Frank Solich speaks on the controversial call and future of backup quarterback JD Sprague at Monday's press conference.
Ohio coach Frank Solich delivered his weekly Monday press conference per usual.
But this time he had to speak on some sore subjects, such as the ending of Ohio's loss this past Saturday and the health of his quarterbacks.
Here are two quotes to highlight and some of my thoughts to offer some insight on each.
“That call”
Solich knew he wouldn’t be able to steer clear of it.
Since the end of Ohio’s 27-24 loss at Minnesota, the big controversy has been the delay of game penalty the Bobcats received because kicker Josiah Yazdani attempted a 53-yarder after the Golden Gophers called a timeout. The penalty knocked Ohio back five yards, effectively knocking the team out of field goal territory.
This is Solich describing a phone call with Bill Carolla, the Big Ten Head of Officials:
“It was a good conversation. Obviously the way the rulebook is written, that penalty can be called, and it was called. Does it get called very often or at all? The answer to that is no. You know, looking back at the game we had a lot of opportunities to win that game, and should’ve won that game. That is the disheartening thing about it. It did not come down to that one play.”
My take: I think Solich did a really good job addressing the issue.
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Not only that, he mentioned there were plays before hand that could’ve altered the final score.
After all, Minnesota had a 78-yard touchdown drive to come down and take the lead with 30 seconds. At this point, situation is done. The team has moved on.
What will be, will be
The media asked Solich about backup quarterback JD Sprague’s future once he’s healthy.
Solich was hesitant and said he wouldn’t predict if Vick would still be the guaranteed starter once Sprague was healthy. He said:
“All of those things change your thinking a little bit. I wait on those decisions until I have to make those decisions, and obviously we’re not promising guys anything. You start doing that and then the promises aren’t kept and that’s not good for a program. We don’t make promises, but we give them outlines on how we expect things to fall.”
It was a good response, with a little bit of “coach’s speak.” I think Solich has an idea of what direction the offense will move, but doesn’t want to commit to anything.
The preseason quarterback competition seemed to benefit the offense through this first month. No reason to end it once the players are healthy.
Gh181212@ohio.edu
@charliehatch_
