Urban Meyer: Chip Kelly's offense 'completely different' than what he ran at Oregon

All eyes are on Ohio State‘s offense this season as the Buckeyes look to revamp things with new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and transfer quarterback Will Howard.

And at least one guy who knows Ohio State pretty well can’t wait to see the debut.

Joining The Herd With Colin Cowherd on Thursday afternoon, former Ohio State coach and current FOX Sports analyst Urban Meyer provided his take on his old program’s new offense.

“This Chip Kelly offense is completely different than the so-called radical offense that he ran when he was the head coach at Oregon,” Meyer said. “It’s completely different. And I do believe it’s going to help Ohio State. They’ve got the quarterback that fits this scheme.”

Will Howard was named the starting quarterback on Thursday afternoon by Ryan Day after impressing early in fall camp. His knowledge of the offense and ability to implement it will be key.

But it’s not just a quarterback-reliant system. Kelly has really adapted his approach over the years.

“I’ll tell you, Colin, this is something for you to really watch closely,” Meyer explained. “I know we will at Big Noon Kickoff. Chip Kelly, I’ve known Chip forever. We’re very close, we’ve spent a lot of time together going over the spread offense. And his philosophy back in the day at Oregon as a head coach and a coordinator was go as fast as you can.

“That evolved when he went to the NFL and it’s really evolved when he went to UCLA.”

So what exactly has the evolution been? Well, for one, you might have noticed that Chip Kelly’s offenses don’t exactly operate at breakneck speed on every play anymore.

That was a staple of his Oregon days, and the Ducks were darned good at it.

“He is now the perfect play guy,” Meyer said. “He is the guy that is going to huddle, take your time and get the perfect play on. That is drastically different than what he was as a head coach at Oregon. I’m anxious to see it.”

Based on what he has already seen from his own film review of Chip Kelly’s offenses the past couple years, Meyer believes it will be pretty successful at Ohio State. Or, at the very least, it’s got all the right elements.

“I’ve studied, I’ve watched some UCLA film,” Meyer said. “They are very physical, they do believe in running the ball, they believe in getting the quarterback involved. And Will Howard is, I met him when I was in Columbus, what a great-looking guy he is. I understand he’s really fast and athletic, and on video tape he looks that way.”

Ohio State will open its 2024 season and debut the Chip Kelly offense with a home game against Akron at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.