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OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 3, 2018

Greg Schiano

Columbus, Ohio

THE MODERATOR: We'll open up questions for Coach Schiano.

Q. After you reviewed the film what disappointed you most about your defense?
GREG SCHIANO: There was a lot of good stuff on the tape, so I wasn't disappointed other than there were some plays that I was disappointed in. There was actually I think it was 82% of the offense came on seven plays, 82% of their production. We can't allow that. Have to go back a long time to remember two long runs like that, not only here but anywhere. It's unacceptable.

We made a small error on the one long touchdown pass, couple small errors but when you're playing RPO's and people are spreading you outside line to sideline you can make a mistake and they can may you pay. So good lessons to be learned. It's not an acceptable performance, but there was a lot of good things, too. Two sudden changes and you make them attempt a field goal on both of them, they made one, and missed one, and that's your goal when you go out after a sudden change on the plus 25 or in, can you make them attempt a field goal. They did it both times. I thought that was excellent.

Scoring on defense, that's one of our goals, you score on defense. And it really is the way we like to play football here, we had a great punt, 50-something yards and pinned them back and had an opportunity to score as a defense on the sack fumble. There are a lot of good things. We got to play a ton of people.

As I said early on we have a young group, four or five of their guys that was their first significant action. I think we learned a lot, always people say between week one and week two is when you make your most improvement and when you're an awe young unit that even multiplies. We need to improve, that's for sure, that's not what we want to see out there, but the opportunity is there.

Q. You mentioned some young guys and that was maybe their first performance. Tommy Togiai, looked like he played well, is that correct, and maybe some of the other first-time guys that flashed?
GREG SCHIANO: Well, yeah, we played a lot of guys, so young guys got some opportunities. I thought Tommy played strong. He is strong. I thought Tyler Friday did his job, nothing spectacular, but I always look at young guys when you watch them on tape do they look like they belong.

That to me is the measuring stick. Tyreke Smith got in there early and played and I thought did a good job, and I'll probably leave somebody out but, you know, it's good to get 'em out there playing. That's the benefit of getting a big lead like that.

We played, I don't know how many defensive linemen, we maybe played 14 or 16 guys on the defensive line, which is always a positive.

Q. How do you scheme against a guy who has only made one collegiate start?
GREG SCHIANO: A lot of times you hear that question about the individual, the quarterback, per se. More than that it is what does it allow the offensive coordinator to do? As a coach you have to scheme against the plays that all 11 guys are going to do. I'm familiar with the quarterback because he's a Jersey kid, and I knew him back when, and then obviously through recruiting. He is a big, strong arm drop-back passer with good mobility. He's not a stiff back there, so you have to be ready to be able to have ways to get him down when he does move.

So it will be interesting, Coach McNulty and I go back a long way. He was on my staff twice. Once at Rutgers, where he was my offensive coordinator and once at Tampa, where he coached the quarterbacks. So he's familiar with us defensively, and we're familiar with him. Some of that can be an issue.

He knows the verbiage, and I'm sure he's going to tell his players that, so we'll have to change some of the words we use on the field, some of the calls, so they're not aware exactly what's happening.

Q. Could you assess the play of the safeties. Obviously you didn't have Jordan. Do you expect him back? Can you assess the way Josh and Isaiah played?
GREG SCHIANO: First, we hope to have Jordan back. That was a game-time decision. There was a lot of good things they did, and there was a lot of learning that they can take from that tape and that performance, which is good. They're going to have to -- anytime you start two guys at the same position which is the middle of your -- going into the game we knew we were going to have a brand new "Mike" linebacker and two brand new safeties. That's like starting a new catcher and a new shortstop and a new pitcher in baseball, right up the middle.

So we knew that there could be some growing pains there. Overall I thought they were solid and made some mistakes, but now at least we have a leaping off point. Now we have to go and see how fast we can ascend, and if we get Jordan back that makes a big difference.

Q. Just about Urban Meyer coming back today, what was it like in the room when he did return?
GREG SCHIANO: It was good. Excited to have him back, everybody is. Coach is a very focused guy, as you know, and we hit it running, got back to it.

Q. Greg, what's the plan with Tuf now moving forward since he was able to get in, and when you have young guys at linebacker, how can a presence from Tuf help settle things down a bit for those young guys experiencing new things?
GREG SCHIANO: You saw Tuf, I think he had ten plays and that was his pitch count and it's all part of his recovery. There are different stages, right? He went through the rehab, then through independent running and change of directions, and then he went into individual technique work and then into some team stuff, and part of that is going and playing live football, and he did that for ten plays. So we look for that to increase. How much, we will work with our training staff and our medical staff to figure out what's optimal.

I thought that Baron did a nice job in there. So as we progress, they're both going to play, they're both really good football players. How much you kinda got to see how the week goes. Not only will we up his reputations in the game, we will do that in practice as well. We've been fortunate, there has been zero set-back so far, but you never know.

Q. I think Dwayne was an 8th grader in South Brunswick when you were at Rutgers. Were you familiar with him at all? I know he is close with Mo Sanu. He talked about how much he liked the program when you were coaching there. Do you guys talk about that at all, sort of you had a role, and he was a kid watching you guys play?
GREG SCHIANO: Sure. We have a connection. I remember when I started at Ohio State and we were recruiting him, his dad sent me the picture of him and I at camp together. He came to our camp. And Mo is -- very close to Mo. So yeah, there definitely is a connection with Mohamed, his family. He grew up right across the river from Rutgers, so he's a local guy, so we know a lot of the same people. Great to see him have the performance he did.

Q. Did you ever think maybe if you were still there he would end up being a quarterback at Rutgers some day?
GREG SCHIANO: I haven't thought of that, but he was in our little guys camp, and so were my twins. I remember them coming down to my office, he was playing wide-out in the pick-up, 7-on-7 games, and they said there is one kid up there we can't cover. Nobody can cover him. So it was kind of prophetic.

Q. You touched on how Baron played. I think as Tuf continues to recover I think people have this vision that he's going to be the guy that steps in and takes a big role on this team. Can you be more specific about what you saw out of him and do you think that he played well enough to continue with that role moving forward?
GREG SCHIANO: How Baron played? Like I said last week, I think we have more than three linebackers that should play, so we're going to do that. We're going to try to work those guys in the lineup and Baron is one of those guys. As Tuf comes back I can see them ham and eggin' it, there are certain things that each of them do well right now.

That's our job. That's not the only linebacker position where we need to do that. We have other guys that can play as well. Dante Booker is coming back from his injury, how does he fit into playing. Justin Hilliard, I think Justin is playing at a high level.

So it's a good -- I don't call it a "problem," it's a good situation to have. We have to figure out optimal way to get the best performance from everyone. You saw in package ages, third down packages who goes in, we were talking about that this morning, how do we get everybody on the field and get everybody a role. Inning that's be important. I know this for a fact you prepare better when you can visualize what your role is going to be. The role may change second play of the game, but I think it helps you in preparing for the game. And now we're into game weeks, they really go fast, Saturday turns into Saturday really quickly.

Q. Coach, I know you personally have a soft spot for Rutgers, but what's your value to the week to having an improved Rutgers? Some would say having a top heavy league you can still get a team to the national championship, what's the value of having teams like Rutgers and Minnesota and teams that seem to be on the upswing? What's the value to having them play well?
GREG SCHIANO: Well, general terms the more competitive teams you have the better the league, right? That's general terms. I think Rutgers specifically, its location is key. It is right across the river from New York City, it brings a huge market with it and when Rutgers is doing well that market gets behind it.

It's like so many urban areas, though, when you're winning, the hot thing, people want to be there. I can remember when we started winning, now all of the sudden the Giants are on our sidelines, the Jets and the pro baseball players. When you're not winning, they're not there. They're not going to be seen at an event that's not an event. So I think that's good for the league to get that far east coast going. That's nothing but good for the league.

Q. I hate to be stupid, but I don't understand the value of balance. Because if you had a league that was Ohio State and Alabama and all of the rest of the teams were Podunk U, it would still be a great team worthy of a national championship, so what's the value of having week in and week out a really tough opponent?
GREG SCHIANO: Well, couple things. One if you're a fan, right, of a league or a conference, you love to see competitive games. At least I do as a fan of other sports.

And this sport. I love going home and watching college football when we're done. But I think also, you know, the old saying iron sharpens iron. When you play in a league that every week you better buckle it up or you're going to get beat, it makes you better, it improves you as a whole organization.

Q. Greg, is there any sentiment or anything that crops up whenever you guys play Rutgers with your connection and does that factor into game week at all? Do you have somewhat of a relationship with Rutgers? Do you talk to Chris and any of those guys?
GREG SCHIANO: Sure. As far as it applies to game week there is no factor. You're going to prepare when you're a coach at Ohio State it's a very high standard and you're going to do everything in your power to meet that standard. As far as is it sentimental? Sure it is. We built that program and really, you know, to come back to your question, from 2002 on, that was always my goal, you know, is we gotta get Rutgers in the Big Ten. I believed that's where it belonged, the kind of academic institution it is, land grant institution, so I'm really proud that Rutgers is in the Big Ten.

So when we get ready to play, I know people that are still there, Coach Ash and I are friends. Sure, when you built something you never forget about it, but now it's our job to beat them, and our job -- my job is to make sure that the defense plays the way they're capable of playing against them.

And they're better. You look at the offense, we're game planning as we speak. They're a much better team, and I think Coach McNulty was a great acquisition. Chris had the ability to get Coach and to be his offensive coordinator, and I really think what they're doing, it gives us challenges.

Q. Obviously you have a big game coming up against TCU, in Texas. I know you guys like to focus on one game at a time, but maybe phrase it this way: What's the biggest couple of things you would like to see change on the defensive side of the football this week versus Rutgers, especially with a big game like that down in Texas looming next week?
GREG SCHIANO: Well, first, I know people say, coaches they -- we really do that, because coaches as a group, it's all about here. Certainly as the leader you have to have some plans of what is going on in the background, because you're always a week ahead, but all our focus is on one team and that's the team we're playing this that week. But what we need to see get better on defense, there is plenty of that. I think anytime you miss any tackles, that's expected a little bit in the first game, but we really need to work on our angles of entry in our tackles, because that was an issue.

There were some issues in the past game. We had two DPIs called on us, defensive pass interference, which I'm not a lunatic when we get a DPI. That he happens. You're covering guys that are on scholarship too, and they're good players, but if they're avoidable, those are the ones that bother you. Some are unavoidable. You're being aggressive, you make a play and you get a flag thrown, that happens. So we need to make sure that gets cleaned up.

We had too many big plays. It's okay if a guy misses a tackle or makes a mistake, but we should have overlap and have guys there that can get him down. If it's 16 or 18 yards that's fine, but it can't be an 80-yard play. You don't live very long as a defense if you are giving up 80-yard plays.

Q. Did Urban tell you how he spent his last three weeks, especially Saturday afternoon?
GREG SCHIANO: No. Like I said, we got right down to business. Today is a big day as a coach. Monday is your big game planning day, and Coach was sensitive to that. We got together as a staff and met, and it wasn't very long and then get together and being work on the game plans.

Q. Ryan said maybe the biggest area he learned or challenge he had as a head coach was balancing all three phases while making adjustments on offense. How did he juggle those things and did you give him any pointers on that?
GREG SCHIANO: I thought Ryan did an excellent job, not only on game day, but as I said last week, leading up to all of the decisions he had to make, and the leadership he provided. But game day, when you're calling the game as a head coach is different than when you're not. I've done both. Because you're ultimately you're responsible for the call that goes in in a timely fashion, but you're also responsible for game management and keeping an eye on the other side of the ball and the kicking game. I'm sure his plate was full, but he did a great job.

Q. Greg, with the pass rush that you guys have, I know Saturday is just one game. Do you anticipate that the screens and the quick throws and misdirection, that's going to be how teams decide to attack you and negate that and how do you adjust to that?
GREG SCHIANO: Without a doubt it will be. Some of those screens we didn't exactly do things the way we want them done, so we have to improve and get that done. The risk you have, you have to be careful because when you are evaluating your performance, did we do when we set out to do schematically and from a technique stand point. If we did and it didn't worked then we gotta find a new way to do it. If we didn't, then let's go do what we said we were going to do and then evaluate it. There is a little bit of that. We need to make sure we're on point with our details.

Some of it, like I said, first game, uneasiness for some guys, but another opportunity this week, because they screen in every way we saw Saturday, this team did it to their opponent last Saturday. So we know we have them all, and I'm sure they have a few we haven't seen.

Q. How much of those "teachable" moments do you expect from a team or a first-time guy on a Saturday. How much do you have to live with as a coach when you see them go out there and do that?
GREG SCHIANO: Not as many as we had. That's not, to me, acceptable. It all comes back to coaching. We have to limit those. We had too many.

Q. What did y'all miss with Jordan Fuller not being there? Obviously he was elected captain. I think he does a lot of calls. What do you think y'all missed in the secondary with three young starters back there, making adjustments, as you analyzed the video?
GREG SCHIANO: You know, we did a pretty good job with the adjustments. I think one thing Jordan gives you is kind of a sweeper back there, an insurance policy. He's a very good tackler in space and, again, I don't know if he's there, do we get some of those plays? Can't live in the speculative world, but I like our odds with him. He's an experienced player who is one of the best in the country at what he does. Certainly you miss a guy of that caliber when he's not playing.

Q. Up front, seemed like the front had a pretty good day, but what did you see, like Nick was saying there were some mistakes made, etcetera, by the guys up front, but what did you see from them in particular that needs to get cleaned up?
GREG SCHIANO: Well, I think Nick and Dre'Mont played very, very well. When you look at their performance it was kind of off the charts, right? Some of the other things -- you know, so much of what football is today with all the shotgun and the ride and read stuff it's option football and when you don't take care of your responsibility one of those options pops free. We had that a couple times. We need to clean that up.

Obviously the off-sides penalties are frustrating when you jump off sides and give them a free play, and if you remember one of those off-sides -- actually two of those off-sides were also DPIs. And what most offenses have built in, doesn't matter what the play is if you clearly feel, see, hear the off-sides, it's an automatic deep shot.

You don't need extra deep shots, that's for sure, and we need to do a better job with that.

Q. How do you think Kendall and Okudah played?
GREG SCHIANO: I think they played solid. They didn't have a ton of opportunities. The one was kind of a freakish on Kendall, a jump ball, underthrown ball deal, certainly like to come down with that, but it doesn't always happen, and those DPIs on Jeff, those are close calls. Like I told them, if you put yourself in the shoes of the judge that's watching, you might call it, too.

So our saying around here is if they throw the flag, it's a penalty. Doesn't matter what you think. You don't get a vote in that one.

Q. Pete Werner, you were praising him last week. Did he live up to your expectations? Obviously caused the fumble that was the touchdown, et cetera, what did you see out of him?
GREG SCHIANO: I thought Pete played well. Did he make mistake, sure, everybody did, including yours truly, but I thought Pete played at a high level of speed and plays the game with great passion and really is a contact player. He's going to hit you. Bright future for him. We're looking forward to seeing him get better and better.

Q. What did Okudah do exactly on the two pass interferences? How close was he on playing that right?
GREG SCHIANO: When you look at pass interference, what I try to explain to the corners is if you restrict them, now you give the official a chance to make the call, and he just had his arm kind of -- it's called an arm bar, we don't teach that here but a lot of guys do it naturally. They want to make sure it's like a safety belt. We just got to keep running and make the play.

There is one play, if you freeze it, you would think Okudah was the wide receiver. He was on the outside, and the receiver was trying to play so he didn't intercept it, but he got called because he put his arm out. So little things like that we have to work on, but I thought he was in really good position on both plays. Just gotta avoid that penalty.

Q. We know you guys have done the three-corner rotation typically here. Are you good with that? Is that working? That's what you're going to continue with?
GREG SCHIANO: I think it is. Shaun Wade got in there and did a nice job as well and Marcus Williamson, he's going to. He was a little bumped up during camp, so he didn't get all the reps he needs so, I think we have depth there, and may be more than three we play there, and then the nickel is a corner position as well.

Q. And nickel, you're putting the top three corners out there, right? That's your nickel look at the moment?
GREG SCHIANO: Yeah, and we were talking today there might be some mixes and matches and give everybody a role and something to focus on and know that they're going to get in a game. Thanks, guys.

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