The Merit Behind Meyer and Tressel’s Words

By Kyle Golik

Last week, a pair of legendary Ohio State coaches were around the football facilities, something that is very common. It is what the pair said is uncommon and really setting a high bar for the 2024 Ohio State team.

“But as of now, this is one of the most talented teams rosters in the last decade, maybe ever. I mean that’s a big statement they gotta play, but you look at the quality of athlete at every position. I’ve never seen anything like it,” former Ohio State and current FOX analyst Urban Meyer, who coached Ohio State from 2012 to 2018, told WBNS Columbus last week.

Jim Tressel, who coached Ohio State from 2001 to 2010, echoed similar sentiments to Meyer to WBNS Columbus , “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that many great players in the building all at once. Every position, every place you turned. And so Ryan’s done a great job.”

My colleague Rock Westfall wrote in a recent column where he examined the quotes mentioned above and concluded the following: “At the onset of the 2024 season, Ryan Day is facing expectations that no other college football coach has to deal with. He has no margin for error. Now he has two of the Ohio State coaching greats touting Day’s roster as perhaps the greatest ever. Meyer and Tressel, as Ohio State legends, know the Ohio State culture and coaching demands better than anyone. Hence, they had to know they were gaslighting Day.”

Day has dropped three in a row to Michigan, his legendary predecessors are a combined 16-1 (with the 2010 game vacated it is officially 15-1) against Michigan, and the demand for results forced an aggressiveness not seen in a long time in Columbus. For the first time in a long time, Ohio State’s splash in the transfer portal has raised expectations to a near fever pitch. The high-profile transfers between quarterbacks Will Howard and Julian Sayin , running back Quinshon Judkins , center Seth McLaughlin , and safety Caleb Downs that complement an already loaded roster inspired both Meyer and Tressel to say those words that have accelerated the expectations.

In the coming weeks, there will be an analysis done on this roster and how they will fair against Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan, but I would like to examine the merit of the words behind Meyer and Tressel from their very own coaching opuses to see if they compare.

2002 Ohio State

The 2002 Ohio State team was the first 14-0 team in Football Bowl Subdivision history and second overall in the history of the classification to win 14 games in a season (1996 BYU went 14-1). What made 2002 Ohio State special was its clutch gene to pull out gritty wins whether it was against Penn State or with quarterback Craig Krenzel ’s “Holy Buckeye” throw on 4th and 1 late in the fourth quarter to Michael Jenkins to give Ohio State a 10-6 win against Purdue. While Ohio State in the last decade has enjoyed amazing quarterback play, former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard comes in via Kansas State like a Krenzel, who will be a steady hand and venerable veteran who helped Kansas State win a Big XII Championship.

When you begin to look at the ground game, the similarities are there as Ohio State had a prodigy in Maurice Clarett . Clarett was the spark plug for Tressel’s offense that opposing defenses had issues with all season. Day may have two backs who can change a game in Ole Miss import Quinshon Judkins, who had the fourth most rushing yards in SEC history by a running back through their first two seasons, and TreVeyon Henderson , who's talented but hasn’t been able to stay healthy since his breakout 2021 season. The hope is the two-headed back attack can maximize both Judkins and Henderson, something that was the heart of the success of Michigan with Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards.

As Day looks to maximize opportunities for the reigning 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year safety Caleb Downs, Tressel had his own “Swiss Army knife” in Chris Gamble . Gamble played in all three phases for the Buckeyes as a wide receiver, cornerback, and returner.

The units that match up well are the defensive lines from both groups. The 2002 unit nearly sent its two-deep to the NFL that included Will Smith , Kenny Peterson , and Darrion Scott . The 2024 units ceiling is way higher with J.T. Tuimoloau , Jack Sawyer , and Tyleik Williams all who could vie to be Day 1 NFL Draft selections.

While the 2024 Ohio State team on paper may be as talented, and maybe even more than Tressel’s opus, the heart of this team hasn’t been able to finish in the biggest moments since 2022. Whether it is Michigan opposing its well, or succumbing to injuries in various forms against Georgia in the Peach Bowl (the bowl opt-outs and transfers that was last season’s Cotton Bowl is hard to ding Day or the roster on), this was something 2002 Ohio State never failed at.

2008 Florida

If part of Meyer’s quote, where he was alluding to the almost blasphemy to coronate a team the greatest even before playing a single game together, it is here when we look at the first of two Meyer coaching opuses. Yes, 2008 Florida is regarded by many as the greatest team of all time, I don’t necessarily agree with that notion but I do recognize they are definitely on the shortlist.

With all due respect to the 2024 Buckeyes, they don’t have a Tim Tebow . Tebow might just be the greatest player in college football history. If he isn’t at the top, much like I said above about Tebow’s 2008 Gators, he too has to be on the shortlist. Where I will say there might be a comparison is the Gators had on reserve eventual 2010 Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton . Ohio State has two five-star quarterbacks in Julian Sayin and Air Noland , how that plays out down the line, I don’t foresee either making an impact in 2024 unless Howard is ineffective or injured.

To me, what Ohio State has done with Brian Hartline at the wide receiver position is what perennially keeps the Buckeyes unit at the top of the nation. Emeka Egbuka , Jeremiah Smith , and Carnell Tate should fuel the Buckeyes' offense in a similar vein that Aaron Hernandez (tight end), Percy Harvin , Louis Murphy , and Riley Cooper did for Florida.

If you look at the EDGE rushers on both teams, Tuimoloau and Carlos Dunlap have similar builds.

The other aspect is each squad has a pair of cornerbacks that have the ability to shut down the boundary. The Gators had Janoris Jenkins and Joe Haden , both who spent nearly a decade in the NFL, but in college, Haden was an Unanimous All-American, something cornerback Denzel Burke has the ability to become. While Jenkins was a speed demon on the opposite side of Haden, Burke has a similar compliment in Davison Igbinosun in a unit that last season led the nation in opposing average team passer rating.

The only blemish the 2008 Gators had was a trip to The Grove which became the setting of “The Promise.” Ohio State has a trip to Autzen on October 12 that could be their only hiccup. Ultimately, what makes the 2008 Gators one of college football’s greatest teams is how dominant they were. When you look at the quarter-by-quarter scoring breakdown, Florida never had less than a 2 to 1 scoring margin as they went on to outscore its opponents 611 to 181. 2024 Ohio State has a long way to go to even approach this comparison.

2014 Ohio State

Meyer’s Ohio State coaching opus, grant you, the 2012 team went undefeated and some may argue the 2015 team was better up until their upset by Michigan State, but this is the team to me, and this is to great respect to Tressel’s 2002 team, the many great Woody Hayes teams, and even Paul Brown’s 1942 team, the 2014 Ohio State team is Ohio State’s greatest team ever.

A decade after that group dominated their way to the first College Football Playoff national championship, the comparisons are there and in some ways it isn’t close in others.

No one will question the quarterback depth chart the 2014 Ohio State team had, whether it was Braxton Miller , J.T. Barrett , and Cardale Jones . The fact Jones was able to come up big for Ohio State in the three postseason games speaks volumes.

Both had a two-headed running back attack, and in a lot of ways it may be matched. Judkins has a similar pedigree that Ezekiel Elliott possessed. Don’t ask Alabama fans about the Sugar Bowl dagger administered by Elliott. Curtis Samuel complemented Elliott so well, I truly feel Henderson on the rebound can have a similar effect.

Both units were deep at wide receiver and many could point to this team as the birth of the deep wide receiver units that Ohio State fans have enjoyed in Columbus. This year’s team is young with many expecting Tate and Smith to play large roles, it was a youth movement in 2014 led by Michael Thomas and Jalin Marshall who was a spark plug vertically. Not seeing action that season were Terry McLaurin and Parris Campbell who would set the stage for loaded wide receiver rooms in Columbus.

The talent is not in question with Tuimoloau and Sawyer, but many Ohio State fans would love to see one of them take the leap Joey Bosa did in 2014 when he had 13.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss.

Ultimately, the combination of talent and results make this 2014 Ohio State team, to me, the greatest Ohio State team ever. The 2024 team has a very similar makeup that should challenge the 2014 squad for the crown.

Conclusion

In his column, Westfall described that Meyer and Tressel knew they were gaslighting Day, and I think there is a kernel of truth to that. I would also consider if Meyer and Tressel had opposite words saying they feel the team needed some work and the talent was there, a coach-speak neutral output, the same intense reaction would occur. Instead of Day feeling the pressure of great expectations fueled by both those legends, it would have been questions of can Day meet expectations, and if he is the right man for the job.

To me, it didn’t matter the words Meyer or Tressel said on record, it would have caused a reaction anyway. I don’t feel it was gaslighting but more setting the expectations. Their words have merit, the talent is there for them to make a significant run not only in the Big Ten, but now in an expanded playoff. Now it is up to the players if they want to challenge Ohio State and college football’s immortal teams.