Ohio finished off its regular season non-conference schedule with a home win against Gardner-Webb on Saturday, a game that was closer than many expected, but still left Ohio at 2-2 by games end.
This week, Mid-American Conference play is back at Peden Stadium, as Ohio welcomes Bowling Green for the conference play opener. Before that game, Ohio head coach Brian Smith sat down with reporters on Monday for his weekly press conference. Here is what we learned.
Growing from Gardner-Webb
The Bobcats may have won the game against Gardner-Webb on Saturday but as any game can be, win or lose, the assessment process afterward showed some room for growth as they exitnon-conference play.
“I think as you watch it, you see the opportunity for us to grow and learn from this game, and how we approached it, mentally, probably going into it, and how we can develop more as a team,” Smith said.
The biggest sentiment from Smith over the past couple of weeks has been about Ohio not beating Ohio and obviously some mistakes made on Sunday did not prove costly but should be pointed out heading into MAC play next week. Things such as tackling, defense on third down, continuing to protect the ball on offense and production of big plays down field.
“We're a much better tackling team than what we showed on Saturday,” Smith said. “(We have) an emphasis on turnovers, which I think we were very good. We're doing a good job taking care of the football. We were able to get one early and need to keep fighting to get the ball out better on defense. Explosives, offensively, I think there were 23 plays of 12 or more yards and on defense, there were just really big plays in critical situations.”
Chase Hendricks’ breakout season
Ohio has had the luxury of having two standout slot wide receivers over the past two years. Last year, Coleman Owen ran the show alongside graduate student quarterback Parker Navarro in this high-powered offense. This year, Ohio may have found another gear in junior Chase Hendricks. Hendricks, in four games, has 28 receptions for 456 yards to lead the nation, along with three touchdown catches.
Hendricks, from St. Louis, Missouri, has been a constant within the offense in Athens every year he has been here, but this year he has come into his own and absolutely exploded in these first four games. Hendricks is currently playing with confidence and these early season numbers open the door for Hendricks to do amazing things on a national level this year.
“You can see the contested catches that he's making are extremely impressive," Smith said. “He's playing at a very high level right now. What's great is Parker has developed a good relationship with him, and has developed really good trust in him, where they're very confident in each other and comfortable playing together, which is great with him moving into a new role on the offense.”
Looking ahead to Bowling Green
The Bobcats open MAC play this Saturday, welcoming Bowling Green into Peden Stadium for what will be new head coach Eddie George’s first MAC game.
The Falcons have a very balanced offense, with veteran quarterback Drew Pyne at the helm. Pyne has been all over the country playing college football at Notre Dame, Arizona State, Missouri and now Bowling Green for his final season of college football.
“You're evaluating what he's doing at the program he's at,” Smith said. “You can kind of expand into previous schools to see how teams have used him… but as you start getting a little bit deeper into the season, you have a good amount of film of him from Bowling Green, and you're looking at the concepts that they run and how they use him.”
The running game is another threat, as the Falcons have three backs with over 30 carries to start the season in Kaderris Roberts, Chris McMillian and Cameron Pettaway. Ohio needs to tackle better to keep them in check.
“For us, it's getting a lot of hats to the football and doing a better job of tackling as a team,” Smith said. “I think we've done a really good job of that, you know, throughout the season, you know, really up to this last game.”
Wide receiver depth
Ohio currently boasts the nation’s leader in receiving yards, with Hendricks holding the crown not just in the MAC, but in the entire country as he is enjoying a breakout year.
Behind him is a plethora of receivers who are very talented but haven’t gotten as much opportunity to show it this year. After receiver Max Rodarte got hurt against Gardner-Webb, there were a few guys that came in and made plays including redshirt freshman Dom Dorwart.
“Right now, Dom would be the next outside receiver,” Smith said. “I thought he did a great job in the game. I was super proud of him, (I’m) just excited for the opportunity for him. I think he's earned it. We've been trying to push to get him into the game more. So, I'm excited about what he's going to bring. I think he adds a little bit in the vertical threat to us.”
Behind Dorwart are some proven guys like senior Caleb Gossett and redshirt junior Rodney Harris II, who combined for 39 receptions and 446 yards last year. Smith also mentioned players like Eamonn Dennis and Delaney Crawford could get some more looks as well.
“We'll keep working on who those next group of guys are that are gonna have opportunities to roll in, whether it's Eamonn Dennis or Delaney Crawford,” Smith said. “(Caleb Gossett) is obviously coming in when we get into 10 personnel, and he's rolling in at the F and we may try to sneak him outside a little bit and see how he does out there.”
