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From the Columbus Dispatch...

Under Solich, Ohio players have to shape up
Friday, April 22, 2005
Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



Like any first-year football coach, Frank Solich has hit the ground running at Ohio University.

His players have been on the run and then some. They also have been blocking, tackling, jumping, lifting and generally sweating profusely during 25 practices in 29 days that will end with the annual spring game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Peden Stadium.

"It has been almost like a two-a-day atmosphere," linebacker Tyler Russ said. "It has been warm this month, and the way we’ve been working, it has seemed like 90 degrees. We go hard every day, not every other day. I’m telling you, we’re in shape. It has been preached a lot — being fit to play the fourth quarter. Coach runs a tight ship. It’s ‘yes, sir,’ and ‘no, sir.’ He has that presence that you don’t want to mess with him."

The buzz of Solich’s hiring hasn’t subsided among long-suffering fans who haven’t experienced a winning season since OU went 7-4 in 2000, which was Jim Grobe’s last season in Athens before going to Wake Forest.

It was hoped that Brian Knorr, who was defensive coordinator under Grobe, would bring continuity and youthful exuberance. What it brought was four straight losing seasons.

The administration is banking on Solich, 60, bringing his big-game experience from Nebraska. In six seasons with the Cornhuskers, he was 58-19 with six bowl appearances, including a loss in the 2001 BCS championship game against Miami in the Rose Bowl.

"He definitely wants to get things accomplished quickly," quarterback Austen Everson said. "He’s not afraid to make changes, and he has the players stepping it up. We’re buying into his system."

Much of that system deals with nutsand-bolts power football. The Bobcats won’t be a true option team as they were under Grobe and Knorr, but they will run the ball a lot.

"The offense and defense have been knocking heads," Everson said. "No one is holding back. Coach demands full effort and guys are taking things seriously. We’ll be tired after Saturday’s game, that’s for sure."

One of the first things Solich told the players was that there would be no long-term rebuilding plan. Ohio was 4-7 last season.

"There’s no reason this program can’t win right now," Solich said. "If we stay healthy and keep working, we can do it even with a demanding nonconference schedule."

He said it was important to have tough, physical spring practices to set the tone.

"The coaches want to show the players the system and how we want things done," he said. "I like that this team wants to do it right. We’re not pulling teeth. They’re working to get things done.

"We’re trying to develop a mind-set. We talk to them about playing to put pressure on the other team, about being competitive every play. There’s no excuse for not being the best-conditioned team, making every practice count and every play count."

This is a second chance for Solich. Nebraska fired him despite finishing 9-3 in 2003. Solich spent the 2004 season out of football watching and taking notes at several NFL camps and college campuses such as Miami.

"I’m so glad to be coaching again," he said. "I’ve been well-received here and I’ve got a young staff of go-getters who know something about getting along with players, recruiting and doing the job every day. I’m excited."

Ohio opens the season Sept. 3 at Northwestern.


mznidar@dispatch.com

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He is a great coach. He was handpicked to succeed Tom Osbourne at Nebraska and they were insane to fire him after a nine win season, especially to replace him with Callahan. I have a couple of questions. Will he implement more of a passing game? and did he recruit good people for the passing game? I am sure he will be succesful for you guys.

No_Bull Wrote:He is a great coach.&nbsp; He was handpicked to succeed Tom Osbourne at Nebraska and they were insane to fire him after a nine win season, especially to replace him with Callahan. I have a couple of questions.&nbsp; Will he implement more of a passing game?&nbsp; and did he recruit good people for the passing game?&nbsp; I am sure he will be succesful for you guys.

Well, he talked specifically about keeping us balanced at the press conference when the official announcement was made of his hiring and recruited three WRs this year, but a lot of us won't really know that much about what the offense is going to look like until the Spring Game this Saturday. I think most of the practices have been closed to the public. But, I also hear that Solich plans to make the Spring Game as game-like as possible so it should be a good opportunity to get to know what the new offense is all about.

He has said that we will be passing the ball more often then he has as a coach in the past. But he said, that we will definatly not stray from the option. The option can be very useful if it is used at the right time.

There was also a change in plans for tomorrow's Spring Game. Originally it was supposed to have "Game-like conditions" and be as much like a game as possible. But, that has changed as of today. Because of injuries and lack of depth at some positions, it has changed to an Offense vs. Defense scrimage. That's a little disappointing, but its ok. At least this will provide my fix of football until the season starts.

At least you'll have November weather!

axeme Wrote:At least you'll have November weather!

Yeah, a perfect example of the weather in Athens, Ohio. 80 and sunny all week...2 days later, 30 and snowing. :mad:

GoCats Wrote:He has said that we will be passing the ball more often then he has as a coach in the past. But he said, that we will definitely not stray from the option. The option can be very useful if it is used at the right time.

There was also a change in plans for tomorrow's Spring Game. Originally it was supposed to have "Game-like conditions" and be as much like a game as possible. But, that has changed as of today. Because of injuries and lack of depth at some positions, it has changed to an Offense vs. Defense scrimage. That's a little disappointing, but its ok. At least this will provide my fix of football until the season starts.

Thanks GoCats. It looks like the injuries were directly reponsible from what ohiobobcats.com is saying.

<a href='http://www.ohiobobcats.com/sports/football/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=3419' target='_blank'>Final Spring Workout Highlights Saturday’s FanFest </a>

That's too bad, but I am sure was unavoidable considering Solich's previous quote. Hopefully, then next season we will have enough depth to play an actual game because that is what the fans really want to see and that is what you need if you want to make your Spring Game into an annual event that draws decent crowds as we are trying to do.

Axeme- One of these events is a surplus sale so maybe Bobcat fans can stock up on warm-ups and old football jackets to wear to the game.

I'm in western OH and it is brutal here today and expected to get worse. Hard steady wind, cold rain, snow coming later this afternoon, and even with the warm ground expected to melt the snow for a while, they are still predicting 2-3 inches of accumulation. North of here (Wynadot Co.) they are predicting 8 inches.

We finished our spring practice on March 16 in the toasty confines of our indoor facility. :D

Its raining here today but its a little warmer than expected. Its a toasty 47. Just about to head out to the tailgate.

Well, I got back a few hours ago from the spring game. I think I am just about thawed out. Man, I haven't been that cold and wet at a football game in a long time. And, yes, it was a Spring Game. We would've had a great crowd if the weather would've been decent. But, there was a very small crowd. When I first got there at about noon the place was packed for the surplus sale. But, most people (can't blame them) couldn't stick it out just to see a scrimmage. I went over to the tailgate, talked with Solich a little. Then I went to the surplus sale and bought warmups, football jersey, a football, and a tshirt for $30 all together. Then i watched the first half of the game and couldn't stand it anymore.

Our offense looked good today. Everson went 13-for-21 for 138 yards. McRae ran for 10 yards on 11 carries. Abrams went 43 yards on 6 carries. McRae is going to be a stud this season. He runs full speed all the time and refuses to be tackled.

Here's a few pics (from cbsohiou.com):

The field looks great from those picks. Looks like Everson was pretty good. 10 yds per completion is good. One question I would have is how well the defense played. Were the completions to the wide outs or to backs and tight ends? Turnovers and special teams are also key for the Cats. I hope we have a strong pass rush. We will face some great quarterbacks this year. The secondary had some losses from last year. Good to see Macrae look good. He could have a solid career for Ohio.

Mark this down people - Ohio and WMU will be the most improved teams in the MAC this season.

I also think we will surprise some people this year. We have the talent to make some noise. Solich is not going to accept losing and he is going to push every player to contribute. If you talk to Solich he makes it a big point that him, his coaches, and players are not looking at this year as a rebuilding year. He expects to win NOW and he's not going to let people accept losing only because there is a new coaching staff. Yeah, it was only a spring game today, but the players really looked like they were excited and they were working hard. They were definatly not slacking off at all just because it was a scrimmage, there were some big hits today and big runs.

One thing that still looks like needs improving is special teams. We had some weak kicks today.

Lots of sacks by the defense-8 if I read that correctly. Was the D-line that good or is pass blocking still a work in progress. Also, this game didn't include the new recruits that will hit Athens this fall. We need to stay healthy. Too bad the weather was terrible. Good practice for those November games when poor weather can impact games. Good to see the passing attack do well in the cold weather.

I look for Ohio to finish no lower than 3rd in the East. Had BGSU stayed in the West, I would pick them for 2nd.

Solich was a fine coach at Nebraska...58-19 is a winning % of .753. Fans at places like Nebraska are never satisfied...playing in the Big 12 is no picnic but come on.

Great hire for the Bobcats, IMO.

of course, Solich could just be underestimating the MAC and figures he can run through the conference.

elpalito Wrote:of course, Solich could just be underestimating the MAC and figures he can run through the conference.

Bet on it.

Vandelay Wrote:Mark this down people - Ohio and WMU will be the most improved teams in the MAC this season.

Given where they finished last season, that's not much of a reach on a prediction Art.

Anyway, I don't think Ohio U has the talent to compete just yet. However, I do think Solich whips the team in shape and they probably overachieve on the talent they do have.

I say w/ respect that I hope Brandon and team don't look past Ohio U.

And there ain't nothing wrong w/ option football. Who had 10 wins last season, Navy or Nubraska?

From what I have read on BobcatAttack it sounds like Knorr left us lacking on the talent side in many areas. Based on the past 4 years and what Solich has to work with combined with a shortened recruiting period I am going to be fine with a 3-8 or 4-7 season. Along with Ball State we do have the toughest OOC schedules in the MAC (@ Northwestern, vs. Pitt, @ VA Tech), and an 0-3 OOC and 4-4 MAC records would be a step in the right direction if you ask me. Anything better than this would be awesome.

Of course given several years of sucking followed by the firing of Knorr and the hiring of Solich on my NCAA 2003 xBox game I had Ohio finish 9-3 with a Bowl game victory and 3-0 OOC...

I have to say I expect OU to be above .500 this year and be the #3 team in the East. Knorr stumbled to a 4-7 record with whatever talent he had assembled. Assuming Solich is as good as I expect, that should be worth at least one or two wins, if not more.