-
New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.
- Thread starter Captain Buckeye
- Start date
Yep.
The only thing worse than a non functioning offense is turnovers.
Hopefully we see neither.
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Ryan Day’s Ohio State Quarterback Decision Comes Down to Toughness | The-Ozone
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State has a quarterback decision to make before Saturday’s game at USC. Ryan Day also has a pretty good idea of what the answer needs to look like, even if he doesn’t know yet which player will provide it. Luke Fahey and Tavien St. Clair are both preparing for the possibility …
theozone.net
Ryan Day’s Ohio State Quarterback Decision Comes Down to Toughness
Ohio State has a quarterback decision to make before Saturday’s game at USC. Ryan Day also has a pretty good idea of what the answer needs to look like, even if he doesn’t know yet which player will provide it.
Luke Fahey and Tavien St. Clair are both preparing for the possibility of leading the Buckeyes against the Trojans. Fahey was ahead of St. Clair entering the Indiana game, but with Julian Sayin’s status changing the equation, Ohio State has to be ready for more than one scenario.
Day isn’t ready to name a starter. He wants a few more days of practice, a better feel for what each quarterback can do, and a plan that gives the Buckeyes the best chance to win.
But the evaluation isn’t just about who throws the best ball or looks most comfortable running the offense. Day was asked what he needs to see from either quarterback to know he’s ready.
His answer was simple.
“If you’re saying like one thing, they gotta be tough. You gotta be tough,” Day said. “If our guys play tough, and what I mean by that is like physically, mentally, and emotionally tough, that’s critical here.”
That’s the challenge for two young quarterbacks preparing for a road game against a talented USC team. The job is to run the offense, make the routine plays and keep a difficult situation from becoming a worse one. It is not to turn every snap into a rescue mission.
“We know we got to make routine plays routinely,” Day said. “We gotta stay on schedule. We can’t make bad situations worse.”
That last part matters. Ohio State doesn’t need its quarterback to solve everything by himself. It needs him to play within the offense, trust the preparation and avoid letting the moment dictate his decisions.
And the moment can arrive quickly.
Fahey got that reminder against Indiana, when he found himself in the game in the fourth quarter. Day said the experience was a lesson in how little warning a backup can get before his number is called. The same is true for St. Clair, who is now competing with Fahey for the backup spot once again after losing the backup job to Fahey at the beginning of the season.
“When you’re a backup, and certainly when you’re in the third string, you don’t ever feel like you’re going to get in the game, and then before you know it, you’re in it in the fourth quarter,” Day said. “So that’s a lesson learned for all of us.”
It is a lesson Ohio State can’t afford to learn twice. The staff has to prepare both quarterbacks, and both quarterbacks have to prepare as if the offense could be theirs at any moment.
“Every rep will be very, very important,” Day said.
.
.
.
continued
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Cardale Jones Confident Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair Will Succeed As Buckeyes’ New Quarterback: “They’re At Ohio State For A Reason”
As Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair prepares to take over as Ohio State’s new starting quarterback, there’s no better example of what they could accomplish than Cardale Jones.
Twelve years ago, Jones took over as Ohio State’s starting quarterback after J.T. Barrett went down with a season-ending ankle injury in the Buckeyes’ regular-season finale against Michigan. He proceeded to lead Ohio State to a 59-0 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game, an iconic win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinals and a triumph over Oregon in the first-ever CFP national championship game.
Now, either Fahey or St. Clair will become Ohio State’s starting QB under similar circumstances after Julian Sayin suffered a potentially season-ending elbow injury in the Buckeyes’ last game against Indiana.
Jones knows that one of their lives is about to change in a big way. But he also says they don’t need to be anything but themselves to succeed in their new role.
“Just go out there and be yourself,” Jones told Eleven Warriors when asked what advice he would give Fahey and St. Clair. “I mean, you're here at Ohio State for a reason. It's easy to go out there to feel like you should prove somebody wrong. I think all these guys are here for a reason and understand that they don't have to do it by themselves. You don't have to go out there and be Julian Sayin, but quick, easy decisions are often going to get the job done.”
When Jones thinks back on his own transition from backup quarterback to starter, he credits his Ohio State teammates and coaches with setting him up for success. And he’s confident Ryan Day and the current Buckeyes will do the same for their new quarterback.
“I think it just took the guys around me upping their play. I think the talent or the confidence was never an issue or concern for me personally. I mean, my coaches may think differently,” Jones said with a laugh. “But I think just coming into a situation where I felt as comfortable as possible with the talent that I had around me and knowing, truly feeling like I didn't have to go out there and do anything that was out of my abilities.
“One thing I give a lot of credit to with that coaching staff, with guys like Urban Meyer and Tom Herman, is that they didn’t put me in and say, ‘You got to go out there and be J.T. Barrett.’ Even from the different style of plays that we would call, was fitted more for the things I did well. I think that's what I expect from Ryan Day and this coaching staff to do some of those things with Luke or Tavien.”
.
.
.
continued
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Ohio State doesn’t need its next QB to be a star; it needs him to be Craig Krenzel
Ohio State doesn’t need Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair to be Julian Sayin. With a healthier, improving defense and plenty of offensive firepower, the Buckeyes just need a little Craig Krenzel magic to keep their title hopes alive.I don’t know about you, but I have spent a considerable amount of time over the past two weeks trying to convince myself that Ohio State’s national championship aspirations didn’t disappear the moment Julian Sayin suffered an injury to his throwing arm against Indiana. Although, having broken down enough film Zapruder-style, I’m increasingly convinced that he was initially injured against Maryland.
And while I certainly recognize that losing a Heisman-finalist quarterback is never a good thing — especially in the middle of a season as absurdly wide open as this one — I have talked myself into optimism heading into Saturday’s game at the Coliseum. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the Buckeyes might not need their next signal-caller to be nearly as spectacular as the guy he’s replacing; in fact, I don’t think he needs to be spectacular at all. I think he needs to be Craig Krenzel.
While I don’t believe that either Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair is a molecular genetics major, and college football has changed an incredible amount in the 24 years since the Krenzel-led Buckeyes won a national title in my (first) senior year at Ohio State, I have to imagine that two guys who were recruited by Ryan Day — regardless of how inexperienced — can operate the offense enough to keep the team’s collective heads above water.
As magical as that season was — and I was at every home game, the Holy Buckeye Game at Purdue, and the BCS Championship Game in Tempe — Krenzel was not exactly setting the world on fire, but he wasn’t being asked to either.
During that undefeated campaign, Krenzel completed 148 of 249 passes (59.4%) for 2,110 yards (150.7 yards per game), 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Those aren’t numbers that would typically inspire confidence from Ohio State fans accustomed to modern quarterback production, but what made Krenzel so valuable was that he understood precisely what his team needed him to be.
He threw an interception on just 2.8% of his attempts, averaged an impressive 8.5 yards per pass, and found ways to make plays with his legs when necessary; nowhere was that more apparent than against Miami in the national championship game, when he rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, leading both teams in rushing.
.
.
continued
.
.
Which brings me back to Krenzel, Fahey, and St. Clair.
I’m not suggesting that whichever youngster gets the start should be relegated to handing the ball off 40 times and hoping the defense does the rest. For one thing, that would be an unconscionable waste of Jeremiah Smith, who remains the most dangerous player in college football.
Rather, I want the next Ohio State quarterback to embrace the fundamental principles that made Krenzel so successful: Protect the football, make intelligent decisions, take the opportunities the defense gives you, and trust the extraordinary talent surrounding you.
Get the ball to Smith. Find Devin McCuin and Chris Henry Jr. when defenses inevitably devote additional attention to No. 4. Let Bo Jackson, Isaiah West, and maybe even Legend Bey provide some balance, and understand that an incompletion or punt is infinitely preferable to a reckless interception. And when the situation demands something more, don’t be afraid to make a play.
.
.
.
continued
Upvote
0
12 gage knows they didn't come to play school!Cardale Jones Confident Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair Will Succeed As Buckeyes’ New Quarterback: “They’re At Ohio State For A Reason”
As Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair prepares to take over as Ohio State’s new starting quarterback, there’s no better example of what they could accomplish than Cardale Jones.
Twelve years ago, Jones took over as Ohio State’s starting quarterback after J.T. Barrett went down with a season-ending ankle injury in the Buckeyes’ regular-season finale against Michigan. He proceeded to lead Ohio State to a 59-0 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game, an iconic win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinals and a triumph over Oregon in the first-ever CFP national championship game.
Now, either Fahey or St. Clair will become Ohio State’s starting QB under similar circumstances after Julian Sayin suffered a potentially season-ending elbow injury in the Buckeyes’ last game against Indiana.
Jones knows that one of their lives is about to change in a big way. But he also says they don’t need to be anything but themselves to succeed in their new role.
“Just go out there and be yourself,” Jones told Eleven Warriors when asked what advice he would give Fahey and St. Clair. “I mean, you're here at Ohio State for a reason. It's easy to go out there to feel like you should prove somebody wrong. I think all these guys are here for a reason and understand that they don't have to do it by themselves. You don't have to go out there and be Julian Sayin, but quick, easy decisions are often going to get the job done.”
When Jones thinks back on his own transition from backup quarterback to starter, he credits his Ohio State teammates and coaches with setting him up for success. And he’s confident Ryan Day and the current Buckeyes will do the same for their new quarterback.
“I think it just took the guys around me upping their play. I think the talent or the confidence was never an issue or concern for me personally. I mean, my coaches may think differently,” Jones said with a laugh. “But I think just coming into a situation where I felt as comfortable as possible with the talent that I had around me and knowing, truly feeling like I didn't have to go out there and do anything that was out of my abilities.
“One thing I give a lot of credit to with that coaching staff, with guys like Urban Meyer and Tom Herman, is that they didn’t put me in and say, ‘You got to go out there and be J.T. Barrett.’ Even from the different style of plays that we would call, was fitted more for the things I did well. I think that's what I expect from Ryan Day and this coaching staff to do some of those things with Luke or Tavien.”
.
.
.
continued
Upvote
0