Ohio State: Buckeyes see 'same coach' in Urban Meyer on practice field

COLUMBUS — The health concerns for Ohio State coach Urban Meyer are out in the open now, but his team still sees him handling his business as usual behind closed doors.

In fact, the Buckeyes can hardly tell the difference in him now compared to what they’ve grown accustomed to from the leader of the program.

“He’s the same Coach Meyer,” linebacker Tuf Borland said after practice on Tuesday. “I haven’t really noticed anything different with Coach Meyer. He’s fiery, inspirational, great leader.

“All the qualities that we know about Coach Meyer. They’re still there, still the same.”

Performing some of those same old job functions that have been so familiar for years has taken a toll on Meyer lately thanks to complications from an arachnoid cyst. Blowing his whistle or raising his voice on the practice field can trigger painful symptoms from his condition, which he opened up about earlier on Tuesday in an interview with Lettermen Row, Cleveland.com and The Columbus Dispatch.

But he’s repeatedly vowed to keep on doing his job just like he always has, and in some ways there’s no reason for a change because Meyer has been dealing with the cyst for years.

“Coach is Coach,” safety Jordan Fuller said. “I know he’s been dealing with headaches and stuff, but to be honest, I haven’t really noticed a change or anything like that.

“He loves Ohio State, loves us and we can definitely tell that.”

That’s never been a secret, obviously.

But a few new details are now available that are helping make that case even harder to deny based on what Meyer is going through to stay on the sideline with the Buckeyes.

Jordan Fuller and Tuf Borland were joined by fellow captain Isaiah Prince after practice on Tuesday to update the media on Ohio State coming out of the off date and preview the matchup on Saturday against Nebraska. Full video interviews are available here and on the Lettermen Row channel on YouTube.