COACH TRESSEL: Hello, on this beautiful Tuesday, hope you had a great day laboring like the Buckeyes were. We had a great workout yesterday, a nice hot one again. Looks like this week will be another challenging week from a weather standpoint and as we work to get better. We thought, as we viewed the film, that one of the best things was that so many young guys got an opportunity to get out there, some of which had never been out there before and some guys got to play different roles than they've played before and we really thought that our kids tried hard, that they were pretty much focused on the task at hand and trying to do the things we were working on and we felt good about their effort. We also are very realistic and know that we need to be much, much better than we were a week ago and I think our guys came in this past weekend after the game and viewed the film with a critical eye and hit the practice field yesterday with a sense of purpose and hopefully they'll be out there today doing the same.

It's very important for this football team to get better every day and to learn more about what their role is and what it's going to take to be a good football team and I feel good about the way that they approach things. We did have some guys with outstanding performances. Our special units player of the week was Ryan Pretorius. Ryan had battled his way into earning the place kicking starting job for field goals and then during the week Ryan -- Aaron Pettrey stretched a groin or something on the kicking leg and we just didn't feel as if it was safe to have him do the kickoffs which we had originally planned for him to do, so Ryan Pretorius took that chore over as well and we thought he did a good job, five for five extra points, one for one field goal, we thought his kickoffs were solid. Kind of a swirling wind, a wind where you hit it up there and it kind of stopped dead and he powered it through a couple times very, very well, so he was our special units player of the week.

Over on defense, James Laurinaitis, I think he only played 35 or 40 plays but still had 7 or 8 tackles, did a good job getting us lined up, did a good job leading. He's going to get better and better because he really works hard on his trade and wants to be a great leader and wants to be a great player and he was our defensive player of the week.

And then Brian Robiskie was our offensive player of the week. Brian had nine catches, I believe, and came up with some big plays. We knew going into the season that he and Brian Hartline were going to have to be the leaders of that group, especially after Ray Small had his injury and we knew was going to miss at least the first game and he may have a chance to play this game and give our guys some relief there. But Brian Robiskie stepped up as a performer and a leader and had a winning performance grade-wise, as did James Laurinaitis and Brian was our offensive player of the week.

Coach Bollman did not present a Jim Parker offensive lineman award for the week, didn't feel as if there was one meriting that particular award. The attack force player of the week was Dexter Larimore. Dexter is going to be a very, very good player. Probably had 25 to 30 snaps, plays with excellent technique. It was his first time out there and played with good poise and good assignments and Dexter is going to be a very, very good player.

We did have some guys, as always, do a great job preparing us from a special teams standpoint. You go through preseason camp and everyone's running our stuff and all of a sudden you shift gears totally and you start having a group of guys go over and run the opposing team's plays, obviously a less glamorous role, a role that's really not the goal necessarily of everyone, and we had some guys step up and do a great job. Danny Herron was the scout special units player. Danny did not get in the game, still not sure whether he'll be a redshirt candidate or not.

At this moment, our tailback situation is healthy, so for the moment, his primary role has been on the special team scout look and did a good job and was given the scout special teams award. The scout special team player was Ryan Lukens, Ryan's a young guy, he's in his fourth year. His dad played here. He wants to be a veterinarian. In fact, he hopes next year in his fifth year he'll be in vet school. That's the kind of motivated kid he is and just did a great job with our defensive scout team and got that award. And the scout offensive player of the week was "Baseball" Joe Bauserman as Antonio calls him and he did an excellent job. He and Antonio Henton shared the quarterback duties, but Joe had a little bit more of the duties because Antonio is spending a little bit more time on the offensive field and the defensive staff thought Joe did a great job of emulating the Youngstown attack and we knew that being able to cope with Youngstown's fine quarterback was going to be a key to our defensive performance and Joe did a good job getting those guys ready.

So we thought everyone played a good role. We know all of us need to do better as we go into week two. And I think there's an understanding of that and now we have to have an demonstration of that as we get our second opportunity to step into the Horseshoe against a good Akron team.

Akron really decisively won the game against Army. The score didn't necessarily show it. Army blocked a punt with 30 seconds to go in the game and brought it within eight points, but really, as you watch the entire film, Akron was in control from the get-go. They've had a little change in their offensive style. They've gone with a lot of the misdirection fast hitting, no huddle schemes that some of the people are using these days and hit you with a lot of speed. A great receiver, I don't know how many catches he had, a dozen or some balls were thrown his way, outstanding receiver. Good young quarterbacking taking over for the (Luke )Getsy kid who graduated last year. Defensively they play a scheme that we haven't lined up and played against since the 2002 outback bowl, January 1, 2002. 3-5-3 scheme, different for our guys, it's going to take good mental focus, we've got to make sure we don't have assignment problems. There's not the familiarity in blocking it, which in some ways is a good thing, because it really makes you put your thinking cap on and we've got to have a great preparation in terms of the Akron defense they come at you with.

And then their special teams, very explosive. They had long punt returns, long kickoff returns. The coach, J. D. Brookhart has moved from the offensive side of coaching and taken over the special teams which sends a message right there to the football team of its relative importance and they do an excellent job and put a lot of pressure on you with their special teams. So it's going to be a heck of a challenge from that standpoint. As always, though, the biggest challenge is to make sure that we get better every day and beginning this afternoon, we've got to move in that direction.

REPORTER: Have you had time to digest that Appalachian win?

COACH TRESSEL: I didn't get a chance to watch it. We watched Appalachian all week getting ready for Youngstown because Youngstown's last game was Appalachian and every time you watch the film you say, this is a good football team just like we were saying, Youngstown is a good football team. But as far as what happened and all the rest, I really haven't had an opportunity to do that.

REPORTER: Is it a stunning upset in your opinion?

COACH TRESSEL: I think it's an upset because I happen to think Michigan is very, very good and I think when all is said and done at the end of the season, Michigan is going to be very, very good. But it also tells you, Appalachian State is a good team. And maybe more people know that than used to, but Appalachian's good.

REPORTER: Are you glad Michigan lost?

COACH TRESSEL: Am I glad? No, I'm never glad when a conference opponent loses. You always -- outside of your game with them, you're always rooting for your breath then in the Big Ten.

REPORTER: Jim, is this a little bit of a black eye for the Big Ten? Big Ten went 2-5 last year in bowl games and lost two obviously high profile bowl games and then kind of this, there's people looking askance at the Big Ten because number five team in the nation loses to a playoff subdivision team.

COACH TRESSEL: Well, whether it is or isn't, we don't spend any time looking in the mirror or at those black eyes, we're just going to work. And I haven't given it any thought, it has no effect on what we're trying to accomplish. We're most concerned about what Ohio State does and of course we root for our conference, I was watching the end of that Missouri-Illinois game, thinking the Illini was going to pull it out. But that was September 1st. What's most important, black eyes heal well before November, and the Big Ten's going to be a good conference.

REPORTER: When you look back on the film, the guys who came in when Lawrence Wilson went out, how did you feel about how they performed, and also, I know it's looking ahead, but if Lawrence is out for a while, at what point do you think about redshirting?

COACH TRESSEL: I think the first thing we have to do with Lawrence is when he can begin practicing is what date, is it six weeks, is it eight weeks, to me, there's a big difference. The biggest thing we'll keep in mind is his safety. We won't put him in a game until he's practiced significantly and there will be people who have practiced since August the 6th that you'll be playing against in November. Is it safe to put them -- so we'll make those decisions. But really the medical staff will have the most say-so. And of course the coaches, once they say he's safe to go, then the coaches have to decide how can he contribute. So that's something for down the road. And we haven't cancelled it out in our minds that he'll be back, because you never know on those things, but we're not sitting there planning on it right now. As far as the guys that played after he went out, the guys that we're really going to need to count on really growing as edge players, Robert Rose is going to have to get better and better and better, and I think he played pretty solid. Cameron Heyward is a true freshman that you are counting on to come in and help and now you're really counting on. Alex Barrow is a guy that's got to step up and then obviously Vernon Gholston has got to continue his ability to be a great edge player there too.

So it really hurt us from a depth standpoint because you get into those games where you're rushing the passer 45 times, you need as many guys as you can get. And not only that, Lawrence is a big play guy, he's a good, enthusiastic leader, it's a tough thing for us, but that's football. We're going to have to make sure we step up and have other people pick up the slack.

REPORTER: Did you concur with Coach Bollman's idea of not awarding a Jim Parker award winner this week and just what seemed to be kind of amiss or whatever up front for you guys?

COACH TRESSEL: I very seldom disagree with Coach Bollman, you know that. I think as a position coach, you need to have that flexibility of deciding where you thought you should be performance-wise and what you were expecting and so forth so I can't ever remember overturning either direction. But what was missing or whatever, I'm not 100 percent sure there was a ton of things missing. We had a new center playing for the first time making all the calls and we probably -- and I thought Jimmy (Cordle) played pretty well, but not like he's going to play in six weeks where he's been there every snap and it's easy to say, yeah, I'm ready for my first game as a true starter and all that, and playing that whole 50 plays or whatever that group played, but I just don't think we were as far along as Coach Bollman wants us and I'm okay with that.

REPORTER: You kind of hinted after the game, though, Beanie (Chris) Wells might have been beating himself up a little bit, maybe too much, because some of those times he was getting the ball and people were at his feet already. As you assessed the film, was that the case?

COACH TRESSEL: Youngstown did a great job playing low. They did a good job of penetrating on the goal line and Coach Bruce used to always say we need to get Keith Byars' feet to the line of scrimmage and there were a couple times where we didn't. It wasn't just the offensive line because tight ends are a part of that, fullbacks are a part of that, play selections times are a part of that. But Beanie might have been beating himself up a little bit because Beanie is one of those guys that really wants to make a difference and really wants to be special and the thing I tried to help him understand is that he missed some time. He missed the spring game. He missed the preseason scrimmage. He's going to be just fine and I would say that he will be just fine.

REPORTER: Can you elaborate a little bit more on Todd's (Boeckman) performance? He played 45 snaps, how many times did he do the right thing with the football, make the right decisions?

COACH TRESSEL: I think his grade was in the low 80's, which 85 is a winning performance for a quarterback, and it's hard to get because every incompletion, you're going to get a minus grade. And sometimes even when it's dropped. Because we give you a plus grade when that guy makes that circus catch, so sometimes those things even out. But I thought he was solid. There were a couple times that from a decision standpoint that maybe he could have been better, but I didn't see anything glaring that gives me reason for like, oh, my gosh, we're going to struggle. I think if he'll progress and he's going to move along just fine.

REPORTER: Is it too early to say that there's more distance between one and two on that depth chart?

COACH TRESSEL: Well, you know, Todd was a solid one going in and we played him that way. We wanted Robbie (Schoenhoft) to play early. We wanted Antonio to play if we could at some point and we put him in before we put Rob back in for the second time, because we wanted to get him in for sure because the game was going so fast, two hours and 50 some minutes, which was -- they went back to the clock rules and the game got shorter, but in the Big Ten Network TV timeouts were 17 minutes or something, it seemed. We wanted to make sure Antonio got in there, and then Rob got that last set. Todd is going to have ample opportunity to show that he can lead this football team.

REPORTER: What will you do, Jim, with the quarterback this week? What's your plan?

COACH TRESSEL: You know what, I'm not sure. I would think that we would try to make sure that Robbie got in for a set in the first half, but can't tell you that we've had that discussion yet, but typically that's what we like to do.

REPORTER: Any update on Jermale Hines?

COACH TRESSEL: I guess what I'm allowed to say is we're in the midst of an appeal situation. He's going to be here, but we've got to get some Ts crossed and Is dotted, I guess I can say that much.

REPORTER: Can you address Butch Reynolds being honorary captain this week?

COACH TRESSEL: Butch is a guy that has great passion for Ohio State and he's from Akron and that's a special thing to him that we're playing Akron. He works intimately with these guys and he's one of the greatest athletes in the history of Ohio State and that honor for him is special and I think our kids will respond to that because they have a lot of compassion for him and appreciate his hard work, so I think it will be a fun thing.

REPORTER: Have you ever named a nonplayer captain?

COACH TRESSEL: No. Well, wait a minute. No. I can't answer that, because I don't know if we've had a former coach or -- I don't remember. But I know we have one the following week, so maybe we've had one before.

REPORTER: Jim, how much has Butch's role evolved since he joined you guys? Do you know exactly how he fit into this program when he came aboard?

COACH TRESSEL: The thing we knew about Butch was that he loves Ohio State and he is Ohio State and his passion for excellence as evidenced by his own career is unmatched, and so we thought that he would bring that to our guys and there a sense of respect, when you look at the world record books and there's only been one time faster in the history of the world than he ran and he happens to be a Buckeye, you add all that together, we thought it would be a good mix and it really has been.

REPORTER: How much of a change in the speed of the game will it be from week one to one two, going from I-AA Youngstown State to Akron, how much of a change in the speed of the game will your guys see?

COACH TRESSEL: I think that sometimes the speed of the game has to do with the style of the game. We're going to be facing two different styles, both offensively and defensively. You know, how much different the actual speed of the game is, I don't know for sure. I thought Youngstown State had excellent quickness in doing what they did. They did it fast. Akron does some things, I think, that stress you a little bit from a whole-field standpoint. They do some things defensively that stress you a little bit from the velocity at which they attack. But both groups, I think, have excellent quickness.

REPORTER: Jim, have you spoken with Dennis Kennedy over the last couple of years?

COACH TRESSEL: No.

REPORTER: And number two, was that a little bit of a bummer for you what happened with him trying to get in here when you recruited him?

COACH TRESSEL: You always want things to come out the way that people hope and -- but I'm kind of a believer in what usually happens ends up being the best thing and he's had a wonderful career right where he is, and he's a good player.

REPORTER: Knowing how much you like to reflect on past games, Akron was your first opponent when you were an Ohio State coach. Can you kind of compare and contrast what it was like for you six years ago and what it is now?

COACH TRESSEL: It's interesting, to show you how disorganized we were, the first time we were down by the goal line, we called a wristband play, and our guys came lined up in a formation that wasn't a formation on the wristband. And we were screaming and yelling, you're wrong, Steve (Bellisari), get them moved or whatever and he throws a touchdown, comes off the field, say, what -- he had Thursday's wristband on, he didn't even have -- we didn't even have the right wristbands on our guy.

So I think we're further along with what we're doing. We're a little more comfortable and we've experienced some things and I think anytime you take on a new situation, first and foremost, you have to figure it out. Thank goodness we had good players that even if we had the wrong plays, they could score touchdowns.

How is it different today? You feel a little more comfortable, but on the other hand, it doesn't feel any different preparing today for Akron than preparing for Akron back in 1987 when we played them or whatever. It's -- game preparation is kind of the fun of the whole thing and that doesn't change.

REPORTER: The young backs, you don't play them because of some elements they don't know as well as the veterans, with Brandon Saine, is he on par with your other more experienced backs in all areas if you wanted to play him more, would he have anything holding him back?

COACH TRESSEL: Brandon's really a bright kid, both academically, but football-wise, comes from a great program. Played 15 games last season in a program that won the state and they did it all. They did it all. they had the wide-open spread, they had the tight run down, so he's experienced a lot. So his high school head coach played for my dad, so he must be way ahead of the curve. So I think Brandon had, because of his background, and because of his focus on things, he's had no problem picking up what we do, and so I wouldn't hesitate from a knowledge standpoint at all, nor do I with Mo (Wells) or Chris (Wells)..

REPORTER: Do games like the Michigan loss serve your purpose in making the players a little more wary of what can happen?

COACH TRESSEL: I think anytime you see an alleged upset anywhere, it's a great reminder. Again it only lasts 30 seconds so you can get your mind back on what you have to do, but I'm sure every time, even if you see one on NFL Sunday, the 0-4 team beats the 4-0 team, it's just another reminder.

REPORTER: Jim, Ray Small, with him being out and with as well as Dane's (Sanzenbacher) played, is it a tough road back for Ray to get that spot back or how would you characterize it?

COACH TRESSEL: We don't get too involved in whose spot is it. Ray worked out yesterday, very well, probably better than we thought he might. He is slated to work a good bit of the practice today. Now, where I think you have to be smart with injuries is right when it looks like a guy is ready to come back, we all, player included, team to over do it, okay, we've got Ray back, we want to do a couple of these things or whatever, so we've got to be smart. I'm hoping he can progress and help us and become one of the guys. We don't worry about which spot is which, and you play so many guys all the time and it was a great opportunity for Dane to get a lot of those reps with those other guys next to him and some of those three-wide formation, Brian (Robiskie) and Brian (Hartline) were right there with him teaching him all through preseason which maybe if he was working on a unit that all three of them were looking at one another and didn't know what to do, he wouldn't have progressed as quick. So it was a good thing for Dane and we're anxious to get Ray back.

REPORTER: What was your overall impression of all those true freshmen that got in? After evaluate on the film, do you sense some nervousness at being under the lights, mistakes made or were they pretty solid as you expected?

COACH TRESSEL: I'm sure they were nervous. I'm sure they were excited. In fact, Dane Sanzenbacher said to Brandon Saine after the game, he said, have you ever heard 105,000 people go, "UHHH," after you drop a ball, it's loud. But they're competitive guys. They're guys who have played, and of that group of 15 guys, 14 of their teams played in the playoffs, and the 15th guy, his team was 10-0. So they've played in big games. Now, not people-wise, but they got in there and they mixed it up, I'm sure they were nervous. Hopefully they'll get to the point where they don't know the difference between there's 105,000 or 5,000, because they'll be so focused on the task at hand because it's a good group, we've said that all along.

REPORTER: Will Ray work back into the return game at this point or is he just working on offense at this point?

COACH TRESSEL: He'll work on all things, if we think he's the best guy. He hasn't been back there the whole preseason. We have to cross those bridges as we go.

REPORTER: Was it a typical first game focus or intensity? Anderson Russell kicks himself for dropping the pick and Sanzenbacher had that one going over the middle, were you down on the guys a little or was it a typical first game?

COACH TRESSEL: You always evaluate things independently, if we drop a ball in the first game or the seventh game, we've got to make those. We want to become the best we can be, we've got to make those plays. No, I wouldn't write it off as, no, that's okay, it's a typical first game. You know, whatever we've got to do to make those plays. I thought our guys paid close attention and coming off rigorous preseasons, I've never seen our guys full of as much fire and all that as they do as the world starts unfolding throughout the season. I think there's a buildup of your emotion and all that kind of thing. So I wasn't down whatsoever on hour our guys approached it.

REPORTER: Beanie said after the game that he didn't come in focused and he didn't feel he played his best game that he could play, does that concern you at all?

COACH TRESSEL: He's his best critic, and I don't think he played his best game because I think his future is going to be extraordinary, but like I mentioned earlier, when you don't practice, when you miss a number of practices, you've got to catch up. Either that or practice is overrated and we spend a lot of time for nothing. I mean, practice is critical. And he needs to -- that was like another practice for him, so maybe making up for four practices he missed or whatever and he'll be fine. He's passionate about being good. If he says to you he wasn't focused, then he knows that better than I do.

REPORTER: Do these David versus Goliath games make you any more nervous than a regular Big Ten game would?

COACH TRESSEL: Oh, I think from a standpoint of they're earlier in the year and you know less about yourself, that sometimes you're a little more uneasy at the start, whereas when you get into the season, you're really starting to get a grasp, here's what we can do, here's what we do best, let's feature this, let's feature that guy or whatever and ask him to do this or that, so you know less right now, and you know less about your opponent, because you've only got last year's film, are they doing the same stuff? Well, Akron's not, so you've got one game. Now, defensively they are. As you're studying things, you don't have quite the rhythm of what your opponents are doing. So, yeah, you're a little bit more uneasy, I think, before you know more and more about yourself.

REPORTER: Your coaching career started at Akron, did you reflect on that I believe its can you reflect on those days?

COACH TRESSEL: Thank goodness for Jim Dennison giving me a chance to enter this profession and then giving me my first full-time job. I owe him everything for that opportunity. We had great teams. Those kids loved to play and that's what I knew about Youngstown State is those kids loved to play. They didn't need to have X number of people in the stands, they'd do it every day in practice with no one from. Akron kids were the same. We had kids that they just loved to strike you and practice hard and football was very, very important to them. I enjoyed my four years at Akron tremendously and learned a great deal and got my master's degree there, as a matter of fact, so I'm a graduate.

REPORTER: Do you have any other grad assistant offers at that time?

COACH TRESSEL: I had two, Penn State and Akron.

REPORTER: How did you end up at Akron?

COACH TRESSEL: We've been through this story. My dad wouldn't let me go to Penn State, and he was right. So little did I -- dads are always right, right, Hogie (Jeff Hogan, reporter)?

REPORTER: Jim, I'm not sure if you've been through something like Coach (Lloyd) Carr is going through this week, even if you have or you haven't, how would you handle this with your team, hypothetically, would you bury it, would you use it as motivation, how would you be handling it this week?

COACH TRESSEL: You'd evaluate your performance and talk about what it takes to do the things that you're going to need to do to become the best you're capable of being. I didn't see the game or anything, but I'm sure the thing that bothers every single person on their team is that they didn't play the best they were capable of playing. Not unlike the things we did in the Florida game. What do you do? You evaluate how can I be better and you make sure how can I live up to my potential and do the best I can do and then you go to work. So I don't know if that's burying it or not, but you certainly cannot sit there and bemoan it. Lori, last one, we've got to get these guys up here.

REPORTER: J. D. Brookhart took himself off of being offensive coordinator because he didn't want his defensive players to be slighted. You're an offensive-minded coach, is that something you've ever tried to compensate so your defensive players didn't feel like they were being left out?

COACH TRESSEL: You're the first person that's ever said I was offensive-minded. That's pretty nice. Most of the guys in here say I have two plays I like. But I think you have to do what you think the group needs and we're all very involved in special teams here. Very seldom do I stick my nose in from a defensive scheme standpoint, but I do stick my nose around the defenders. So if there's ever a point in time where I feel as if -- and I think what J. D. felt is that he didn't have enough interaction, but our special teams are full of defensive guys and I'm in every one of those meetings and talking out of turn and everything else, so I have never felt detached. I think J. D. felt a little detached the way he talked about it this summer, because J. D.'s a lot more of an offensive minded guy than I am, but he felt that's what his team needed. That's why he's been successful as a coach as he's always done what his team has needed and I think he's done a tremendous job there and he's got a good program.