Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel Stresses Turnovers

In a media luncheon today, head coach Jim Tressel discussed turnovers, benching Terrelle Pyror, and a couple of offensive lineman that fans hope will return soon to the lineup.

By Steve Patterson

The Ohio State coaching staff is stressing turnovers this week when discussing the terrible loss to Purdue this past weekend where starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor turned the ball over four times. He discussed today how they talk about turnovers with the team but maybe do not emphasize it properly. “Turnover-wise, perhaps we talk about it so often that it becomes a little bit, "well, yeah, I know."”

History of Road Turnovers

He admitted that the coaches need to do a better job to ensure the players do not turn the ball over especially when on the road. “We've got to do a better job of making sure that we know, not that we know, but we really know.” And the reason is that turnovers make all the difference in the Big Ten when on the road. “I looked back at our last 20 Big Ten road games and 16 of them we've won and four of them we've lost and in the 16 we've won we've had 20 turnovers. Which it's about 1.25 per game.” he explained. “And in the four we've lost, we've had 14 turnovers, which is about three and a half a game.”

Benching Pryor

There was some talk about benching Pryor from the media and fans after the bad loss but the coaching staff never considered it during the game or since the game. Coach Tressel told reporters that the benching of Todd Boeckman last season was a completely different scenario than the current situation at quarterback. Seems a mobile quarterback is the best option from Ohio State with offensive line blocking issues in addition to Pryor’s better performance at practice.

Andrew Miller

Good news for the team is that Andrew Miller and Jim Cordle, both starters at the beginning of the year, continue to get closer to returning. “Andrew has practiced a little bit and I hope he can contribute. This will be an important week of practice to see if he can get some weight back on and get some strength back and so forth.” Coach Tressel said about Miller recovery from a serious case of the flu.

Jim Cordle

“Jimmy Cordle, we tried to get him into the game Saturday and he just isn't quite ready. It's one thing being able to be able to go through a practice tempo and it's another thing to be able to do it on a Saturday.” He said about the starting left tackle who has been out with an ankle injury. “I like to think he'd be a lot healthier because we kind of took a step back with him.” Coach Tressel explained about trying to get Cordle into the game on Saturday. “We didn't leave him in so long that he got banged up.”