COACH TRESSEL: Those three flights of stairs are tiring. It was
a good day for us in that I thought our guys came out and they were
business-like as to what they wanted to do and the issue wasn't Youngstown
State, it was what can Ohio State do to execute, to get better. I thought
obviously when your defense pitches a shutout and creates that type of field
position all day long, it was good to see the special teams very solid.
Ryan Pretorius really hit the ball well. And then Aaron Pettrey's field
goal, that would have been good from about 60 some, I think. And the kickoffs
and kickoff coverage was solid. Lots of great film for us to study. It was our
first opportunity to have the new clock management and it will be interesting
to see if the numbers of plays and those types of things are similar to what
we've had in the past, but I thought our guys stayed true to cause through the
ball game and that's what they've done through the entire preseason because of
the leadership of these guys, and I think we know we have a long way to go and
our guys enjoy working.
REPORTER: Coach, today the defense allowed something like 73 yards and
really they didn't threaten at all. Could you just elaborate a little bit more
about the defense? And the other thing is, have you ever coached a game where
their kicking game was so good and five for five from field goals and two over
50 yards and maybe make a comment about Pretorius and Aaron.
COACH TRESSEL: I think Ryan Pretorius was solid. It starts with the snap
and excellent protection, but his mechanics were right on and we'll watch the
film and see if that's not exactly the case, but I think it is. Aaron Pettrey's
field goal was a boomer and his kickoffs were real good. We've got a very
defensive football team and that's probably a difficult challenge when the
team's putting in a new offense. And Youngstown State has changed their style
of play and this was their first chance to rehearse that, and to rehearse that
against our defense, I could pick better rehearsals than that one. Our guys are
very assignment-sound but physical, put pressure and I think it was just a solid
performance, as long as we know that we have to build on it.
REPORTER: Jim, could you give us an update on Beanie's injury? It looked
like it might be a pretty serious injury. When you see a guy like that down in
the first game, does your heart sort of leap a little bit?
COACH TRESSEL: Or a lot of bit. You feel for anyone that goes down, and
especially when it looks like a leg injury, at first you think, oh, is it a
knee, and then, is it an ankle? And from what I gather, without getting medical
into it, it's more of a foot thing and x-rays were negative and those kinds of
things, but absolutely your heart jumps.
REPORTER: Jim, could you talk a little bit about Terrelle's debut?
COACH TRESSEL: Well, he was nervous, so what we tried to do was get him hit
real fast, and then he could just go do what he can do. I thought he did a good
job. He's worked hard. He's studied hard to learn what we do. And the luxury
of getting he and Joe Bauserman in the game, the only guy that's hard on is Todd
because Todd's in for a couple series and then he's out and then he's in, and
sometimes that's hard to get your rhythm and sometimes for the play callers and
Joe Daniels up there, he's got to think about what this guy knows and so forth,
Terrelle obviously is a guy that can do some great things.
REPORTER: Coach, can you talk about how much maybe you intended on playing
Beanie today and what went into the decision of playing him in that last series
he was in?
COACH TRESSEL: When was that? That was early in the third quarter, wasn't
it? We were out there playing all of our guys throughout the course of the game
until a little bit later, but I don't know how many carries he ended up, but
he's the kind of guy that we want him to be a 20 to 30-carry guy. I don't know
what he got, but I don't know that he was overused or anything.
REPORTER: Coach, I heard turf toe, is that accurate?
COACH TRESSEL: I haven't heard that phrase used today with him.
REPORTER: So you fear maybe it's a broken bone?
COACH TRESSEL: No, the x-rays came out negative, but when the trainers came
and said to me that it's more of a foot thing, they didn't use the phrase turf
toe. They did use the phrase the x-rays were negative.
REPORTER: We were told he's headed to the doctor.
COACH TRESSEL: I would imagine, yeah.
REPORTER: Would you foresee him sitting out next week or --
COACH TRESSEL: Can't know.
REPORTER: How about Todd's performance today?
COACH TRESSEL: I thought it was solid. He's going to have a chance to watch
the film and really study himself from a footwork standpoint, a decision-making
standpoint. He's been throwing against our defense for the last 44 practices,
and your first time when you're throwing against people that are doing things a
little bit differently and so forth, it's a good challenge for you because it's
going to be different every week and I think he'll grade out pretty well. We'll
see if he grades out winning. It's hard to grade out winning around here.
REPORTER: Coach, four times in the red zone got three field goals and the
turnover, I know you're not happy about that, were there breakdowns or just not
execution?
COACH TRESSEL: In the fumble, that's when Beanie kind of planted on that
foot and lost his balance, if you will, and just as he was receiving the ball,
so, obviously, yeah, that's disappointing. The couple times that we kicked
field goals down in close, I think we had a first and goal at the nine maybe,
first and goal at the eight, and we didn't, in our first down play, get down
inside that five and then all of a sudden when you're in long yardage around the
eight and nine and seven, that's a difficult place to score from, but it will
be a great lesson for us as to maybe what should we be working on from a design
standpoint and what should we be executing a little better.
REPORTER: I'm not sure how far in advance you plan these things out, but
were you kind of thinking that would be his last series, Chris?
COACH TRESSEL: Boy, you know what, we were really focused on trying to get
in the end zone, so, no. I mean, it wasn't like, okay, we're going to score
here and this guy's coming out or that type of thing.
REPORTER: Jim, obviously he's headed to the doctor like you said, but have
you already in your mind already crossed Beanie out for this coming week or will
you play that by ear?
COACH TRESSEL: Play that by ear because you never know how those things
are. Sometimes all of a sudden that adrenaline rush that, hey, I'm not injured
as bad as I was maybe afraid that I was or whatever gives you a chance to get
back a little bit quicker. But again, we just simply follow what the doctors
tell us to do. If he can go, he can go. If he can practice, he can practice.
If he can't practice, obviously we wouldn't use him.
REPORTER: Did you see enough of Boom today to think you've got a competent
guy there now?
COACH TRESSEL: I think Boom, Mo Wells and Brandon Saine are good players,
and I don't know how many times we ran and how many times we passed and all
that, but I would have liked a little bit more time out there today to get those
guys a few more carries, but we'll just have to get that worked on next
week.
REPORTER: Tim took my question, so how do you feel about some of the young
guys you saw today on both sides of the ball? Did you get everyone in the game
that you wanted to get in pretty much?
COACH TRESSEL: I think we probably did. Now, I can't swear to that. I
would have liked to have seen Jake McQuaide snap for a punt, for instance. We
didn't get to do that. But you saw some flashes of some young guys. DeVier
Posey made a couple nice plays out there and I don't know for sure what the
young offensive linemen did or you might want to ask these guys, they probably
on defense saw what some of those young guys did, but I didn't hear anyone
talking about people were making big blows or, oh, we've got to get so and so
out of there, he's going to kill us. So it was great experience, which is what
you hope for in a game as you begin your year.
TODD BOECKMAN: First of all, on the offensive side of the ball, I thought we
came out, started off strong, got that first drive with Beanie's long run. The
linemen did a great job, but there were a few times we needed to do a better job
down in the red zone. We didn't score as many points as we'd like to, but
special teams picked us up.
Overall I thought we did a great job moving the ball. A lot of young guys
got in. I'm looking forward to seeing where we're at and it's going to be nice
to sit back and watch that film and see how we did and how we graded out.
BRIAN ROBISKIE: I think first of all, just coming on the defensive side of
the ball, anytime you get a shutout, it says a lot about them and just how much
that really helps the offense, because that means they're getting turnovers and
giving us more opportunities to move the ball and move the chains. I thought we
did a fairly successful job doing that. Like Todd said, a couple times in the
red zone we got down there and stumbled a few times and had to settle for some
field goals which is not what we always want, but we got some points out of it,
and we're just going to have to move on from here, look at the film and see what
we can pick up.
JAMES LAURINAITIS: Well, I think anytime you can get a shutout against
anybody, it's obviously a good day for defense. I think anything -- the first
game of the season, what's challenging is you're going to face something you
haven't seen before. We knew they were changing their offense like Coach
Tressel had said and they had some new things and threw a little bit different
at us off the bat, but we figured out how our guys reacted, figured out what
those things were, we communicated. We've got to get better next week as well.
We'll look at the film and get better.
MALCOLM JENKINS: I think we did a good job today with field position and
that's a testament to our special teams and defense played. Whenever you get a
shutout, you're happy. Didn't get too many first downs. Guys were running
around, hitting. We left a few plays on the field, try to get back up on
receptions, things like that, but overall it was a good day. Our offense put
points on the board and that's all we can ask for, so we're happy.
REPORTER: Todd, could you take us to the play where Beanie got hurt, you
handed him the ball, just walk us through what happened there, what you may have
heard.
TODD BOECKMAN: I think it was a short yardage play. We knew we could pick
up some yards, but as I handed him the ball back, he didn't grab it. I didn't
know what to expect. I didn't know what he did. Like I said, he put his hands
on the ball and he went down and he was in some serious pain. But like Coach
said, we don't know what happened or if he's going to be able to play next week,
but we're just hoping for the best for him.
REPORTER: Brian, you had a touchdown grab, it looked like you were favoring
your shoulder a little bit, how does your shoulder feel?
BRIAN ROBISKIE: I had hurt my shoulder previously at camp a little bit and I
just fell on it again on that play and I ended up kind of falling on it the same
way I hurt it, but it feels good now. I feel like -- I went right back in after
that, but like I said, right now it feels good.
REPORTER: Do you feel like it's going to bother you throughout the
season?
BRIAN ROBISKIE: No, I think it's going to bother me as long as I let it.
It's one of those things, if I stay on it, if I continue to do what the trainers
say and rehab like I'm supposed to, I feel like I can get it under control.
REPORTER: Todd, can you tell us what was going through your mind as you see
Beanie laying there in pain? It seems like he's obviously a big part of the
offense and I'm wondering as you're watching this what you're thinking.
TODD BOECKMAN: Definitely one of the best backs of the country laying down
there in pain. It's definitely a sight you didn't want to see. Like I say,
Beanie's a tough guy. We're pulling for him. I hope he goes to the doctor and
do whatever he can to help his team out again.
REPORTER: James and Malcolm, could you talk about the goals you have as a
defensive unit and do you feel like Youngstown State never threatened? That's
pretty impressive for a first game. Can you talk about meeting your goals?
MALCOLM JENKINS: First thing was coming out here, have some enthusiasm, as
far as that, I think we did accomplish that. We didn't get many points in the
red zone, but we have to get better at it and try to improve.
REPORTER: For Todd and for Brian, if Chris is out for a certain period of
time, how does this change for this offense? What do you have to do to
compensate for a loss like that?
TODD BOECKMAN: I think we've got some great backs behind us. Boom Herron
has been stepping up big time, and I think Brandon Saine is coming back from a
hamstring injury, and Mo Wells has always been consistent, so I think we're
going to do some great things and there's not much we're going to change up.
BRIAN ROBISKIE: First and foremost, you really can't replace Beanie. It's
just kind of hard, but I feel like we've got a lot of guys that can step up and
they're going to do a great job filling that void if he has to miss some time.
Like Coach Tressel was saying, guys like Brandon Saine, Mo Wells and Boom, they
all did some good things and I just think if he does miss some time, we've got
some guys that have some experience and we can be very successful.
REPORTER: Todd, you know how tough it is to play quarterback on this level,
were you surprised at how well Terrelle played today? Will you comment on his
first game in college?
TODD BOECKMAN: Definitely, just seeing him in college, I expected him to do
some great things and I'm sure he'll even do greater things coming up in the
next couple days. But going out there, he was very relaxed, poised and
confident. It's hard to see that in freshmen. They get out there and not know
what to expect. He made some great plays and ran the ball really well.
REPORTER: Todd, you waited a long time to get the job and you got it last
year. Now this year with inexperienced backups, they're trying to get them some
work. How tough is that for you trying to settle in as well? Does that hurt
your development when you're playing two series, resting two, three, four,
whatever?
TODD BOECKMAN: I know last year we did a little bit of that too the first
couple games and going into this game I knew it was going to happen. Coach told
us that Terrelle and Joe both were going to get in there. Maybe it does hurt
resting here and there, but when you get out there, you're out there and you're
ready to go.
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