Larry Brown Sports

Coaches are only as good as their motivational tactics, which may be one of the reasons former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes enjoyed so much success with the Buckeyes in the 50s, 60s and 70s. The five-time national champion helped mold Ohio State into the powerhouse that it is today, and you know what they say — you can’t build a contender without letting a turtle bite you in the private parts.

Alright, so no one says that. But according to Urban Meyer, Hayes once did it. When Meyer was an assistant coach at OSU from 1986-87, he said then-head coach Earle Bruce brought in a 73-year-old Hayes to speak with the coaching staff about the current state of the program. At the annual coaches convention at Ohio State earlier this week, Meyer told a story about that day. CoachingSearch.com shared the fantastic details with us:

“So I guess Ohio State had lost the bowl game, so Earl Bruce brings in Woody Hayes,” Meyer recalled. “I had been there just a week and I’m thinking, ‘Holy, this is Coach Hayes.’ I’m sitting in the back. Coach Hayes was not healthy at the time, but stands up and starts laying into the coaching staff about toughness. That we have no toughness in the program. That’s why we lost the game. On and on and screaming, this old guy pounding the table. He says, ‘We have no toughness, and the reason is because you’re not tough. No one on this staff is tough enough, and that’s a problem.’

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Urban Meyer had another strong recruiting class at Ohio State, but he wants to see the rest of his competitors in the Big Ten get on a similar level.

Meyer made his comments during an appearance with “Bishop & Rothman” on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus Thursday.

“We do need to as a conference need to keep pushing that envelope to be better,” said Meyer.

“Our whole conversation [at the Big Ten coaches meeting] needs to be about ‘how do we recruit?’ When you see 11 of the SEC teams are in the top 25 that’s something that we need to improve.”

Meyer coached in the SEC at Florida for six seasons and won two national championship there. He knows what it’s like to compete at that level, and he’s already brought success to Ohio State — he led the Buckeyes to a 12-0 season last year.

The reality is that the SEC is the top college football conference in the country. The coaches and staffs are generally the highest paid, their games are generally rated highest on TV, and the conference has produced the last seven national champions.

I’m not sure why Meyer is trying to rally the other coaches in the conference. Is he trying to bring the Big Ten up to the SEC’s level? It seems like the competition would only make his job more difficult.

You can listen to his comments below:

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One could sense the bitterness and jealous coming from Urban Meyer as he spoke on ESPN’s postgame show following Alabama’s win over Notre Dame in the National Championship Game. The Crimson Tide had just won its third national championship in four seasons, and it was clear the program had done something Meyer did not think was possible.

“There was a time where I really believed that couldn’t be done because of the parity in college football,” Meyer said on ESPN’s postgame show. “The SEC — you saw Georgia, LSU and A&M take Alabama right to the ropes, so I really didn’t think that could be done.”

Meyer, whose Ohio State Buckeyes went 12-0, understands how difficult it is to build a dynasty in college football. You have to bring in the top recruits each year, hope they develop properly, and you need little calls or plays go your way in several games. There is also a lot of turnover to overcome; players graduate, transfer, and turn pro, and assistant coaches leave for other jobs. Knowing all this, Meyer, who won two national championships at Florida, can’t believe that Nick Saban has been able to build such a dominant dynasty at Alabama. He even made it clear after Bama beat Notre Dame that he hopes Saban’s coaching staff gets raided in order to weaken the program.

“He doesn’t lose coaches. I’m still trying to figure that out. We had that thing going at Florida and it was a turnstyle — head coaches here, head coaches there. How do you not go hire one of those assistant coaches at Alabama?” Meyer asked.

Meyer is not entirely accurate; Saban lost offensive coordinator Jim McElwain after last season, but he has managed to keep Kirby Smart as his defensive coordinator since 2007.

What’s amusing is that this is the second prominent college football coach in a week who’s tried to weaken the Bama program. These guys have a hard time topping Bama on the field, so this is all they can do to take down Alabama. It was pretty weak of Meyer to use his platform on ESPN for that purpose.

Photo Credit: Greg Bartram-US PRESSWIRE

Following a season in which he was a complete non-factor with the New York Jets, it’s fair to wonder if Tim Tebow will ever again be the type of viable starting quarterback that he was with the Denver Broncos a year ago. This may come as a shock, but Urban Meyer still feels as though Tebow can help an NFL team win games and become a contender.

“We watched RG3 at the Washington Redskins, Wilson at the Seahawks, the new quarterback at the 49ers, and Carolina, and they are actually running a spread offense in the NFL,” Meyer told Mike and Mike in the Morning on Wednesday, via Pro Football Talk. “So my hope is, and I’m sure Tim feels the same way, is to go play in one of those systems where they let him play.”

Tebow is a playmaker, but Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick and Cam Newton are all better quarterbacks than he is. As PFT mentioned, the fact that we have seen spread offenses have success in the NFL over the past couple of seasons doesn’t mean Tebow could have success running one. All of the aforementioned quarterbacks make plays with their legs but can also throw. Tebow’s passing ability is below-average at best.

“I talk to him every week, and he’s still the most positive guy I’ve ever been around,” Meyer said of Tebow. “He was so excited to go to New York and play for coach Ryan and the whole situation there. It didn’t turn out, but you have to move on.”

When the Jets traded for Tebow, Meyer urged them to unleash him and not hold him back the way that Denver did. The exact opposite happened, and Tebow rode the bench throughout the entire season. The more success the Broncos have with Peyton Manning, the more it seems evident that Denver made the playoffs with an 8-8 record despite Tebow — not because of his so-called magic.

Urban Meyer is a religious man, but that doesn’t mean he’s above dropping some profanity into a speech every now and again in order to fire up a crowd.

The Ohio State coach was speaking at the Earle Bruce Beat Michigan Tailgate party on Friday, the day before the Buckeyes’ big rivalry game against the Wolverines. He spoke about preparing his team for the game, and how he wanted to send the seniors off with a big win. And then he capped it all off with a priceless closing line: “Let’s beat the s— out of Michigan! Have a good night.”

As soon as he dropped the line, the Ohio State band began playing, and the fans applauded loudly and began cheering.

Meyer certainly knows how to work a crowd. And boy, from actions like this to what he did earlier in the year, it’s pretty obvious that he despises Michigan.

You can hear full audio of his speech, including an uncensored version of his closing line here.

H/T College Football Talk, The Big Lead
Photo credit: Greg Bartram-US PRESSWIRE

Two days after being accused of doctoring game film sent to their opponent, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer responded by sending the Big Ten a complaint video of his own.

The Detroit Free Press reported that Meyer said at his Monday press conference that he sent video to the conference of a Michigan State player allegedly gouging one of his players in the eye.

Buckeyes defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins is at the bottom of a pile and appears to have his eyes poked by either Travis Jackson or Jack Allen of Michigan State.

Here’s video of the incident in question:

Deadspin has a much higher quality video if you care to take another look.

Meyer is no stranger to eye gouging incidents. In 2009, one of his linebackers at Florida, Brandon Spikes, was caught on video poking Georgia’s Washaun Ealey.

“I don’t condone that,” Meyer said at the time. “I understand what goes on on the football [field], but there’s no place for that. We’re going to suspend Brandon for the first half of the Vanderbilt game. I spoke with him. That’s not who he is. That’s not who we are. He got caught up in emotion.”

Maybe Mark Dantonio should follow Meyer’s lead and suspend his player for a half. It’s also worth noting that this is the second time in a two years that a Michigan State player was caught eye gouging.

Helmet smack to College Football Talk

Urban Meyer has high hopes for freshman quarterback Braxton Miller. The Buckeyes signal-caller has looked great through the early part of the season and gotten it done with both his legs and arm. Miller has led Ohio State to wins in its first three games and has 988 total yards and 12 total touchdowns. Is he the most talented quarterback Meyer has ever coached?

Of course not. This is the same Meyer who rode Tim Tebow to two BCS National Championships at Florida. He wouldn’t dare give Miller the edge over Tebow in any category, right?

“Very similar guys,” Meyer said Thursday when comparing Tebow and Miller, according to Fear the Hat. “They’re both competitive human beings. They’re both very talented people. Braxton has more talent. Tim is probably more of a grinder.”

Ya’ll don’t say that. Even if it’s true, ya’ll still don’t say that. As Chris Huston of CBSSports.com mentioned, Tebow had 1,027 total yards and 13 touchdowns through his first three games in 2007 — the year he won the Heisman Trophy. Miller’s numbers are quite similar, so it will be interesting to see how the remainder of the season turns out.

In reality, Meyer is just trying to give his quarterback confidence and is in no way trying to insult his favorite player of all time. Tebow has some freak athleticism, but it’s possible Miller could be a little more talented. Does that make them equals? Hardly, and Meyer is well aware of that. That doesn’t mean his comments won’t irritate Tebowmaniacs like this one.

Helmet knock to Dr. Saturday
Photo credit: Greg Bartram-US PRESSWIRE