'I think they really showed up': Chip Kelly saw first scrimmage of camp as turning point for Buckeyes offense

Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly called it like he saw it at the start of training camp.

“Offensively, honestly, in the first eight practices got our tails kicked,” Kelly said Thursday. “That is a pretty good defense.”

Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, by the way, disagrees.

“That’s kind, but it’s a battle every day,” Knowles said minutes later when it was his turn at the podium in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. “I mean, you got offense, great receivers, good running game. It’s just a battle every day.

“It’s back and forth. Iron sharpens iron, and everybody’s challenging each other and trying to get better.”

Maybe the truth lies somewhere in the middle, maybe not. Regardless, Kelly thought Saturday’s scrimmage was a turning point for his unit, which he said completed over 70% of its passes, didn’t turn the ball over and achieved a “really good mix” of run and pass.

“I think they really showed up,” Kelly said. “And when the lights were on and we had a scrimmage situation, they all made really good plays.”

High-level quarterback play, and not just from newly-named starter Will Howard, piloted the ship.

“That was a day that I think all of them stepped up,” Kelly said. “So we’re hopeful that we can do the exact same thing this Saturday and then continue to build upon it.”

When asked if the Buckeyes were “vanilla,” in regard to their scheme in the scrimmage, Kelly began with a simple response.

“They are not vanilla,” he said, referencing a vaunted Ohio State defense in its third year under Knowles. “So I think whatever we had installed and they had installed, we did.”

That said, Kelly noted there wasn’t any game planning for the scrimmage. For his unit, it really came down to Ohio State’s quarterbacks finding success with an eye toward making the right completions and, more specifically, being smart with the football.

“I thought they played situational football really well,” Kelly said. “What are we trying to do on first down? From backed up territory, trying to get two first downs, are we taking shots down the field in that situation? No, we’re not. We’re trying to get two first downs and get it moving.

“Now that we’ve gotten a couple first downs, now we can start to take some shots, but to watch them play the game within the game — because in the other practice periods, a lot of those times they’re scripted. So the play’s called, and then sometimes it’s like, ‘Well, what are we going to do here?’ And I was like, ‘I would never call that play against that defense. I didn’t know they’re going to be in that defense.’

“But when you get into the feel of the game, the flow of the game and how they’re calling it, then you can kind of adjust and put your players in situations to make plays.”

While Kelly gave credit to all of his quarterbacks, there’s no denying the separation Howard’s created from the group, particularly in the last week to 10 days.

Day talked about it Thursday. Knowles was later asked about the veteran dual threat.

“Well, he’s making all the throws,” Knowles said. “I mean, he stands in the pocket. He’s got great vision, arm strength. We got great receivers. He’s putting the ball in places where only the receiver can catch it. So, to me, it’s not just the arm strength, but he’s making the pinpoint passes, too.”

One of those receivers is Emeka Egbuka, a senior who Day said caught three great touchdowns in Saturday’s scrimmage. Egbuka was the day’s “offensive player of the game,” while second-year linebacker Arvell Reese earned “defensive player of the game.”

“We did do a kind of a mock champions meeting, just to make sure that everybody understands what that means, and that that’s the ultimate goal for each of our guys to grade out a ‘champion,'” Day said. “It’s the goal of each position coach for their unit to grade out a champion. And if that doesn’t happen, they got to figure out why that is.

“You got to look yourself in the mirror, you got to get to your position coach and figure out why you didn’t grade out over 80% in that game.”

Day said the Buckeyes will do that again this Saturday for their final scrimmage, a tune-up for their season opener against Akron on Aug. 31.

Week 1 is fast approaching. The Buckeyes have a starting quarterback and, according to Kelly, the offense is starting to click.