and the rest of the unit along and developing them into one of the top offenses in the country.
“Defensively, they are high-pressure, high-energy, high-enthusiasm. They’re led by their great player (Brian) Orakpo – I hope I said that right because I wouldn’t want him mad at me because he can play. He’s an outstanding football player and puts pressure on, whether it’s the pass game or run game. He’s got veteran linebackers behind him and it’s just an outstanding defensive group. They are going to make you pay if you make mistakes. High-pressure and they get after it and they’re an outstanding football team.
“Their special teams probably aren’t talked about as much as their offense and defense, but I think they’re outstanding. If you look at some of their key games, the kickoff return for a touchdown in the Oklahoma State game – to me – was huge in the outcome of that. Their tough ballgame over at Texas Tech, Texas Tech had a two-touchdown lead and then (Jordan) Shipley’s punt return all of a sudden turned that game into an extraordinary game. Their punter (Trever Gerland) has hang time as good as anything I’ve ever seen. We’ve seen hang times above five seconds on his punts, which is highly unusual. And their kicker (Ryan Bailey) does a good job. So, they have great athletes covering and blocking and everything else. So, when you turn the film on, it’s not a surprise why they are one of the top teams in the nation. Our guys are excited about the opportunity of going to the Fiesta Bowl and enjoying that reward for a hard-fought season and playing a top team in the nation and a class program.”
One of the balancing acts for a coach during bowl preparation is finding the ideal mix of working on the game plan and also getting some time to work on fundamentals. Tressel explained how the Buckeyes divvy things up during bowl practices.
“I would say probably a third of the time you’re in fundamental work,” he said. “Maybe 45 percent of the time you’re working on game plan. And then that 10 or 15 or whatever percent is left, you’re competing. Because you want to keep that going. You want to keep that competitive edge, whether it’s with the young guys or the old guys. You want to compete. They love competing. The game plan takes precedence, but it’s the bonus of getting that fundamental time for the guys that for weeks have just been doing game planning. It’s good to go back and work on things.
“Especially for a guy like Terrelle (Pryor) who gets put in a situation where every week is a different defense and every week is a different game plan and all those kinds of things. For a young guy that didn’t maybe have as much fundamental work as you would have liked for a guy who was a starter, this is a good time for him. We balance it.”
The Buckeyes still do the “showtime” sessions at the end of each bowl practice where the younger players get a chance to face off against each other in live scrimmage situations.
“Yeah, oh yeah,” Tressel said. “That’s part of the competitive part. The older guys compete, but you want those young guys to compete as well. And those young guys get a few more (live) snaps than the older guys because you’re anxious to see what they’re doing. In fact, the young guys right at the end of practice (Tuesday) had a big interception and the place erupts with the older guys congratulating them and stuff. So, it’s fun. That competitive part is fun.”
Tressel sees progress with Pryor
The long layoff between games might be difficult for some players. However, for a young quarterback like Pryor, it’s a chance for him to get better every day. He’s at the stage of his career where he picks up something new every time he takes the practice field and Tressel has noticed it.
“He gets to continually work on it,” Tressel said. “So, you get day-to-day work and it’s a little bit like the preseason, but not quite. Because in the preseason, you get to come out in the afternoon and work on it again, or you get to have a little bit more meeting time to sit and watch yourself. But you do see progression. It’s kind of like the spring practice progression. It will be exciting to see how well he plays. But also, he’s going against one of the finest teams. So, it’s going to be another measuring stick.”
