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Football
Two-Minute Drill: Withers, Smith Talk Defense, Offense
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Along with Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer, we also got a chance to hear from co-defensive coordinator Everett Withers and wide receivers coach Zach Smith on Monday.

Here’s a two-minute rundown of what they had to say about the OSU defense and offense heading into the Big Ten opener against Michigan State.

WITHERS ON DEFENSE

* Withers agreed with Meyer that the defense was better tackling against UAB, especially on the back end.

* Withers said this MSU offense fits more of who they are on defense. Traditional Big Ten offense and the defense is too. He thinks this week will really give them an idea of who they are on defense.

* Withers said Christian Bryant was in here at noon wanting the game plan. "That's what I love."

* Withers said they didn't say much to Bryant about the taunting penalty, because they didn't see anything on tape. He asked Bryant if he said anything, and Bryant said he couldn't remember.

* Withers said the ref who threw the flag was a little far away to hear what was being said.

* Withers said Le'Veon Bell is a very patient back and knows when to cut it back. Find soft spots in the D.

* Withers wouldn't give away the game plan for the corners this week. "If I told you that, they might know up in East Lansing."

* Withers said they need to play more man-press on the outside with their corners, but you can't do it every play. Said the zone-read can make it a little more difficult for defenses to play press-man coverage on the outside.

* Withers asked about UAB's chop blocks: "Maybe they allow that in Conference USA."

* Withers thinks UAB kind of stumbled into some of their screens and 4 wide stuff. Not what they had done previously.

* Withers said he would list Storm Klein and Curtis Grant as 1 and 1a at MLB right now. Said Storm has done a nice job coming back and "Curtis obviously needs to get better."

SMITH ON OFFENSE

* Zach Smith said he feels good about Devin Smith's progress and also that of Evan Spencer.

* Smith said it's “awesome” to coach Devin Smith because he's so hard on himself when he doesn't make a play.

* Smith said Michael Thomas has to continue to develop. They feel good about where he is and he's going to get more time each week.

* Smith said when the WRs don't block well, the offense doesn't go. Said Stoneburner was as valuable as anyone out there because of his blocking.

* Smith said Stoneburner was a viable option on a number of plays against UAB, but defense was trying to take him away.

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