Ohio State coaches prepare for 2 quarterbacks, disruptive defense in top-5 matchup at Penn State.
Penn State is getting ready for its biggest matchup of the regular season Saturday against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes have one of the best coaching staffs in the country and spoke to the media Tuesday about their matchup with the Nittany Lions:
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day on preparing for QBs Drew Allar and Beau Pribula:
“Yeah, we’ll prepare for both guys being healthy and ready to go. And, you know, they both bring different things to the table, but both are very effective in what they do. So we’ll go based on what we’ve seen and what’s on the film, but, yeah, we have to know who’s in the game. … We knew we’re gonna have to prepare for both quarterbacks. And both do things. They run, they throw, they both can do things very well. So they’re both talented in what they do. Just a little bit different in the way that their skill sets set up. We knew we were gonna have to prepare for both anyhow.”
On OSU QB Will Howard expressing excitement for the game and the team’s focus:
“He grew up in Pennsylvania, so, you know, I guess that that’s a little bit different for him. … This game’s been circled on our schedule. We know what’s at stake here. So we’re gonna have a great week of practice, great energy in practice. And we’re going to go into that environment and go finish the way that we didn’t do two weeks ago. And so now we have another opportunity to go do that in this game. So now we got to go finish and win the game in the fourth quarter. We know it’s going to take four quarters in this game. It always does when you go play in this environment. It’s a very difficult environment to play in. But we’ve been in this situation before. Our guys have been in this situation before. Now it’s the time to go win this game and get a top-five victory, and that’s what the guys are focused on right now. The coaching staff, everybody in the building, has the focus on winning this game right here.”
Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly on what makes Penn State DE Abdul Carter so disruptive:
“He’s extremely explosive for his size. He’s played linebacker before, and then now they moved him to the front. He’s a lot like Micah (Parsons) in terms of what he can do in disrupting the game as a pass rusher, and I understand why they moved him up there. But I think it’s his athleticism that you probably don’t see that athleticism usually in the defensive lineman that you get from him. And that’s the one thing, even trying to replicate that in practice, do you have somebody that’s that fast? If you do, he’s probably not the same size as him. It’s that size-speed combination, and his ability to really get off on the snap is what’s going to make him difficult to handle. And we got to make sure we understand where he is. They’ve done a decent job. He had been predominantly playing on one side, but in the Wisconsin game, they moved him to the other side, so they could put him on either side. And we need to be aware of where he is.”
Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles on Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki:
“It’s a lot different. There are multiple formations and shifts, I mean, like all the time. So all of that window dressing to create stress on the defense, that’s really a lot different. And then you add in the quarterback run game, that’s a lot different.”
On preparing for Allar and Pribula, along with tight end Tyler Warren:
“It’s a big challenge. I mean, add in all the formations and motions. When you have a quarterback who can run and hurt you with the run, that really changes the game plan. So you almost have to look at it (as) two different things. And the tight end is, again, he’s another guy, you never know where he’s going to be and the things he’s going to do. So you just always have to be aware of where he’s at.”
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