Pete Werner reflects on time at Ohio State, playing for Ryan Day, Urban Meyer
Former Ohio State linebacker Pete Werner made a splash in his first season with the New Orleans Saints.
The second-round pick out of Columbus played in 15 games with eight starts in his first NFL season, accumulating 59 tackles at linebacker.
Werner joined Outsider’s The Marty Smith Podcast this week to talk about adapting to the NFL and his experiences with Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and former head coach Urban Meyer.
In his first professional season, skill and knowledge at the quarterback position jumped out to Werner, who noted the stark difference between college and NFL signal-callers.
“The quarterbacks are so smart,” Pete Werner said. “And if you are in a coverage and they figure out what you’re doing, they’re going to throw the hardest possible route tree in the book for that certain [defensive] coverage. So, you’ve got to do such a good job of disguising your looks. The knowledge of the game is just ramped up 100%. And that’s what makes it so hard.
“These quarterbacks will put you in very tough situations as a defense,” he continued. “Because there’s only so much you can do as a defense. Once they kind of get you figured out, the hardest part is trying to match what the offense is showing you and playing from there. So, it’s a big IQ game, which I think is the hardest part.”
Werner reflects on his time at Ohio State
Before jumping to the NFL, Werner started three years at linebacker for Ohio State. The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in his final season in Columbus en route to a national championship game appearance by the Buckeyes.
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Werner’s career spanned two Ohio State head coaches, beginning under Urban Meyer and finishing with Ryan Day. Werner spoke about the differences between the two on The Marty Smith Podcast.
“So, both great coaches,” Werner said. “Don’t have anything against them, I respect both of them. They both helped me tremendously for my career, but for different reasons.
“Urban Meyer was, and obviously from the outside perspective you can get this as well, but very intense. More of a special teams guy. Great leader, motivator type of coach,” Pete Werner said of his former coach. “And he would get on you. He would get in your face. He would really teach you how to play hard. I credit him for when I first got to Ohio State to kind of developing, instilling that toughness in my mind. And getting that mental toughness ready and early.
“Then Ryan Day comes along and he’s more the players’ coach,” Werner said. “Very smart IQ, and not saying Urban didn’t obviously. But [Day] was an offensive guy. He was calling a lot of plays [under Meyer], everything was in his favor. But everybody knew him. You could talk to him, you could sit down for lunch with him. He’s a great guy, just more of a players’ coach and just a different style, which I think college football is starting to see a little bit rather than the kind of old school look. Both great techniques, great styles. I learned and gained from both of their different styles. So, I was thankful to have both of them.”
Werner also spoke about Jameis Winston and the Saints during his appearance on the show. New Orleans opens the regular season September 11 against Atlanta and Werner is expected to play a major role in the Saints defense.
