If you have not watched his press conference I encourage you to do so. He was not as depressed as I thought he would be. I think he views the loss as a real, true turning point and a wake up call that the players may listen to. He said he told his players that this was the lowest point that they would be and to learn from it (not sure that is true.... OSU is still on the schedule). But it was almost as if he expected this beat down and was kind of relieved it was over. He even said Thursday's practice was not good at all so he was worried about the game.
But to me that was not the most interesting point. He said the kids were competing hard. He thought they were competing to the best of their ability. He then said there were lots of things to fix across the board (coach speak)... things like execution and so on. But he then said we were getting out physicaled at the lines and "pushed around" and that "those types of things are a lot harder to fix". He then started talking about the future. Better recruiting. The walk on program. Strength and conditioning. Nutrition. And he said we are not "yet" at the level where we can compete with teams like Michigan. He said he wasn't throwing the current players under the bus and he still thought they could win games this year, but it is clear he thinks we lack talent. It is clear he thinks that things are only going to get better when we have better players.
I think that nails it. What he was essentially saying is what many of us have been saying since last year: this roster is devoid of the kind of across the board talent you need to compete at this level.
But to me that was not the most interesting point. He said the kids were competing hard. He thought they were competing to the best of their ability. He then said there were lots of things to fix across the board (coach speak)... things like execution and so on. But he then said we were getting out physicaled at the lines and "pushed around" and that "those types of things are a lot harder to fix". He then started talking about the future. Better recruiting. The walk on program. Strength and conditioning. Nutrition. And he said we are not "yet" at the level where we can compete with teams like Michigan. He said he wasn't throwing the current players under the bus and he still thought they could win games this year, but it is clear he thinks we lack talent. It is clear he thinks that things are only going to get better when we have better players.
I think that nails it. What he was essentially saying is what many of us have been saying since last year: this roster is devoid of the kind of across the board talent you need to compete at this level.
