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OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 30, 2011J.B. ShugartsQ. There is a lot of youth behind you guys on that first team offensive line. How much of a leadership role have you tried to take with these young guys that if somebody gets down, they're a playa way from having to play. Are you confident that if something does happen injury-wise, those guys can fill the gap that would be left? J.B. SHUGARTS: Definitely through camp those guys have done a great job trying to learn and working hard. I'm trying to be there as an older guy that's been through it and knows what it takes and try to help them out and get them to learn everything faster, because we don't have a lot of depth on the offensive line. So those guys got to get ready to play in case something happens. Q. Is the offense game ready? J.B. SHUGARTS: Definitely. I think we've been working extremely hard. And just practicing against our defense every day is only going to make us that much better. Everyone's excited and ready to go. Q. The quarterback is bracketed as, you know, Joe Bauserman or Braxton Miller. Talk about what those two guys bring? Coach Fickell said they're both going to play on Saturday. What are you expecting from them, I guess? J.B. SHUGARTS: They're both great competitors. Great leaders out on the field. And you know, Joe's an older guy. He's been around. He knows the system a little bit. But in terms of experience, he's right there with Braxton, really. But, you know, Joe's got a pocket passer. But he's got a lot more credit to get out of the pocket. We know Braxton can make plays on his feet once he has to scramble and step up. They're both going to do a great job, and I'm excited to see how it goes. Q. You're not concerned at all about possibly having a freshman quarterback out there with you? And if not, why not? J.B. SHUGARTS: Not at all. He's been here since the spring. So it's not like he's just been here for a month in camp. He's been doing a great job. He's extremely poised for a freshman quarterback. I think he's ready to go and he's been working hard and waiting for this day all his life. Q. Obviously, Coach Tressel had an incredible hand in how the offense was run. How has it been different? Who has stepped up? Which coaches are the ones that are leading the offensive charge right now? Have you seen a big difference in Coach Bollman? J.B. SHUGARTS: Coach Bollman's doing a great job. It's not too different. We're coming with a well-balanced attack. We've got to run the ball good, and control the clock and keep the defense fresh. Q. We know what Tressel ball was. What is Fickell ball? How would you define it? J.B. SHUGARTS: He's an intense guy. He tries to simplify stuff more. He's always talking about effort, turnovers and toughness. And that's what we've got to do. We've got to be tough and give everything we've got an extreme amount of effort. We can't turn the ball over on defense. We need to create turnovers. I think Fickell's ball is a little less complicated, maybe, and it's a physical game, and that's how he approaches us to play it. Q. You said that the offense is game ready. What is it that you've liked and you've seen about the Buckeye offense in camp? J.B. SHUGARTS: I think we came together really well just with some guys out and some new guys in. And you know just with some of those guys that got in trouble and they're stepping up and helping a lot of young guys, getting them ready to play, which some people might have had some questions about. I think a lot of our young receivers have stepped up. They've made a lot of plays in camp against a really good defense. And on the offensive line, I thought those guys that stepped in there, Andrew Norwell, Jack Mewhort, and Marcus Hall have been working really good. They've been getting ready to play and learning some stuff on the run. They played in some big games before too. They've got some experience. Our running backs too, we've got a stable of backs that can get out there and make some plays. So I really think we're ready to go. Q. With two quarterbacks, is it hard for a line to prepare for that maybe in their rotating? Do you have to do anything different? Is it hard for you to adjust? J.B. SHUGARTS: Not really because we're running the same offense, running the same plays. So not much at all. It's really just who is going to be calling the plays, and that's not a big deal at all. Q. You've gone to game captains instead of season captains at this point. Were there some of those guys, the guys who were sitting out the first five games that you would have voted for for a captain if it was a permanent deal? J.B. SHUGARTS: All those guys have great leadership skills. You know, they had that even before they were seniors, even when they were sophomores and juniors. They all work extremely hard on and off the field. But I feel honored just to get this opportunity to lead this team out on Saturday and I can't wait. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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