Ohio State New Head Coach Urban Meyer's Full Press Conference

Among various topics, Urban discusses his new gig, his family, his health, his goals for the program, his excitement over his new QB, and a little about who will be on his TBD staff.

Part I


Part II


Part III


Part IV


Videos by ElevenWarriors

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BREAKING NEWS: Jim Tressel Officially Out as Head Man at Ohio State

Memorial Day, 2011—A day that will live in infamy for every fan of Ohio State football.

It's the day former-Buckeye head coach Jim Tressel's resignation from THE Ohio State University became official.

Yes, you read that correctly. Jim Tressel is no longer the head coach of Ohio State.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, after nearly three months of speculation and multiple reaffirmations that he had no intention of stepping down, it seems apparent now that Jim Tressel has been forced to tender his resignation.

Perhaps the school had finally had enough of the daily revelations and ESPN lead-ins of more news of potential violations swept under the rug by coach Tressel.

No immediate information has been released on a coaching search, but the general consensus for now seems to be that Luke Fickell, whom had previously been named the coach for the first five games of the upcoming season, may very well coach the entire 2011 season before the position is evaluated and a national search begins.

Let the Urban Meyer and Jon Gruden to Ohio State rumor-mill start spinning....


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Ohio State "Car-gate" Situation Real News or Overblown Sensationalism, Plus, and More Importantly, The 2011 QB Situation

Is there really a story here and real reason for concern, or is the media just overplaying every little blip and milking Ohio State for all they can get, plus are we really going to have to watch Joe "the career backup" Bauserman lead our Buckeyes this fall?

These are the articles that are coming very soon from BlockONation over on CollegeFootballNews.com.

Links will be forthcoming -- Just wanted to give a heads-up to BlockONation readers and all Buckeye fans.

HD


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ESPN Video: What's Wrong With Terrelle Pryor?

Here's some food for thought to Buckeye fans from Olin Buchanan, Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer.


Q: From Nina in New Albany, Ohio: This may be the worst offense in the Jim Tressel era at Ohio State. Is it time for Tressel to look in the mirror and finally see that changes need to be made, whether with players, coaches or philosophy?

A: Yours is one of several emails received about quarterback Terrelle Pryor and the offensive issues at Ohio State.

So, to your first question: Yes, this could become the worst offense in Tressel's nine seasons. After seven games, the Buckeyes are averaging 331 yards and 28 points, but matchups remain against Penn State and Iowa, which have strong defenses.

Tressel's worst offensive team at Ohio State was in 2004, when the Buckeyes averaged 320.8 yards and 24.2 points. They went 8-4 that season.

Yes, it appears to be time for Tressel to reconsider his offensive philosophy, and changes should be made in an attempt to fully utilize Pryor's athletic ability.

Pryor, a sophomore, is getting heavy criticism from all directions. He was just 5-of-13 passing for 87 yards in a win over Wisconsin, then followed that up by throwing two interceptions in last week's 26-18 loss to Purdue. That's unacceptable in Columbus. Indeed, it's unacceptable most places.

But don't bury Pryor just yet. When he came out of Jeannette (Pa.) High, he was being compared to former Texas All-America Vince Young because of his size (6 feet 6/235 pounds) and physical gifts. Dramatic comparisons to Young still can be made.

Pryor is struggling. He's completing 56 percent of his passing attempts, for 1,169 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

But Young was a liability as a passer when he was a sophomore, too. Young passed for 1,849 yards with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2004. That season, he was just 8-of-23 for 86 yards in a 12-0 loss to Oklahoma and 3-of-9 for 19 yards and two interceptions the next week in a 28-20 victory over Missouri.

Some called for Young to be moved to tight end or wide receiver. But coach Mack Brown re-evaluated his system, junked a pro-style offense and almost exclusively went to the zone read, which was better-suited for Young's talents.

Texas didn't lose another game during Young's playing days, and he emerged as one of the best college football players ever.

That's not to say that Pryor will do the same if Tressel makes a similar move; it should be noted that Young had more talent around him than Pryor does. But it's something to consider.

After all, Tressel saw first hand what a player with Young's physical gifts could do. In '05, Young passed for 270 yards and ran for 76 in a 25-22 victory over Ohio State.


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Tressel Epiphany? Assistant Coach Darrell Hazell Called "Some" Offensive Plays Last Week

Posted by HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation


It turns out that assistant head coach Darrell Hazell did call some plays for Ohio State last week in a 38-0 win over Toledo.

"Oh, sure," coach Jim Tressel said yesterday.

When asked if that was out of the ordinary, he said, "Not at all," which means it could continue Saturday when Ohio State plays Illinois in Ohio Stadium.

Maybe it was more noticeable against Toledo because quarterback Terrelle Pryor turned to Hazell when he had a question about a play.

Earlier this week, Hazell had replied, "I don't know; I'm not sure," when asked whether he was calling some of the plays. Tressel drew criticism for his playcalling in an 18-15 loss to Southern California the week before, yet he has defended his right to make the call.

But as Tressel has often explained, he sees himself as the triggerman in a process that includes input from all offensive assistant coaches.

"When things work, we're all part of the wonderment," Tressel said, "and when things don't work we're probably all part of the disappointment."

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Let's hope this is a sign of Tressel loosening his death-grip on calling the plays (something he has proven is not his strong suit) and shifting the responsibility to Hazell full-time, or at least most of the time...

Hazell played it aloof when asked if he had called any plays on offense vs. Toledo. It's actually kind of funny, and you pretty much can tell from his reaction to the question that the answer was yes.


Hazell could be the answer, but either way, maybe Tressel needs to watch film from this game, the 1987 Cotton Bowl, and the playcalling. Nothing personal against Jim Karsatos, but if he was able to become a Buckeye Legend and do everything he did in that game, and his career, so too can uber-athlete Terrelle Pryor--and then some.




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Original article written by Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch. Final three paragraphs written by HD Handshoe of BlockONation.

USC Fallout: Is This Jim Tressel's Rich Rodriguez Moment?

By HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation


A year ago, after many fans of the University of Michigan were questioning whether or not RichRod was the right man to lead their program, as they suffered loss after loss on their way to a 3-9 season—the worst ever in UM history—Rodriguez was quoted as saying to those critics, "Get a life."

Fast forward to September 12, 2009.

Michigan is 2-0, "they call me" Tater (salad) Forcier is the next Tom Brady, Rich Rod is a coaching God, and UM fans are regaining their cocky attitudes.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes are now 1-1, Pryor sucks and is overrated, Tressel is a bum, and OSU fans are PISSED after this most recent setback, an 18-15 loss to USC in Ohio Stadium to a team that lost eight defensive starters from a year ago, and came to Columbus with a true freshman QB at the helm.

This Buckeye team played great, specifically on defense, but in the end, it was the ridiculously conservative hand-cuffing of the offense that led to the final result...

Another loss, on the national stage by Ohio State, in a game that most Ohio State fans truly believe the Buckeyes should have won and would have won, if Jim Tressel was not ultra-conservative has critics coming out of the woodwork, more than ever, and has seemingly turned up the heat on Tressel.

Tressel is well aware that the hot seat is getting warmer, at least in the fans eyes.

Tressel said he has received critical e-mails, but said the fans' poison makes him feel sorry for them.

"When I read some of them I feel terrible for them because there's no way they're happy," he said. "They've got to be some of the most unhappy people in the world, and I feel bad because we just made them less happy, and I hate to be a part of making someone less happy. I mean, they're already miserable."

Did he really just say that? That critical OSU fans are some of the most unhappy and miserable people in the world?

To say that takes, and shows some balls.

Too bad Tressel has shown no sign of having a pair when it comes to his play-calling on the field.

Bob Hunter, a columnist for The Columbus Dispatch, wrote that angry Ohio State fans may want a new coach but no one talks about who that might be. He also brought up the subject of buying out Tressel's contract, which would pay Tressel more than $12 million through January 2013.

Tongue in cheek, Hunter proposed those wanting to get rid of Tressel might want to circulate petitions to build a casino or two on campus so the coach and his biggest boosters, athletic director Gene Smith and Ohio State president Gordon Gee, all could be fired.

With the Buckeyes preparing to play Toledo at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Saturday, the glow of that 2002 national championship game seems light years away.

It's true, many fans are calling for his termination, which is extreme if you ask me, while others, at the very least are demanding that he relinquish his play-calling duties and hire a real offensive coordinator—possibly a young guru, with some fresh ideas on how to jump start the stagnant, dull, and sputtering offense we've seen for the past several seasons in Columbus—one who will put Tressel-ball out of it's misery for good.

I love the Buckeyes and Jim Tressel has been an amazing coach. I'm in what I believe to be the majority, that wants to keep Tressel, but would also like to see him give up play-calling.

The problem with keeping Tressel is, he doesn't want to do that. So, if he won't make some much needed changes with the coaching staff, and he won't give up calling the plays on offense, there's only one option left...

Maybe in just a few short years, Tressel really has went from a top five coach, to outdated and washed up.

I can't stress this enough: I still want Tressel as our coach, but I think he has to find and hire an offensive minded coordinator to give the play-calling duties to.

Nothing lasts forever and if he really is not willing to make these few changes, then I think it could be time for Tress to head back to Youngstown State, or just an early retirement from coaching altogether at the end of the season.

If he finds a way to lose to Toledo on Saturday at Cleveland Browns Stadium, he'll be less popular than Kanye West at the CMA's.

Maybe he can go on Leno and apologize too, and announce he's going to "take a break" from coaching—a permanent one.


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