Illinois coach Bret Bielema\u2019s criticism<\/a>\u00a0and said\u00a0Ohio State \u201cshut down\u201d the Illini\u2019s tempo. McClain praised Patricia for his\u00a0impact and the Buckeyes’ cornerbacks for their\u00a0infectious energy.\u00a0McClain also stressed the defense\u2019s goal of putting together a \u201ccomplete game\u201d after letting up late last week.\n<\/p>\n\n\tWith players on both sides of the ball calling for sharper execution and more consistency, the Buckeyes seem intent on proving themselves again this weekend in Camp Randall Stadium.\n<\/p>\n
\tWR Carnell Tate<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAt the end of the day, the room\u2019s a reflection of us. No matter who\u2019s out there in the room, whatever they go out there and put on film, go out there and say, it\u2019s a reflection of the room.\u201d \u2013 Carnell Tate\n<\/p>\n
\t\tOn young wide receivers Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham: \u201cThey definitely make plays out there on the field, it\u2019s just a matter of understanding the playbook, and they\u2019ve continued to show us that they\u2019re capable of doing that. And then it\u2019s like, later on in the season, we\u2019re going to need those guys to step up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tTate isn\u2019t taking Wisconsin lightly and is ensuring his teammates don\u2019t either. \u201cWe just gotta go treat it like each and every other game we do in the schedule. Prepare for them like they\u2019re a top talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tOn what\u2019s stood out about freshman cornerback Devin Sanchez: \u201cHe\u2019s shown it in practice. And with the young guys, it\u2019s about consistency. And he\u2019s shown that he\u2019s able to be out there and be consistent, and then if it happens that a play is made on him, he\u2019s shown that he\u2019s capable of bouncing back and go out there and play high-level football.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tOn the trash talk and mental games that Davison Igbinosun and Jermaine Mathews Jr. bring to the cornerback position: \u201cIt\u2019s just annoying to go out there and see them celebrate. Sometimes it\u2019s a bad ball and they go out there and make a play, it\u2019s just annoying to have them going out there, talking each and every play. And then as a receiver, if you mess up, now they\u2019re in your head, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tTate said Ohio State\u2019s players are always looking for their \u201cbig game.\u201d Tate said his came against Minnesota, when he had nine catches for 183 yards and one touchdown. \u201cThat was my big game. I’m due for another one,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n
\tTE Will Kacmarek<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt’s better than scoring a touchdown, I\u2019m telling ya. It’s awesome. Again, no one will ever see that, but in our room, it’s the coolest thing.\u201d\u2013 Will Kacmarek on what it\u2019s like for the tight ends to perfectly block up a run out of 13 or 14 personnel\n<\/p>\n
\t\tOn how the tight end room is playing: \u201cI think we’re just doing what we have to do. Our coaches expect us to make the plays in the positions we’re put in. So at the end of the day, we’re just doing what we’re told and just trying to do to the best of our ability.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tKacmarek was a little more critical of his own performance so far this year. \u201cI feel like I’m playing well, but I could play a lot better, in my opinion. I definitely think there’s plays that I wanna get back, but I mean, it’s all about coming back and practice the next week and just improving overall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tKacmarek feels like Ohio State\u2019s running plays are one block away from breaking for big games. \u201cIt always comes down to one little play or one little block that doesn’t get done. So once everything gets blocked up, it’s gonna spring. And that’s soon to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tOn his eagerness to play in Wisconsin\u2019s Camp Randall Stadium: \u201cI’m excited. Obviously, it’s my first time, so it’ll be cool. Looking forward to that (end of) third quarter (for Jump Around).<\/p>\n
\tC Carson Hinzman<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThey\u2019re a desperate team, and desperate teams are dangerous.\u201d \u2013 Carson Hinzman on Wisconsin\n<\/p>\n
\t\tHinzman said he\u2019s \u201chyped\u201d to return to his home state and play Wisconsin this weekend. \u201cI already got about like 30 tickets, I think I need another like 40.\u201d He said he\u2019s 1-1 at Camp Randall Stadium, losing a state championship game there his freshman year but winning as Ohio State\u2019s starting center two days.<\/p>\n
\t\tHinzman said the biggest difference he sees in himself now from two years ago is his confidence. Back then, he was \u201cplaying a lot more reactionary\u201d; now, he\u2019s a leader on the offensive line and he\u2019s able to diagnose what defenses are doing much more effectively.<\/p>\n
\t\tMatt Patricia tells the offensive linemen they can come talk to him any time they want to learn more about football, Hinzman said. \u201cHe coached O-line before as well, so he obviously, he knows a lot about us. And he\u2019s like, if you ever want to learn football, come and let me know because he knows everything. Not just defense or D-line or D-backs, but he knows everything about the game. So it\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tHinzman said Wisconsin\u2019s defensive front is one of the best Ohio State has faced this season and that they play differently than other teams the Buckeyes have played this year. \u201cI would say they\u2019re a huge strength to that team right now, and that\u2019s gonna be something we\u2019re gonna have to deal with, which I\u2019m super excited for.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tHinzman said he was \u201cvery close\u201d to committing to Wisconsin out of high school, to the point that he called Joe Rudolph \u2013 Wisconsin\u2019s offensive line coach at the time \u2013 with the intention of committing one night. But Rudolph didn\u2019t answer his phone at that time, and Hinzman decided he wasn\u2019t ready to commit when he talked to Rudolph the next day.<\/p>\n
\t\tHinzman said he feels \u201cvery confident\u201d in Ohio State\u2019s run game. He said he\u2019s \u201cnever been more confident\u201d in an offensive coordinator calling plays than he is in Brian Hartline right now.<\/p>\n
\tDE Kenyatta Jackson Jr.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThey did go tempo for a little bit, but I mean, it quickly got shut down. So whatever he said, tempo was working, I don\u2019t know.\u201d\u2013 Kenyatta Jackson Jr. on Bret Bielema saying Ohio State\u2019s defense \u201ccouldn\u2019t do shit\u201d against Illinois\u2019 tempo\n<\/p>\n
\t\tJackson said he\u2019s talked to Matt Patricia about being able to use his pass-rush moves more, and Patricia is \u201copen to it.\u201d Jackson\u2019s primary role this season has been caging the pocket. \u201cI\u2019m a team player first, so I think my year is going well, but I would like to do other things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tOhio State\u2019s philosophy on caging the pocket, according to Jackson: \u201cIf you can beat the guy, beat the guy, but just don\u2019t run past the quarterback \u2026 Don\u2019t allow the quarterback to make big plays by running behind them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tJackson said his football IQ has \u201ctremendously increased\u201d from working with Patricia. He described his relationship with Patricia as \u201cthrough the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tOn Arvell Reese: \u201cHe\u2019s playing great. I finally see the guy that\u2019s been in the cage last year. They let him out the cage, he\u2019s playing freely, and he\u2019s playing great.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tOn Tywone Malone Jr.: \u201cHis development has been great. That\u2019s a guy that comes in each and every day and tries to put his best foot forward each and every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tS Jaylen McClain<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe first day he was here, I had a conversation with him. The relationship has been growing ever since. I love him. He loves me back, you know what I mean? I like playing for him.\u201d \u2013 Jaylen McClain on his relationship with Matt Patricia\n<\/p>\n
\t\tMcClain said Davison Igbinosun and Jermaine Mathews Jr. have infectious confidence and energy. \u201cI feel like when you have corners that, you know, have energy like that, that feeds into people like me and Caleb. Well, me and Caleb obviously have energy as well, but with their type of energy, the swagger, it helps them play and puts that confidence in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tOn Devin Sanchez\u2019s performance against Illinois: \u201cI felt like I seen the swag just keep on coming along snap after snap after snap. He had to get his feet wet a little bit, and I felt like he got his confidence throughout the game and, you know, it turned on for him. You\u2019re gonna see that for the next couple of games, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tMcClain said Patricia \u201cputs a lot on our plate that we can handle.\u201d McClain said he didn\u2019t know if Ohio State\u2019s defense is like an NFL one, but he thinks the Buckeyes\u2019 scheme does have similarities to what he sees from NFL teams.<\/p>\n
\t\tMcClain said Ohio State \u201ctook its foot off the gas\u201d at the end of the Illinois game so the Buckeyes have been working hard this week to put together \u201ca complete game\u201d against Wisconsin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ohio State\u2019s players are focused, confident and hungry heading into Saturday\u2019s matchup with Wisconsin. In another round of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-227949","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}