COLUMBUS, Ohio — Chances are Ohio State coach Urban Meyer's definition of fun is different than yours.
Meyer burrowed into a film room with new offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and quarterbacks coach Ryan Day, coaches brought on after the Buckeyes 11-2 campaign in 2016. Meyer clutched the clicker while going through Ohio State's game film, Wilson's game film as head coach at Indiana and Day's game film while serving as quarterbacks coach in the NFL the past two seasons. That film session eventually touched that magical three-game stretch the led to Ohio State's last national championship in 2014. That's where Meyer could take a pause.
"This is our vision," Meyer said at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday on Ohio State's first day of spring practice. "This is our dream. Very balanced. We're not changing who we are. We have to get back to being that productive 250/250, great tempo in between plays, aggressive play-calling and probably the Wisconsin, Alabama, Oregon games were perfect examples."
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Exchanging ideas with his assistants asking, "How does that fit our offense?" Incorporating the work of past coordinators, who Meyer can still roll call in order dating back to his time at Bowling Green. This is the definition of fun in Meyer's world. The Buckeyes want to get back to 250 yards passing and 250 yards rushing per game. That's the vision.
That's also the response needed for a program that is 61-6 with two College Football Playoff appearances since Meyer's arrival yet suffered a 31-0 loss to eventual national champion Clemson in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
Ohio State opened spring practice with a different tone than the last few seasons, too. "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who blared during warm-ups, an unintentional-yet-fitting tone-setter for the start of a new season. Then, the music stopped.
Wilson worked with the tight ends and preached, "Basic fundamentals" through a blocking drill. Day and star quarterback J.T. Barrett worked on the play-action passing game. Barrett roped 25-yard passes over a net into the arms of a team manager. Meyer would later watch the one-on-one drills between receivers and defensive backs, and with good reason. The Buckeyes averaged 213.9 passing yards per game last season and struggled with pass protection. Clemson exposed those flaws, and Meyer offered an immediate response with Wilson and Day.
How Barrett works with those new coaches and a young group of receivers that lost Curtis Samuel and Noah Brown to the 2017 NFL Draft will determine whether the Buckeyes can get back to a Big Ten championship game which eluded the team each of the last two seasons.
Barrett is a good start. He stepped into the starting lineup for Braxton Miller in 2014 and emerged as a Heisman Trophy contender before a season-ending injury. Barrett then sat behind Cardale Jones, who led that memorable three-game championship run, for more than half of 2015. Barrett led Ohio State to an 11-2 record last season, too, but the standards at Ohio State aren't like other places. Meyer isn't looking at passing yards or completion percentage.
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"He's a very decorated quarterback," Meyer said. “I don't know his winning percentage, but it must be off the chain. However, he's never lifted the trophy yet, and I'm talking about the Big Ten championship or the next one after that. In my opinion, that's how quarterbacks should be measured."
Wilson's impact is the X-factor. Indiana ran a up-tempo offense that actually scored more points per game than Ohio State in 2015. In 2016, Ohio State ran 78.5 plays per game, just a shade more than Indiana at 78.4. There are similarities, but Meyer is once again looking at something else.
"When you say tempo it's not necessarily the quantity of plays, it's the rhythm," Meyer said. "That's what (former offensive coordinator) Tom Herman brought so much to our offense. When we were at Florida we weren't a big tempo team, so I wanted to have somebody with that experience. I personally do not. It's calling plays, practicing faster, calling plays and getting it to the line of scrimmage much faster. That's one of (Wilson's) strengths. We don't look at number of play. It's just trying to cause defense problems."
Meyer then detailed the other part of those film sessions — the missing piece that will be the emphasis once again in the spring. It's how Ohio State went on that dream run through Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon to win the national championship. Ohio State struggled to recapture that in two season's after Herman, now with Texas, left for Houston.
"The one common denominator in all those games is we hit the deep ball," Meyer said. “It's who we are. We're going to pound the football at you, and we're going over the top. When that works, life is pretty good offensively."
Life is typically pretty good at Ohio State no matter what, but Meyer is ensuring it stays that way. He changed a few other things, too. Meyer switched around the coaching offices, and flipped where the offense and defense work out during practice. The ongoing renovations at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center also offer a fitting motif. Ohio State hasn't changed and won't change under Meyer. It's about trying to get all those pieces to fit together again, and hit 250/250. This is the enhancement process, and the hope is the Buckeyes won't be fooled again.
"We changed the paint on the building a little bit, and it's been positive so far," Meyer said.
That's how it's going to be until the real fun begins.
