I'm with Max.
COACH FICKELL: I'm sure we can just go ahead and open it up for any questions if you want. Talk football.
Q. Can we start just by you giving us an injury update?
COACH FICKELL: Who would you like to know about?
Q. Nathan Williams obviously and Corey "Philly" Brown.
COACH FICKELL: So would I. (Laughter).
Don't know exactly. Philly see how he runs out there today. Hopefully he'll be all right. That's what we were expecting as a Nebraska return. But we don't know for sure on that. Nathan, I'm not sure I would probably say doubt; I would doubt it, from what I saw on Sunday.
But again, things can change in the next two days but he doesn't look good and Philly would hopefully be all right.
Q. And just, we have discussed this, also, but you are blending in a couple of players that you have not had. Is that a touchy situation for a coach to play your best players, but at the same time, be true to the people who have been around for the whole time and gone through five games for you already?
COACH FICKELL: Yeah, I think it is, but you know, those guys have been a part of the team. Those guys have been a part of the program. It's not like they were gone and distant.
Those guys all have the utmost respect for those guys and how they have worked and how they have handled their situation. Each one will be handled in the way that we best need to be handled for the team. But definitely take into consideration that obviously that we are not throwing anybody away that had been in there, and you know, we are going to continue to move forward.
But it is a situation that, believe me, is addressed but our guys probably have as much respect for those guys and the way they have done everything and the way they have handled everything, so it makes it that much easier. Q. Talking to some of the guys post game on Saturday with the loss, the one thing that kind of gave them a little bit of solace was the fact that they were going to get guys back, DeVier Posey and Dan, of course and obviously you had to address the team yesterday can tell them they wouldn't be. What was the reaction to the team and how do you keep spirits up, when it was something that they were kind of pointing towards?
COACH FICKELL: That's what you've got to do. Probably we went ahead and went with our three points of wisdom from John Wooden that said: Don't whine, don't complain and don't make excuses. And I think that's what we have got to be able to do, and it starts from the top down with all of us as coaches.
So is it a kick? Is it something that's not easy. Yeah, we all feel that way. But you know, we have also got to look at the things we are getting. So you've got your Mike Adams and your Solomon Thomas, and you know, so those are the things you've still got to focus on.
How many times have we said, we are going to focus on what we have, not what we don't have and focus on moving forward. So that's what we have to do. We are not going to make excuses for guys. We are not going to allow them to be down and we are not going to allow them to do that; as coaches we are not going to do that as a team, and we believe everybody will follow suit.
Q. Regardless of what the NCAA rules, will DeVier Posey and Dan remain on the football team going forward?
COACH FICKELL: Yeah.
Q. Have you as head coach given consideration to remove multiple time NCAA violators from the team?
COACH FICKELL: Well, this is still something that's undergoing and I don't know. I don't have all of the information that they are going through probably just as of yet. Not that I have seen anything that we wouldn't want a guy around right now.
Q. Would you have that option if you wanted it as the head coach, if you had that ability?
COACH FICKELL: I'm sure we would talk about that as a team, as a staff. But you know, again, those guys were part of who we are right now; they are a part of what we do, and we need each and every one of them, in whatever role they have.
Q. Another injury update, Verlon Reed, what's his status and more fundamentally, when you watch the tape, especially of the offense and saw the difficulty, when you look at, is it a scheme issue, is it just the fact that you have got a freshman quarterback and he's limited when you analyze it, what can be done?
COACH FICKELL: Well, with Verlon, he has torn his ACL and pretty much everything in his knee, so he will be done for the year. So he will be out.
Offensively wise, it's a lot of things. I mean, again, we have got to put ourselves in those situations that we can give ourselves a little bit more help, and I just mean in a situation where whether you can run the football a little bit more or have the ability to take advantage of some of the things guys are doing against us, it's a whole. You can't just point a finger and stay well, well, it's the quarterback, well, it's the offensive line, or it's the wide outs not getting open or it's the call.
It's a combination of everything but it still comes down to that we have to figure what it is that we do well and continue to do those things and find out how we can get better at those things that we can do well.
So it's a combination of all of, whether it's a scheme or whether it's a guy finding the open receiver or whether it's a guy picking up a blitz.
Q. Were you satisfied with the level of adjustments you were trying to make in the Michigan State game?
COACH FICKELL: Again, when you don't win, you don't like your adjustments. When you do win, sometimes your adjustments look a little bit better. But we need to do a better job. We need to do a better job of adjusting defensively, we need to a bet eastbound job defensively making some of those big plays that maybe turn into a touchdown.
We got a couple picks that could have been changers in the game; and we got a chance to block a punt that goes through the guy's hands early in the game that really with a young group, a lot is an emotional factor.
A lot is on how the ball is rolling, just with the type of group you have, and you know, so I think that's a big factor. But again, there's a lot of areas, you know, and we have to figure out what it is and how we can get the ball to the guys we need to get the ball to.
Q. Braxton is listed as the starter on the depth chart this week. Will you have a quicker hook this week? You looked for a spark last week, but you waited further into the game. Will you have the quicker hook if it doesn't go well offensively?
COACH FICKELL: No. We don't want a guy going in thinking that by any means. We told those guys we are probably going to need them both throughout the course of the year. How are we going to do that? I don't know.
Braxton is the guy that right now is our starting quarterback, and you know, I would think hook wise, we don't want him to ever think that. And I think it just came into a situation for what they were doing and what we needed to do at the time. We made the change, but you know, I wouldn't say that there's hook we're looking for if it doesn't happen in the first couple series or whatever, we are going to change, no.
We just have to know and we have to get better, and we have to be able to put them in some situations. And ultimately, we have got to make a couple of plays, because you know, I mean, whether you're 18 years old or you're 22 years old, if you get some emotion and you get some adrenaline and you get a few good things that happen to you, sometimes that ball begins to roll a little bit more.
But I don't have want them to think that, hey, you've got a short leash, or we don't have enough confidence or faith in you.
Q. How do you get your team prepared and ready for what will be a difficult setting?
COACH FICKELL: That being said, the preparation starts, really, Sunday night. That's the thing, we want to make sure our guys understand that Sunday night, we take off out of here on Friday, and they know what to expect and what we see on film. They are going to get a little bit more, and it's our job to make sure they understand when they walk in there what to expect. But emotionally our guys are competitors and Saturday, I promise they will be fired up to play. The key is, do they understand what they are doing and what it's going to take on Sunday.
Q. A little bit unchartered waters, it will be the first time ever that State has gone out there. Have you been trying to find out what the atmosphere is going to be like? What have you been able to find out?
COACH FICKELL: No, we have looked into that, we looked into that a lot during the summer and obviously the people that have played out there, and that's what our guys are excited about. Maybe it will be like playing at Wisconsin at night. We have been there, we have seen that. But again, you don't exactly know until you're there, so you try to over prepare them in what they might get mentally.
That's the most important thing. But again, until you're there and until you've seen it and until you do it, crowd noise or do something specific, like throw things at them, that might could happen I have not heard about it; but again the most important thing is that we prepare them mentally and they know what to expect in a hostile environment; and the emotions, try to put that heat on them during practice, the emotions that they are going to have because of the hype of the game.
Q. 22 year old kids, without putting them through the ringer is it easier said than done? How concerned are you that they are not where they need to be?
COACH FICKELL: We still believe they will live up to what is expected. So if you whine or complain a little bit, just in your own way, then they will but we can't make excuses for them; just because they are young, we cannot make excuses.
We argued about that on Sunday night; well, you're probably not. Don't make any excuses for them. We are not going to make any excuses for them. We will not allow them to do that.
What are they thinking? That's ultimately what they have to be able to control, but I promise what we put in front of them, won't be the complaining; it won't be the whining.
Q. Inaudible.
COACH FICKELL: We have got competitors. When we walked out of the room maybe yesterday, they were down, but hey, next morning, next play, next time. That's the motto we have got to have. And you know, it will be interesting. We go out there today, there won't be a head down and there won't be anybody whining or moping. And it all starts from the top down, and we won't accept it and won't allow it.
Q. Needless to say, this has been an unsettling time for Buckeye football and not what you've signed up for. Just curious how it accumulates as the caretaker of the program having to go through this.
COACH FICKELL: I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that. But there's situations and things you're going to have to go through in life. Do we like them? No. Do we love them? No. They are what they are. That's what's going to make us better. We have not been in this situation, and these young men have not been in this situation.
Q. In the 90s, their fans had a reputation; the relationship, have you heard anything about the nastiness with or that things have changed?
COACH FICKELL: I can't say I've been out there. I've been out there for wrestling. That's about it. But I've talked with Pat Hill or I didn't talk to him but one of our guys did, and said they are good, they are loud, they get after it.
Q. On Saturday where the defense struggles, is their challenge to make sure the guys on defense, there's no finger pointing, have you sensed, or do you feel like everybody is still together and they are working through their problems and we'll be all right?
COACH FICKELL: You know what, that's what we see and that's what we preach, and that's what we talk about. We had a motto two years ago on defense: No names, no blame, no worries. And it's kind of the same thing, we have kind of just said, you play, you win as a team and you lose.
There's all areas where we could have found things that we could have done better. Make sure guys don't have excuses in their head, and we are not going to tolerate it, and that's it. There's going to be a point in time when the offense is going to be in a situation that they are going to have to pick up for us or for the defensive side of the ball. That's what you do. You stay together, you play together, you win together, you lose together.
You can't let those things, if you think about them and we think about them as coaches, okay. And we try to see nothing goes unnoticed. Those are things that we watch for and look for, and if we do see them, we will be on them right away. But it starts with us. It starts with us as coaches. We would never allow ourselves to think those kinds of things. And we believe if they live up to what they we believe, we'll be successful.
Q. As defensive coordinator and as a defensive guy, how difficult is it to defend a team that you have no idea what they will do on first down? Does that concern you as you look at your offense, their ability to throw on first down, the confidence on the offense; is that a concern or something that is overrated?
COACH FICKELL: It is, but you've still got to do what you've got to do. We all know we have to have balance. That's where it starts, and you have to evaluate yourself to where you can get more balanced than what you feel. But then again, those teams are going to do certain things on first downs. We all know second and three and four is a lot easier. Second and two, they have a lot of options. We didn't do a great job on first downs, and that put us in a situation where they can take a shot.
Yeah, we talk about those things. We know those things. We evaluate our stats and where we are and what we have done on first and tens, and we are always trying to be balanced. We have to do a better job. Also you have to take what people give, and you some of those runs are probably checked.
Q. You guys had a lot of success last year with Denard, keeping him down, Taylor Martinez provides similar problems, and he's a better runner than he is a passer. How much do you lean on the success you had last year and apply it to this week with Taylor?
COACH FICKELL: Presents a lot of challenges. Again it starts up front. That's what they do a very good job of. Obviously he can run, and I'm not sure there's probably anybody on their team that's faster than them, but you know what you've got to do. It starts with them up front, when they can get on you they can get those guys pulled around the edges and they can get you strung out on options.
Martinez is going to be a very, very tough guy to catch, obviously, if you let him get going. So again, it's different, it's much different than what a Michigan was last year with how they ran Denard. Still, a lot of times with the two backs we are guarding with maybe a little bit more of the border penetration, stuff like that, maybe in the past they have done. But definitely, the thing is you can't just focus on him. And yes, he runs, and yes, he does all of those things, but it's those guys up front.
Q. Did you notice any frustration with the actual players offensively with maybe what was not going well for them, and have you guys developed the kind of leadership from the guys who are able to play on Saturdays that you wanted to see on this team at this point in the year?
COACH FICKELL: Anybody who is a competitor, you know, gets frustrated, and how you show those emotions, everybody is different.
We have got to make sure guys understand how they need to control their emotions, especially on a game day. But it's frustrating; if you're a competitor and things are not going well for you, you're frustrated. And if you're not frustrated, then you would be a little bit more worried.
But you can't just look and have an idea, just because of their facial expressions or how they act. Just because a guy is not spiking his helmet doesn't mean he's not frustrated; or if he is spiking his helmet, it doesn't mean, oh, he's a competitor and he's frustrated.
And leadership is continuing to be developed. I think there's definitely guys that are stepping up and we saw that this past week, and we'll see that in the locker room with everything right now. You can't wait until Saturday to find that leadership.
Q. So you're not going to whine about it or complain about it
COACH FICKELL: Thanks.
Q. A lot of the problems this year are caused by suspensions and the fact that guys are not here. How have all of those suspensions, the news that you got yesterday, the news that you got the first couple of weeks of the season made you a better football coach, made your staff better, more creative, whatever it may be, given the fact that you're playing with one arm tied behind your back?
COACH FICKELL: We don't look at it like that. But you know what it does, it makes us have to continue to coach. It makes us have to develop guys. That's what teaching and coaching is all about. Whether we have 53 or 54 days left until Michigan, we can continue to coach and make them better football players you're going to lose guys because of injuries.
I think that's when you just go back to your roots and basics and say, hey, what's going to make us good. It's not going to be us designing every perfect little scheme, and, oh, we can do this and we can do this. Maybe we are not in that situation; if we had a fifth year quarterback or a fourth year quarterback or a fourth year middle linebacker that could check us out of a lot of things. Really what is it does is it makes us better coaches, because you go back to what it really means, coaching fundamentals and just being tough.
Q. Has it accelerated your path as a better head coach because you've had to deal with all of these different things?
COACH FICKELL: Who knows? In the long run you'll see.
There's a lot of things that maybe you didn't know what to expect. And there's probably a lot of coaches that coach a long time that have never been in this situation. But then again there are a lot of coaches coaching for a long time that have never been in a National Championship game. Not that you know how they would respond, but some guys getting in the National Championship game, first year, second year as a coach; I guess you've got to go through them to be able to handle them. And the next time you go through them hopefully you are better at whatever you are doing. That's when you probably evaluate yourself to see that you got better at what you do.
Q. Do you get the sense there's still a chance you could have Boom Herron for Saturday?
COACH FICKELL: I don't go into hypothetical situations. So I don't know anything about that.
Q. And then number two, when you look at Nebraska and their defense, they get publicity about being the black shirts, etc. But they have been ripped pretty good a few times even this year and stuff. What do you see about their defense that concerns you, what stands out about it right now?
COACH FICKELL: I mean, they are physical. They are definitely guys it starts up front for them. They are going to get on you. Same type of thing: They are going to be on and you pressed up in a lot of coverage stuff and they are going to be physical up front. That's probably what they pride themselves on the most.
He's not exactly Coach Pelini, he's not going to be a huge, huge scheme type of guy. When he comes down to it, it's going to be about being physical, being tough, playing with great technique and making people beat you with something different or something new. They are going to be well coached up. I think that's probably what you see from them.
Yes, maybe they have given up some things that happened, but just shows you they are going to get back to the base fundamentals what have they do best. They are probably going to be more physical, tougher, and that says a lot about their fundamentals.
Q. We obviously know Nebraska is new to the Big Ten, is it tough to face a team that you are not used to seeing?
COACH FICKELL: I mean, you do it every year, whether it's preseason game, whether it's a Bowl game. We do a lot of preparation outside of the season just trying to understand who they are and what they are about. But a program like that that you've watched and studied over the years, just because of who they are, you know a bit more about them.
So I don't think that's what makes that doesn't make it any more difficult than what they do each and every year, because what they did last year, to this year, offensively is going to be a bit different.
Q. Obviously Nebraska wants to show to the world that they can compete in the Big Ten, and probably no Big Ten team wants to be the first to lose to Nebraska. Can you use that as a tool, an emotional tool, against a team like that?
COACH FICKELL: I don't think you ever use not wanting to lose. If you go in there not wanting to lose or fearing to lose, then I don't know that that would ever be a motivational tool. We are going to focus on what we do, how we can get better. And we are going to focus on us, not trying to find something be worried about losing. That can't be a thought process.
Q. Real quick about Solomon Thomas, not listed, but do you figure that he will work his way into the defensive line rotation Saturday?
COACH FICKELL: I would hope so. Again, we have to see how he competes and works out there right now. I'm going to start him today. You would hope so and you hope you would see him in some situations but again, he's been dinged up as well, broke his leg in the spring game and just getting back from that. That's one of those things that Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday are all about.
Q. Are Mike Adams and Andrew the only left tackles right now, or could either or both of them see time at other spots on the offense?
COACH FICKELL: No, those guys that's what I've always liked what Coach Bollman has been able to do. He teaches it as a system. So those guys are able to move around, if they have to go from left tackle to right tackle, left guard to right guard, they understand that system. Those guys have the ability to be able to move around.
Obviously you get more comfortable playing the position that you're used to playing, but they have that ability to make sure that we can keep the best five on the field.
Q. Andrew Norwell, listed behind Mike, do you think Andrew is one of your best five?
COACH FICKELL: Did they get the updated ones? Need to look at it.
Q. I'll double check that.
COACH FICKELL: Tried.
Q. Specifically the game plan against Michigan State, why did you offensively not run more screens or draws or misdirect runs or short passes or something that may have slowed down Michigan State's pressure?
COACH FICKELL: Well, we could get into X's and O's; how deep do you really want to go into it? Again, this is not the time or the place. But you probably have to understand that sometimes when you have a running quarterback, it's a little bit more difficult to throw screens. Yes, they are bringing heat, but understand that somebody is control rushing because of the scrambling quarterback.
Now, not saying that you can't still run a screen; not saying that that's impossible to run a screen. But just defensively, at times, if it is a running quarterback, and I assure you, there's somebody there might be three guys coming up the middle, but there's probably two on the edges that are just hanging for him. Yes, there's nine sacks; you would say, obviously, throw some screens, throw them down a little bit. And we did. We called a couple. And you guys might think that they were just sacks, but that wasn't just the line letting those guys through at times. The back was eaten up by the guy rushing because that's what he was looking for.
Yes, we all have ideas and opinions off it. Those things we do try to do. We just have to do a better job of it.
Q. The game plan then that you did use Saturday, if it's executed better generally, can that type of offensive game plan work with the personnel you have now, or do you think, no, there are definitely things that have to change?
COACH FICKELL: I think we have to be able to make adjustments. There are open receivers and guys that we have to find.
Like I said, don't take any credit away from what those guys did against us, as well. But if you pop it on and you watch, you can definitely see that there are some things that, man, might not be real sound right now, but pressure can do that to you. A lot of times that ball gets rolling and you don't make the plays you need to make. That's ultimately what it comes down to.
Guys are going to bring that kind of pressure. There's still some things you have to be able to attack, and you have to be able to make a couple of plays. And I promise you, if you make a couple of plays, they stop bringing the pressure. And we just didn't do it. Is it completely a game plan thing? Is it a complete thing? Is it a not executing thing? It's all together. We all take the blame.
Q. It's the nature of his job, offensive coordinator always gets his run of criticism, and Jim Bollman is getting criticized; what would you want to say to people who question him?
COACH FICKELL: We all don't like where we are. We all know there's ways we need to get better. And criticism, I mean, criticism I handle a lot better than do I praise. It makes me mad and it makes me work harder and makes me do things a little bit more.
But you can't let it affect you. You have to continue to get better. He understands what we need to do. We just have to do a better job of figuring out what our guys can do and what our guys can handle, and we will. There's going to be growing pains and there's going to be things, and nothing that a good offensive performance or a good win won't make up for. But if we sit and worry about all of the people that criticized us, or we stay up late worrying about that, instead of worrying about what we need to do we can't let it affect us.
Q. Because your guys are not happy with where you are, do you worry about them starting to question what they are being asked to do, or do you feel they are totally bought in?
COACH FICKELL: They are in. I think that goes with all of the work. If you don't understand the program and how much you work in the off season and do the things that you do, you wouldn't be here. We don't believe that of them. There's no leadership that would push them that way. There's no fragmentation in the group.
But we always say that when adversity hits, just like we talked about in the summer, when things happen, when we lose a game, when other adversities happen, the circle becomes tighter and tighter, and you have to pull closer and closer. And if there are people that are on the edge, they become more noticeable. So you don't see them, if there are, then obviously they will be a lot more noticeable when the adversity hits.
Q. You're a guy that preaches getting better. In what ways do you see this team has improved?
COACH FICKELL: I mean, our confidence level, understanding what we do. Fundamentally we are getting better, tackling better defensively. Can't account for some of the situations, injuries and those kinds of things.
There's a lot of young guys that we can see from day to day that might not show up always on Saturday, and a guy that doesn't have a big catch or makes a down. There are little things that might not come up in the stats. But we are pointing out, hey, still have confidence in what you're doing, you're getting better. Don't think those things aren't important.
COACH FICKELL: Obviously all of us are disappointed in how we finished out last week's game, but we move on, and that's what we've got to do. I think we talked to those guys about it afterwards, everything hurts a little bit more when your heart hurts, and that's a part of the football game. We've been on the other side of a lot of those. We were on the other side of this one. We'll all grow from it, we'll all be better in the long run because of it, as long as we handle it in the right way. Nothing will change for us, the energy, the passion, all those kinds of things won't change the way we coach, won't change the way we get after our guys, our expectations of them won't change, and I think they've embraced that.
We're excited about getting back on the field, especially today. That's the only way to get that taste out of your mouth, and we're going to continue to find a way to get better.
Q. What's the status of Braxton Miller, and then after that your thoughts on the way he played before the injury occurred, seemed like it was the most comfortable he'd been since he's been here.
COACH FICKELL: Yeah, he looks I think he's going to be okay. The most important thing is how you can practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I think they keep saying, he's going to be fine, I think he's going to be fine, but we've got work to do, so we'll be out there in about an hour and a half today, and we'll see how he feels being able to run around on it and things.
But he did, he was more comfortable out there. We made some plays so that obviously gave him an opportunity to be more comfortable, and he's continuing to grow. I think that's the thing you can continue to be positive about, and you can see whether it's the offense in general, as a whole. There was a few, we made some plays, and the growth is there, and there's a still lot potential to continue to grow. Q. Have you guys rethought your situation at backup quarterback, and will you be looking at Kenny Guiton maybe a little bit more seriously this week than last week?
COACH FICKELL: Kenny will get some more reps and that's a part of it. Kenny has been getting reps, and some of them have been at the quarterback position, some of them have been on special teams. Kenny has stayed involved a lot and showed the team and everybody how important it is to him, and he'll get probably more and more opportunities in the weeks to come.
Q. About Joe Bauserman, obviously he struggled. When you watch the tape, did he struggle as badly as it seemed he struggled on Saturday?
COACH FICKELL: I mean, yeah. Again, it's a tough situation to come into. You know, they changed their game a lot with what was going on, so coverage was a lot different when he was in there as probably when Braxton was in there. That has something to do with it, but ultimately it comes down to performing and making plays, and that's ultimately what we've got to evaluate people on. Could he have done something? Yeah, obviously we all could have done better. We could have done better as coaches, he could have better as a quarterback, we could have blocked better, we could have ran better in situations. But.
I mean, his attitude is still right. He still wants to do his best for this football team, and he's going to continue to fight to get better.
Q. When you look back at the offensive game plan, after Braxton got hurt do you feel when you look at film that what you guys called gave your team the best chance to win in that situation?
COACH FICKELL: Well, we evaluate everything and we're critical of ourselves in everything we do. You know, you can sit there and say, well, hey, should you have kicked a field goal, a 50 yard field goal, and you in turn say why didn't you guys just go ball control and play the field position battle. If it doesn't work, yes, you always look back and say what would we have changed differently. But ultimately it comes down to making one more play, whether that's throwing the football, whether that's there's the interception; if it was a catch and it was a touchdown, hey, it would have been the greatest call in the world.
Hindsight is definitely 20/20, and you have some things you'd change definitely, but ultimately we've got to continue to take shots, and it doesn't matter really who's in there. You know, there's always things, whether it's offensively, defensively, special teams wise that you would look back and say, man, maybe if I would have done this a little bit different, but nothing that I publicly want to say, yeah, we should have done this.
Q. On the other side of the ball, as you look at what happened down the stretch defensively, what were the breakdowns?
COACH FICKELL: You know, I've not been a part of something like that, a little bit of an unbelievable snowball effect, but it comes down to tackling. You know, and I think that's ultimately the biggest thing is in the first half we were as lights out as we've been and sound, and in the second half you're going to a play here, the first touchdown, there was kind of a little bit of a miscue and a new formation, something they hit us on, and we just never regrouped again.
I guess we got a little bit frantic and our tackling went down the drain, and I think that's ultimately when you look back at it, defensively usually when things aren't happening, when things are bad, it starts with your tackling, and that's where we're going to point a finger. Whether it's conditioning, whether we got tired, whether we got mentally drained, all those things factor into it, but ultimately we didn't get the job done. It starts with tackling, and we've got to do a better job of putting them in position that we can succeed.
Q. You're halfway through the season, and a lot of things have been thrown at you that you probably didn't anticipate when you took the job. What's been the biggest challenge off the field, on the field, wherever it may be? What's been the biggest challenge for you to date?
COACH FICKELL: It's balance. It's maintaining some balance in your life, maintaining balance in your program, balance in how much you spend with the defense, how much you spend with the psyche of the entire group, and then probably the most difficult thing is probably this, is going to talk to the quarterback club, going to talk to the media when things are tough, because I'm not about a whole lot of talk, and that's but that's part of the game. That's what you have to do. You've obviously got to do this.
But as an assistant coach, you just put your head back in the book, you get with your 10, 12, 20, whatever guys you've got, and you fight through it with them and you grind it out and you find a way to get better, and it's not about a whole lot of talk, it's about work. It's about passion. It's about energy. And then when you're the head coach, I guess you've got to stand up and make sure everybody else understands and talk about it and revisit it and rehash it and have it come back up in your stomach three or four or five, six, seven times during the week.
That's the most difficult thing to me. It's still football. When you're around the guys, you enjoy doing what you do. When you can be with them, that's why you do this. You just don't have as much time to do that. That's the most difficult thing.
Q. Because you're at that theoretical halfway point, do you feel any more pressure in terms of doing everything you can do? You've been given every opportunity to see what happens after this season is over in terms of your future here?
COACH FICKELL: We don't look at it like that. We told our guys we can't look at it like that. We can't look any further ahead than today. That's just where we are. You drive yourself batty trying to do it. So no, I don't give that any thought. I think about each and every day how we can get better, worry about those guys and what's their mental state and how do we continue to motivate them and still have the energy, because it's the leadership role, and if you don't have energy, then how can the people around you have energy? If you don't have confidence, how can the people around you have confidence? That's where you spend all your time focusing, not what can happen in the future.
Q. With Dan Herron expected to be back this week, how does he factor into your game plan with Jordan Hall and Carlos Hyde?
COACH FICKELL: Dan will get some touches. You might see Dan initially on special teams, whether he's on the kickoff team, whether he's on the kickoff return team. But Dan is a big part of who we are. That's probably one of the not just what we've missed from him on the field, but in the locker room, off the field, in the huddle, just that his personality, his passion, his confidence level. That's something that we are going to try and ride, and in order to do that he's going to have to have a hand in it and have a part of it, and he will.
Q. Back to your defense, do you worry about the defensive psyche? The fourth quarter at Miami when they couldn't get off the field and that one drive and then what happened Saturday night? Do you kind of worry about the psyche a little bit and are maybe some shake ups coming on that side of the ball a little bit, and will Ryan Shazier see a little bit more action?
COACH FICKELL: No, it starts with us. As long as we don't let it affect us psyche wise, things happen, and that's part of the football game. Obviously you've got to get better at it, and I think as we pinpoint it, it starts with tackling, it starts to me sometimes our biggest problems come when we get a little bit tired, and is that a conditioning factor, is that a rolling more guys through factor? It all goes together, but we can't lose confidence in what we're doing. I mean, we've done it here. We've been successful, and you've just got to continue to go at it. That's part of it.
Can we do a better job of getting some more guys in there? We've got to. But a lot of those guys you're going to try and get in are true, true freshmen, and sometimes that's difficult in a situation where you're on the road or a game is tight. But we've got to we have to do a little bit better job of that.
Q. Mike Adams got his job back right away. Why are things different with Boom? Is it because you've gotten good production out of the other tailbacks?
COACH FICKELL: Well, Mike probably wouldn't have been the starting tackle last week if we didn't have a mix up with Marcus. We had to shift around and we had a guy that was out, so like we had said, six weeks, seven, eight weeks ago, we're going to continue to get better, and when those guys are available they'll compete to get themselves back in there. Obviously the situation arose just because of the situation last week, and that's probably where Boom is. Those guys have done a good job, they're going to continue to battle. It's not like they can't be out there for us. We know we're going to need them all, and our team is good with them, Boom is good with that, and that's what's most important.
Q. What's the priority order this week? Do you try to take care of some of the internal stuff? You've got questions about game plan, personnel, psyche and all this other stuff, but you're also playing a top 20 team that's undefeated. What do you try to take care of first on the pecking order?
COACH FICKELL: Well, it starts with us. It's not unlike any other game. If you were coming off a big win, you'd be saying we've got to worry about the psyche of the team, are they over confident in what they're doing. That's an every week thing. We focus on our guys and make sure they understand what they're going to walk themselves into, know what to expect, what kind of team they're going to see, and sometimes it's a lot easier to get their attention when you've got a 6 0 ball club that is rolling in pretty much every phase of their game.
It's always going to start with us and making sure we're on the right page, and our guys understand what we need to do to get better and to be successful, and we'll spend the right amount of time studying what they do, as well.
Q. It seems as if Illinois is really on a roll both sides of the ball and they've had a couple of close calls but for the most part they've played pretty well. Could you talk about that?
COACH FICKELL: Well, offensively it starts with the quarterback, and I think that's probably one of the biggest changes you've seen from them from last year to this year. They've still got a lot of the same guys up front back that gives them obviously a chance, but I think it starts with the quarterback and his confidence level, his ability to run and throw. He's playing as well as anybody I've seen on tape this year.
I think that's where it starts offensively. Defensively they're sound. They're going to get after you. They're going to mix it up a little bit, but that's what Coach Zook has probably been most known for is his defense and where he's been on that side of the football, so you know they're going to be fundamentally sound. And a team that's rolling, you can see the emotions, you can see the confidence level in them. That's something that's very obvious when you watch the film.
Q. With Marcus Hall presumably back
COACH FICKELL: Yes.
Q. how will the offensive line look?
COACH FICKELL: You have to look at the depth chart. I would imagine it's probably pretty similar to what it was last week, and that's where we'll start. But like I said, just our ability to be able to roll, to keep guys fresh for the fourth quarter and those kinds of things are something that we've got to look at doing a better job of, whether it's offensive line wise, defensive line wise, linebacker wise.
Q. Can you give your assessment of Mike Adams?
COACH FICKELL: Mike played pretty well. He did a good job. Ultimately you don't just want to pinpoint one thing. None of us played well enough to win, and I think that's ultimately what it comes down to. But Mike is a boost for us, and he's a confident guy. He's going to give us confidence in that huddle, and we've just got to know everybody has got to get a little bit better.
Q. You talked about Brax. Other than him anyone else banged up that might be in question and anything new on Nathan Williams?
COACH FICKELL: No, I mean, Braxton like you said, we've addressed it. We'll see how he runs around today. Nathan Williams will probably not be with us the rest of the year. He'll probably be done for the year.
Q. (No microphone.)
COACH FICKELL: I don't know. I think he'll probably have another surgery.
Q. (No microphone.)
COACH FICKELL: Storm came back. Obviously he's sore, and all those little bumps and bruises hurt a lot more when your heart hurts, but everything came back negative, and he'll have to fight through it and get better. Six weeks into the season that's what it's about.
Q. Even when Ohio State has been rolling, Illinois has been a tough game for Ohio State to get past. Is there one thing that stands out in these past games for you as to why Illinois has been I don't want to say a thorn in your side, but they've caused some problems.
COACH FICKELL: Shoot, it goes all the way back to when I was in school. I don't know. Is it that they've they've got a handful of guys from the state of Ohio, obviously Coach Zook is from the state of Ohio. Ohio State is a big game for pretty much anybody, and that's a part of it. You know, but you can't pinpoint one specific thing that, hey, they only play well against us. For them they've played well in the last few years a lot.
But it's an emotional thing. I'm sure when people are down, obviously guys go after them even more. So I wouldn't expect anything different. I would expect their best with the confident group that they are.
Q. You talked earlier about the possibility of Kenny getting a few more reps. What do you like about him? What do you hope that he might be able to bring if it does come to pass that he has an opportunity to get in the game?
COACH FICKELL: Well, I think Kenny starts with his passion to play right now. If you come over to practice, you would see whether he's on special teams, whether he's jumping in on scout team, he wants to play football, and we've got a bunch of guys out there that are that way. You know, when you've got those guys out there you say I've got to find a way to get him on the field or give him a chance to get some reps. I think that's probably the one thing that jumps out that you've seen from Kenny.
Obviously we always talk to the guys and say you never know when your opportunity is going to arise. You'd just better be ready for it when it does. I've seen his attitude take that seriously, and I'm sure he's waiting for that opportunity to arise.
Q. Considering the fact you talked about getting production from the quarterback position, do you guys still feel like Joe gives you the best chance to move the ball and be productive if he has to play if Braxton comes out, and what's his mental state coming off of that game?
COACH FICKELL: Well, right now we're focused on obviously Braxton is our quarterback, and if Joe goes in there, then obviously we have to do some different things probably. The thing is people are going to play you different, so you've got to figure out what it is that he can do well. The thing with Joe is he is an older guy, so he's been through a lot. He's probably obviously baseball, was a professional baseball player, and that might not have exactly went the way he wanted it to, so he's handled those kind of things, so I think he's been through it. He understands it's a lot about attitude, and when you have your opportunities you've got to make the best of them. You never know, an opportunity is probably going to arise at some point in time for him again, and I'll have confidence that he'll make the plays that he needs to.
Q. Given the number of hits Braxton has taken, this is not surprising necessarily that he's gotten injured. How much caution do you want him to have, especially with this ankle issue he's got this week? Are you going to try to reduce the number of times he's got to run?
COACH FICKELL: I mean, yeah, that's always something that you worry about. You can put their film on and watch them, Illinois' quarterback, and say, oh, boy, you don't want him running the football, how many times are you going to let him get hit. But that's a part of the football game. Obviously we've all got to be smart with what we're doing, so if he's able to go, we've got to make sure we go with what we do best, and sometimes that entails him running the football. Now, we've got to be smart with that, and as we get into the week we'll figure out what that situation is best.
Q. A.J. Jenkins, what comes to mind when you think of him, the wide receiver for Illinois? What does he bring to the table?
COACH FICKELL: He's a big playmaker, and that's the thing, if you see a big, long pass it's probably with A.J. Jenkins on it. He's their go to guy on big plays. But it starts with their running game. It starts with the quarterback, and he gives him that opportunity that people have to stack the box and do some things because the quarterback can hurt you in so many different ways, and the guy that obviously has taken advantage of that the most is A.J.
Obviously he can play, and that's what you look for in a playmaker. But it's the whole group that obviously stands out.
Q. Can you offer any more detail about Nathan Williams? This is a guy it sounded like when it first happened that sounded like he'd be back.
COACH FICKELL: No, I don't know much more. It looks like he's done for the season.
Q. We're talking about a guy who people thought had a chance to be one of the better defenders in Big Ten this year. How much do you think his loss has affected this defense? I mean, this is pretty big news it seems like to lose a guy like that for the whole year.
COACH FICKELL: He hasn't played since the first game, so it's a part of the game. Sometimes when you figure out what you're going with, it might make you better, too. It's a part of what we do. We're not going to sit and dwell upon it. We want to get better, and most importantly, if he can help us, then he'll be out there; if he can't help us, then he won't be out there.
Q. You look specifically at the defense against Nebraska up front, you did talk about missed tackles but it seemed like later in the game a lot of the defensive linemen were getting blocked, allowing the offensive linemen to get to the second level and block some linebackers. Are you getting enough production from the front four in terms of not only making plays but keeping guys off the linebacker, or what more do you want to see from the guys you do have up front?
COACH FICKELL: It's a whole group. I've been up there. I know how it goes. But it's everything, and it's hard to explain. I've not really been a part of one like that, that the snowball happens, and things go from one complete direction to the other. It's really about settling down and somebody making a play. You know, one play when those things happen, then all of a sudden, whether it's a linebacker or defensive lineman, DB, somebody starts to think they've got to step up and do something outside of what they normally do, and that's usually how big plays happen.
It goes from all of us. It comes from the sideline, from us coaches making sure that they calm them down and put them in the best situation they can be in and it ultimately comes down to somebody making a play. We all look back at it and try to figure out how we can get better.
Q. During the summer and also during camp I remember you mentioned how tight this team was, but you also made a comment that it's easy right now to be together, it's when adversity happens, how do we handle it. I'm just wondering with what you guys have gone through on Saturday, how do you feel about the way this team is right now?
COACH FICKELL: You know what, it's amazing. I feel good about who they are. Obviously we've got to get back out there and go to work, but the way they stay together, like you said, they've been through a lot. But it's going to come down to this leadership, and it doesn't just have to be seniors. This is what we see. These are the times when you really find out how much faith and belief you have in each other and how much faith and belief and how much sacrifice you can withstand for each other.
You know, it gets more difficult each and every week. That's all we ever talk about. And I believe they're all with us. They really are. Sometimes it's shown in different ways, guys act differently, but I promise you, you go over there in about an hour and go onto that practice field and you'll see what I mean, see what kind of passion they have, see what kind of work ethic they have. I think they in their minds knew that they were in for a battle throughout this entire season, and getting better is what we said we had to do from the get go.
I think, like I said, that's the only thing that allows me to sleep a little bit at night, to know that those guys are workers. They're fighting for each other. They believe in each other, and I don't think there's anything that can drive them apart.
Q. You've got one defender in the top 50 of the Big Ten in tackles. I'm just wondering, are you surprised by that? Are you alarmed by that? Or
COACH FICKELL: Is this the first time you've noticed that? We used to always complain
Q. It's a statement on how you guys have had to do it collectively, as well. It's just a stat, and if you have a reaction to it.
COACH FICKELL: No, there's times in the past when we used to get after Jerry and say, I don't know how we count tackles and how we do some of those things, how a guy six guys from wherever can be in the top ten in the tackles and yet we've got Brian Rowland, he's 14th and he's our leading, and back in the day when Marcus Merrick and some of those guys were getting 24 tackles a game, I don't know how they counted them.
With that being said, it is a collective group. I mean, you can look at our production chart and see the disparity, where in the past you've probably had three guys at the top of that production chart that were far and away above everybody else.
It's a little bit of who we are, and it's probably a little bit that we've got a collective group.
Q. You talked about on field leadership and how maybe that can prevent something from snowballing. With that being said, might the move to permanent captains might be sooner than you thought, sooner rather than later? And are you happy with the leadership you're getting from your guys?
COACH FICKELL: Yeah, no, and permanent captains, no, we made a decision how we're going to go with it. You might see more repeat guys, but we made a decision, and we're going to continue to go with it. Even if the same guys were going to be captain each and every week, we're still going to vote at the end of the year. We need a collective group just like we just said. You see a collective group as the stats break down defensively. We need a collective group with this whole team.
Q. If you wanted to change the logistics of offensive play calling, either the who or the how, do you have the authority to do that?
COACH FICKELL: Yeah, why not?
Q. I'm just clearing up a rumor.
COACH FICKELL: Who else would I have to check with, my wife? (Laughter.)
We do everything together, though.
Q. I'll take the ball then and just ask this: Along that line, are you listening when they're on offense to the play calls, and have you interjected at any point in season, hey, I'd really rather see this, why don't we try that? Have you been involved in that process?
COACH FICKELL: Yeah, I listen and I'm there with them, and I throw my two cents in at times, and then there's times I just sit and when they get done doing what they do, I say, no, let's go ahead and punt or let's kick the field goal. I've probably made a couple suggestions during a game, some good, probably some bad. But that's a part of it. As we grow and continue the process, but I am always there, and that's what makes it hard sometimes defensively is they're trying to ask me a question defensively and I'm on the other side, and just more there for support and throw some ideas out when they're needed.
Q. I wanted to ask you about Jaamal Berry. Where is he at physically and mentally right now and how does he fit into the game plan and the running attack and on special teams?
COACH FICKELL: Jaamal obviously special teams has been where he's been most focused, his ability to return some kicks. You'll probably see him a little bit more on some kick coverage things. Jaamal has a lot of ability, and there's a few tailbacks right now that probably get more opportunities than he does based on how we play, and that's just a part of the football game. I'm sure it's frustrating to him at times, but he also knows it's about the team. He's no different than like we said about Kenny Guiton at times. When your opportunity arises, you'd better be ready for it, so whether that's running the football, whether it's receiving the football, whether that's returning a kick, but his attitude has been right, and he's with us, and that's the most important thing.
Q. An Ohio State coach who I think is in this room once said that Ohio State fans are with you win or die. Are you aware of what the reaction was to the loss to Nebraska? Have you had any play with anybody, any texts, any words of support or lack of support or anything?
COACH FICKELL: No. It's you know who's going to support you, and that's the most important thing. You know, it's a part of football game. That's why you see 105,000 people in the stands every week, because they care, because they're passionate. About what sometimes, I'm not sure, but that's a part of the game.
I mean, they want to win, and our guys are no different. That's why we came here, that's why all of our players came here, and we're not going to be mad at them now because they're not happy with us. We love them when they're with us, too.
We can't get caught up in those things, and I haven't yet to look at it. Like I said, in the last six weeks I don't know if I've turned a television set on. Yeah, why not? I've told you, I'm motivated a lot more by criticism than I am by praise. If it's out there, I don't mind it.
Q. Are you really motivated this week then?
COACH FICKELL: If I listened, yeah. I'm motivated every week. It's a part of the game. There's a lot of people that have the opportunity that you can say what you want to say, but until you do it, it's all talk, whether they've got ideas or I've got to stand up here with suggestions myself. It comes down to what you do, and that's the most important thing.
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COACH FICKELL: Obviously an opening. The most important thing this is Michigan week. That's where we're focused. That's what we want to talk about. That's what we want our guys to understand about. It's always been about a one game season regardless of the records.
And that's probably the biggest thing we came in Sunday and made sure we reiterated to them: Who cares what the tides are, what the records are. Just like we've always said, it's been a one game season and it's going to continue to be a one game season. That's what we need to focus on. Our guys, everything else behind us. The season is what it is right now but it's always been about this week.
And we're excited about that. I know our guys are excited about that. We had the band come out Sunday night and was probably something we needed every bit as much as they did. But it really got our guys going and it got us into that groove of Michigan week.
So any questions we can go - we can start there.
Q. Of course playing Michigan, that's enough of an incentive, but what else can you tell your team that you have to play for that's still out there, in terms of, well, whatever?
COACH FICKELL: The most important thing, one another. I think that's what it's always been about. That's what it will always continue to be about. Those who are involved in sports understand that. Those who are involved more so in a team sport like football, there's no greater team sport known to man.
You can say the different sports are team sports, but you've got as large a group like you have in football, that's where really the power is. It's believing in one another. Playing for one another. We said the other night we've got Buckeye Nation. Love the fans, love all the former players. Those things are all extremely important.
But those 110 guys that are sitting in that room that have been through what they've been through, been through the ups, been through the downs, that's what it's all about, those guys looking around, that's what they play for.
Q. Do you also mention you can have a winning record, you play for a better bowl game, other things that go with it?
COACH FICKELL: No. No. It's been about Michigan. It will be about Michigan. It will be about one another. Those are the things we talk about. Everything else is out of our control. We kind of had that focus from the beginning of the year.
This is who we are. This is what we want to be about. To me, that's where the power is, is when you can look at the guy next to you and believe in one another and fight for one another. And everybody's got different things outside families they play for, different little things they play for, but ultimately deep down you gotta care about one another and play for one another.
Q. I think over the years Ohio State players have felt like this game has defined them. Do you feel that is still true today?
COACH FICKELL: It's still the Ohio State/Michigan game, still the greatest rivalry in all sports. We wouldn't attack it any other way. That's what is remembered. We understand that. We know that. Our guys have understood that regardless of what the situation has been in the last 10 years that I've been here or even the five years I was here as a player.
When you come here, you know what it's about. That's why I'd say 70 percent of our guys are from that 250 mile radius, been grown up, born into it, and know more about what this rivalry is all about than most.
Q. Luke, what do you remember about Michigan week as a player? Do you have any specific memories of unusual things or funny things or something that sticks out in your mind about when you play?
COACH FICKELL: No. There's not a great memories back when I was playing I guess you'd say. But I think it started with that band coming over Sunday night. Some of those things I forgot as I stood there with Coach Vrabel last night and he reminded me that he was the guy that actually got to dot the I when the band came over Sunday night when we were seniors.
Those are the little things: The buzz on campus, whether you're a freshman and the band coming around and getting everybody out of the dorms, just that excitement behind it all.
I grew up here. Knew about it. But never truly, truly was a part of what that really was throughout an entire week until I came to school here. And those are the things you remember.
Q. Michigan's clearly peaking. You guys have lost two straight. How ready do you feel you are for this game?
COACH FICKELL: We'll you'll see that on Saturday afternoon. We can sit here and talk until we're blue in the face. We know what it's about. We know when it started. That's what it's always been about. We said it from the get go; it wasn't going to change, our foundation hasn't changed regardless of how you're playing. It's about playing on Saturday afternoon. You could be all up or you could be all down.
We could sit here and talk about it, I could say this is what we're going to do and this is how we're going to do. But you've got to tune in and you've gotta see and that's what we believe in, and our guys know that.
And so we're excited about Saturday. And it's not a whole lot of talk and tell you what I'm going to do, but our performance is going to speak.
Q. Luke, with that in mind, what have you been able to put your finger on that's led to these slow starts at least on the scoreboard the last several weeks? Is there anything you guys, as you peruse the film on Sunday that you saw, the button you didn't push or whatever; what have you come up with?
COACH FICKELL: It's probably a couple of plays here and there, and that's probably just like all football, it's a game of momentum. And if you don't get yourselves rolling with a little bit of momentum, I think with the team we have right now, we need some things to happen. We gotta make them. We've got to create some things.
In the last three weeks really we have not done that. And it's put us a little bit behind the eight ball, we were good enough to get out of it maybe against Indiana. We obviously weren't quite good enough to execute to get out of it against Purdue. And this past week we weren't quite good enough to get out of it when you got down 10 0.
Hopefully those are all things you learn from throughout the year, hopefully we learned from in the past three weeks, we learn more about ourselves each and every week. But we know we have to make something happen and make something happen early.
Q. I know you might not know for sure until the end of the week, but what's your gut feeling on Andrew Sweat, do you think he will be play in this game being his final game, being the Michigan game, what's your gut feeling there?
COACH FICKELL: Don't know. When you're dealing with the head, it doesn't matter what game it really is. Obviously he wanted to be out there last week. And if you would have given him a helmet, he would have been out there last week.
But you ultimately gotta look at what's best for him. And there's some things you just can't mess around with. If it's a bad knee or a bad ankle or bad whatever, something else, you know, I promise you he'd be out there. But when you're dealing with the head, we're going to have to leave that to the doctors.
Q. You said it's questionable at this point?
COACH FICKELL: He's questionable.
Q. Your Michigan counterpart refers to your employer just as "Ohio." Have you noticed that, first of all?
COACH FICKELL: I have never been in the room when he I've never actually heard Coach Hoke speak. I've heard that. And it is what it is. We all get our guys ready in different ways. Whether they get that from however Coach Bruce or Coach Hayes used to not refer to the team up north or whatever that is, hopefully that it's no disrespect to Ohio University, they are Ohio, but it is what it is.
We might refer to Michigan in different ways, too. But the thing is it's still a football game. It's about a football game. There's a million different stories. There's a million different story lines. It's not about me. It's not about Coach Hoke. It's about the greatest rivalry in all of football, their team our team and the history of the traditions.
Q. Your team is like a touchdown underdog or something. This series has a history of having teams that were not thought to have a chance to pull an upset or to make the game close or to make the favored team uncomfortable. I wonder if you could talk a little bit about that. Why is that? Is it just the heat of the rivalry? Why is it that teams that seem like they're under dogs maybe aren't necessarily?
COACH FICKELL: That's just underdogs are sometimes, those are just maybe media way, Vegas way of saying what they expect. In a rivalry like this, a lot of those things go out of the window and records go out of the window, and a lot of things are going to be scrapped. There's going to be unbelievable passion on both sides of the football because of what this means. I think those are the things that obviously overtake a lot of those.
Obviously when I was in school, when I was on the opposite side of some of those, so to speak, underdog upsettings, but it still comes down to the passion of the game, the will for the game, and that will be defined on Saturday.
Q. Obviously a team game, but having a freshman quarterback playing in The Big House, how do you think he will respond to this situation?
COACH FICKELL: I think that Braxton will continue to do what he's done. He's a competitor. And sometimes the best thing you can be as a young guy and not realize exactly the magnitude of some different things. And I think that was kind of obvious this past week with Ryan Shazier going in as a linebacker, obviously different position.
But sometimes them young guys, they're almost oblivious to the different things that are out there and around there to them. So hopefully that's the way he continues to attack it.
It's still a football game. He knows what the pressures and we've talked about it. But when you're a competitor, that's what you look forward to.
Q. Michigan's resurgence, do you think it's what's gotten them here? Has it been Greg Madison's defense because they were so bad under Rich Rod, where have they picked it up the most?
COACH FICKELL: I think it starts with momentum. And adversity creates some toughness and some different things. And I think that's one thing you might have seen through what they've done. And I'm not saying they didn't do a great job, that Coach Hoke hasn't done a great job, Coach Madison hasn't done a great job.
But the ability to have some older guys and some seniors that have been through some tough times, have been through a lot of ups and downs, only makes you stronger in the long run.
I think that's what you're seeing a little bit from them, as well as momentum. Football is a game of momentum. You can get yourself on a roll and get some momentum, great things can happen and I think it's a combination of all those.
Q. You've got so many young guys who haven't played in this game. They know when they come here how important it is. But do you really emphasize to them and what do you do to emphasize to them just how important it is?
COACH FICKELL: I think you've been here long enough to know that every day there's something, whether it's on the wall, we don't need to reiterate it, we don't need to talk about it. But when you start recruiting a guy, whether he's from South Florida or Columbus, Ohio or Cleveland, Ohio, when you recruit them, you talk about this game and you talk about the magnitude of this game and the excitement behind this football game.
When it starts at that type of age, when it starts wherever they're from, from the time you recruited them, they realize when they walk in here. And if they haven't, that's why 70 percent, 75 percent of these guys being from a 250 mile radius have lived it since the time they were young kids.
Q. There's one theory in fact in that Civil War book you talked about, your boy Lee felt like if you were facing longer odds, you took longer chances. Much of this series has been risk avoidance from both teams. How do you feel being unpredictable in a game this big?
COACH FICKELL: Maybe you're referring to Joshua Chamberlain. I don' t know. That's a different book. That's one I read in fifth or sixth grade. Okay. We believe in ourselves, we believe in what we have. Does that mean we don't need to be aggressive? No. We have that plan every week. We know we need to create some momentum. We need to make some things happen.
So whether that means take some chances or not, it still comes down to making plays and making, getting that momentum, getting that ball rolling.
So we don't see ourselves as a big underdog. That's not the way we approach things. Whatever people want to say. We believe we've got a great football team. We believe we haven't performed as well as we could in the last several weeks, but that's what Saturday is for. We're going to continue to attack it that way and play with confidence and not think we've got to do something hokey or crazy to win this football game. No pun intended.
Q. As far as the game goes, adversity, highs and lows, that's kind of is that what you expect and what you have to work through during the game?
COACH FICKELL: That's always. It's been one of the things we've gotta do a better job of is having that poise to be able to handle the ups and the downs and the adversity. We've been through a lot. Whether it's off the field or on the field. And the way you handle those things is the sign of a great football team. The ability to go down 10 or the ability to give up a big play. Stop them at the one yard line and give yourself a chance.
So we saw some of those things. We didn't see enough of them. We haven't seen enough of them in the past three weeks, but that's what we're building upon.
Q. Luke, just straight up question, are you disappointed profoundly in your offense? It's ranked like 106th in the nation, passing game is 118th, what just hasn't happened there from your vantage point to get the thing going this year?
COACH FICKELL: I'm disappointed right now in the way we've played the last three weeks as a team. Not pointing the finger at anyone. Every bit as much as the position you put your offense in is what the defense does. If you put them in a hole and give them, on their own 4 yard line and the wind's in their face, they don't have a great chance.
With the type of people we're dealing, with the youth and the different things we have and what our strengths are.
You can't just point a finger. I know stats are something you'll always look at. At the end of the year you evaluate that, take a peek at that. But it's still a team sport. When one side is struggling or one person is struggling, somebody else has to pick them up. That's one thing we have to look at, because we can all find a stat that we look good at and we can all find a stat that we need improvement at. It's just that, they're stats.
The number one stat is obviously the wins and losses. And that's a team effort. And that's why the turnovers and those kinds of things are such a big importance in everything that you do.
Q. Can you just talk about the problems that Denard Robinson poses and keys to handling a guy like that for you Saturday defensively?
COACH FICKELL: He poses a lot of problems. Any defensive anytime the quarterback's got the ability to keep plays alive, running the football, it makes you struggle a little bit on defense with some things you can do and the chances you can take.
You've got to be aware of those things. Obviously a guy like him, the thing I think that's dynamic about what he does is his ability to handle hits. The guy was the second leading rusher, second leading ball carrier in our league last year. I think only behind Lesueur from Illinois. When a quarterback can carry the ball that many times, you know he's tough. He can take the hits. He can take a pounding. He can keep going no matter what his size is.
I think that's the thing, when you look at what he's done, is his ability, a lot of quarterbacks have the ability to run; but do they really have the ability to withstand some of the punishment that defenses can give them if they are running.
Q. When we talk about a guy like John Simon or players like that, seems like a guy's motor, the ability to go play after play and not take a play off is a thing that pops up. At this point in the year, maybe specifically with a guy like John or just for anybody, what does it take in a player to just, maybe after a long year at the end of the year, tough year, still have that in them? And do most guys have that or is that unusual to be able to do that through a long year?
COACH FICKELL: It's the mental side of things. I told them on Sunday night that to me when you're 18 to 22, 23, 24 years old, your body can pretty much handle whatever it's put into. It's the mind that has a hard time handling those things.
To me when you get tired it's the mind that gets tired. I think that's where it starts. And so when a guy is strong willed and is strong, tough in the brain, in the head, as John Simon is, is where he has his ability. So as they get older, maybe like coach, Mr. Lechey, as he got into those upper years in the NFL, maybe it wasn't quite the mind, the body started to break down a little bit. But for us, for guys like me that only played through college, the 18 to 22 year olds, to me the most important thing is the mind, what the mind can handle I think the body can handle.
Q. Where is the confidence of your team right now? A couple of your guys on Saturday were pointing out that this is sort of unprecedented for them to be heading into this game with five losses.
COACH FICKELL: It is and that's the thing, but that's a part of life and that's the part of adversity. And you have to have confidence in what you do. You have to believe in what you do and that's what we keep pounding them on. I try to tell them on Sunday night, last week's game was not much different than Iowa the year before.
There's not much difference than Iowa last year. And the difference is we made it fourth and 11 I think against Iowa last year and then three plays later hit Posey in the corner for a touchdown to win the game, with 45 seconds to go.
And this week it just didn't happen. And it's been like that a little bit through the year. So don't doubt where you are.
Michigan State is 12th in the country. You play them to 10 to 7. And Nebraska is 13th in the country and you play as good a first half and quarter and up. And you turn you don't win the games, but there's a fine line between good and great.
And you can't lose your confidence because those balls haven't bounced your way, you haven't made the one play. That's what hasn't happened around here in the last nine years that I've been here, is all those games have come down to that situation and that time, I can't remember one that we haven't won. And that's the difference.
Now, is that making excuses? No. But you've got to believe that, you've got to have that confidence. You've got to know that you're that close to one play here or there from being completely on the other side of the ball.
So you can't lose confidence in what you do. You can't lose confidence in the guy next to you. That's where it all is going to stem from.
Q. You've been here on both ends of this rivalry the times when it seemed like Ohio State couldn't win and at times when it seemed like Ohio State couldn't lose. Wonder if there's a difference in the approach, if you saw anything about the preparation before the game or anything you've learned from those two things that might help you in this case?
COACH FICKELL: I mean, everybody's going to point the finger from the time coach was here, Coach Tress, that is, that there was more of an emphasis. It was talked about, it was stressed, it was something like that.
But it still comes down to the players. Yes, it's understanding what the rivalry is all about. I think that's why it's been such a great tradition here. And I know it will continue, that when you recruit Ohio, when you've got these kids that are within 200 miles of Columbus, Ohio, they've grown up understanding what the rivalry is all about, have seen it from the time they were five, six, seven, eight years old when that's the crux of your team, you know, you've got a lot better chance. And when all of a sudden you start, if the leaders and the different people on your team are not from this area and maybe you're just trying to teach them about the rivalry, you want it to be deep rooted.
You want it to be understood from the time they were a kid. Doesn't mean you don't have people from outside. But our crux of our team has grown up around this rivalry, understand what it's about whether they've been in school on the winning side or been young kids and been on seeing what the other side is maybe when I was in school. They understand what it's all about and that's the most important thing.
Q. Among the many things that you inherited here was a long winning streak against your biggest rival; do you feel as the caretaker of that winning streak any extra pressure to keep it going or keep it alive?
COACH FICKELL: There's enough pressure in everything you do. There's no more pressure than wanting to win the Michigan game. Now, was it that much different if you had won seven in a row or if you had lost six in a row, I can't tell you that.
To me, you put enough pressure on yourself, there's plenty of pressure. But pressure's what makes you great. And being able to handle those things is important.
Q. By the same token you have players who have never lost to Michigan. Coach Hoke has players who have never beaten Ohio State. Would you as a coach use that as a motivation on either side of the situation?
COACH FICKELL: You use it to the best of your abilities. And it doesn't like I said, the most important thing is the mind. And what the mind believes, the body can achieve. And to me that's the thing you've got to get through. Whether you've won seven in a row or lost seven in a row, getting through to the minds of guys that are 18 to 22 years old to understand what it's all about, the pride and the will to play the football game and that's where it's decided.
Q. You came into this position under extraordinary circumstances. Heading into this last final regular season game, can you sort of reflect on what coaching this year has meant to you?
COACH FICKELL: I don't think this is the time to reflect. Not to not answer your question. But from the time I've had a chance to step into this role I've not had a chance to step back and even think a whole lot about it. That's kind of the way I attacked it from day one.
I figured that after the season, when things, when you had some time to actually relax a little bit and reflect, you'll do that. That doesn't mean I haven't taken notes on every situation and every decision that I've made, good or bad.
But to sit back and reflect on what it's meant to me, that's not what it's about right now. It's about Ohio State. It's about Michigan. It's about the greatest rivalry in all of sports.
Q. I know that you guys had several guys in for recruiting visits over the weekend. You're continuing to contact recruits. Sounds like some decisions are coming down any day on a couple more critical guys. Just what is the message that you guys as a staff have to kids right now about Ohio State? I assume you're selling the university, the program, your experiences and other things, what are the things that you guys can say to kids to kind of keep that ball rolling right now?
COACH FICKELL: That's what it's always been about. That's what I've sold for 10 years since I've been a coach here. It's about the special place, it's about the place, the guys in the locker room. I don't know how many times we've said it in here but that message wouldn't change no matter what the situation is.
I've told guys to me don't come to a place because of me. And sometimes you initially, when recruiting them, they get to know you. They like you. They say I can play for that guy. But when they get here, I tell them it's not about me. Things change. Facilities change. All different kinds of changes. They can build whatever. But the people in that locker room won't change. The foundation of the place won't change. And that's what you sell.
And that's what they have to believe in, that's what they have to see with their own eyes. And when they feel that, that's why the past few years I think we've had, I don't know if we're allowed to say, X number of visits and signed almost every single one of them because of the place, not because we've sold them on something about playing time, about a position, but they get around our guys.
They feel it's a connection, and that's a part of their life.
Q. Is there one thing in their two losses that have stood out to you watching game film that you can borrow from say maybe we can use this and slow them down?
COACH FICKELL: Turnovers. I think both Michigan State and Iowa, the thing is they battled and battled and got turnovers down in the red zone, made some plays. And it's a balance act.
They've done a great job of moving the football. They've done a great job in all those games. Iowa, I think, stopped them on the last play of the game. But also got maybe two or three turnovers. I know two of them down in the red zone.
So that's a big part of what it is. It's not a mystery to a lot of games when you look at the turnover margin. But it's an offense that's done a great job at moving the football. And maybe the only thing that stuttered themselves is maybe when they turned it over.
Q. With so many new faces all across the board, like on defense right now, you've got 10 new starters compared to this time a year ago. Were y'all going to pay a price on the field like you talk about from a confidence or maybe an execution standpoint, having that many new players around?
COACH FICKELL: We don't give them that as an excuse. And that's the biggest thing. We knew there was going to be a learning curve but that's part of the game. You're going to have injuries and those kind of things. By the end of the season you can't keep referring to them as young guys.
Obviously you can refer maybe to Ryan Shazier as a younger guy because last year was his first real time, or even the week before.
But even with that the experiences he's had the first nine, eight, nine games, special teams wise and the different things, that's what they've got to build on. So won't allow ourselves to have those kinds of things for excuses. That's just something as a coach you've got to know going into the season and a lot of things that you maybe have done in the past and some of the things you could put on their shoulders that you can't do. So it's that balancing act.
Q. On the flipside, as a veteran how valuable will Boom Herron be in this football game?
COACH FICKELL: He'll be as valuable as he's been all year. His passion, his emotion is what really we need. We have a few guys back that can do a very good job carrying the football. But I don't know if there's a whole lot of people that bring the same passion and will that Boom does. So every bit as much as what he does carrying a football obviously gives us confidence as a coach, as an offensive line, as a quarterback. He has that same ability with his personality and his passion for the football game, to give it to us in the locker room as well.
Q. The fact that you weren't as successful as you would have liked to be in this game, in the Michigan game. How much does that stick with you and how much do players carry this game specifically with whether they're successful or not successful, with them throughout their pro careers or the rest of their lives?
COACH FICKELL: It's always something you remember. The people around here always remember it. That's what they talk about. Right wrong, or indifferent. You know that when you come here, you know when you sign up for this. You know that when you become a coach here, it doesn't matter. That's what you're measured on. That's what it's going to be about. And that's when you've got to play your best football. So that's where we're focused.
Q. Could you give an injury update on guys like Philly Brown, Christian Bryant, any others?
COACH FICKELL: I don't know much about Philly right now. I think he'll be okay. Christian Bryant is probably right now still a little bit questionable as far as anything more it's Monday. We've got to see how that goes on Tuesday and Wednesday to be sure. But right now I'd say probably both those guys are questionable.
Q. Throughout the season, both on and off the field, with Braxton Miller, as a true freshman, how much do you feel like you've had to or tried to sort of protect him from things just being a new guy in this situation and how much in the end, no matter how old a guy is, do you end up throwing him in there and say sink or swim?
COACH FICKELL: It's difficult in both. You can talk about the things you've tried to have him handle in the team meeting room with the offense and those kinds of things that you can control. And you can see where his growth and his maturity is as far as a coach what you can put in and what you think he can't handle.
It's the things outside when they leave this facility that are most difficult, I think, for young guys as well. The situation that a lot of those guys are in, what they hear, what they think outside of the walls of the facility to me is what is tough on young guys, whether they're in the dorm, whether they're being praised or told they're the greatest, signing autographs, this that or the other thing, that's the thing I think that's most difficult sometimes here at Ohio State is the maturity to be able to handle all those things outside of the football field to still have your ability to know you need to grow and get better at what you do.
Q. Obviously we know you have the defensive background, but have you spent much time one on one with Braxton just because he's a young guy in that high profile spot, do you spend extra time with him just talking about things?
COACH FICKELL: As a person, yeah. But trying to coach him fundamentally in different things as far as quarterbacks, no, I haven't had a whole lot of chance to sit down with him as much as that.
But just as a person, just as watching his demeanor the way he handles reactions, different things like that, that's about the extent of what our relationship has kind of gone through.
Q. I believe I've heard you say that the OSU/Michigan game was the first Buckeye game you've seen live?
COACH FICKELL: It was the first game I actually was on the field. As a little kid I was back in the concession stand. I don't think I ever got to come back.
Q. Has anything about the rivalry changed from then till now?
COACH FICKELL: Like I said, you don't really know. As a kid you grow up and you hear about it. You see it. You see all the different things about it, whether your parents are passionate about it or not, it's a part of it.
But until you get here, whether you're a student on campus, whether you're truly involved in every day the week of it, it's still there's a lot of learning about it. And that's the thing that's exciting about it, is you can grow up in Columbus, Ohio and think you know all about the rivalry; and like we talked about with the recruits, they've been around it. Those guys are from Ohio. They understand what it's about, but they learn so much more when they get here. So it is still a process.
You can't lose sight of that. That's why you talk about it from the day you come into camp until this week.
Q. What would be your final instructions, just, so to speak, to Braxton before he takes the field Saturday, a freshman playing in this game, what would you tell you want from him most?
COACH FICKELL: The same thing I've seen: The passion, the drive, the courage to go play, to do what you do. We don't need anything superhuman, we just need you to be who you've been and have some confidence in what you do. And I think that's the key. That's the key across the board, no matter what happens, the most important play is the next play and continue to battle.
Q. This might be tough for you to answer immediately, but I was just wondering, what is the most remarkable performance you've ever seen from a player from the Ohio State side in this game that just sticks out to you to this day, a guy being, summoning something he hasn't shown all year or in his career, besides the nose guard back in the mid 90s, who is somebody that sticks out with you?
COACH FICKELL: The guy that ended up with one tackle and half an assist. There's probably a lot more. It's hard to say. Your big players have to step up in this game. And I've heard stories all the way back from Coach Tuck telling us about defense guys Marcus Merrick, 13, 14, 15 tackles whatever it is. I can remember obviously Troy Smith's performance in '06. But that wasn't like it was unexpected.
So your great players gotta play great in the Ohio State/Michigan game. That's what it's about.
Q. How have you insulated yourself and how will you insulate yourself this week from all the coaching chatter that surrounds you and the university here in this final week?
COACH FICKELL: The same way I've done it for, what is it, 12, six months, whatever it is. Do what you do. And you live in a bubble, so to speak, in some ways. And I told you if I get a chance to go home, if my kids are up, then I play with them.
I spend time with my wife. I don't turn the TV on. If it is, it's probably "Animal Planet" or something that the kids are watching and just try to get yourself away for a few minutes.
But you don't have time to do those things. And for me it's not been a big part of what I care about, and even more so this year, and that's why even times I don't watch football games. I focus on what we've got to do and give all my energy to that and everything else God willing will take care of itself.
Q. Not to focus too much on the past, but obviously the guy before you had a pretty good, pretty phenomenal record in this game. And you had a front row seat for that. Do you do anything as far as try to take a couple of pages from his playbook the way he approached this week and tenor, or do you just set your own course?
COACH FICKELL: We have a foundation that's been set. We knew going into the season that in the situation we weren't going to change a whole lot of things. Not that I would change a whole lot of things. Obviously it's been very successful. It comes down to the mental side of things. Our guys have to understand. And they know what the game is all about. They know what it comes down to.
We stress it and we talk about it, whether it was in camp. Whether it was a bye week. It doesn't matter. It's something that's always there and talked about. You just gotta believe in it.
