Kevin Wilson Thinks His Offense Could Have Incredibly Special Season

There's been a common theme in each of the last several media opportunities with the Ohio State Buckeyes: things are going fine - in fact, they're going about as well as they can in practice. But everyone is itching to put pads on and start hitting each other the way football is meant to be played.

Count Ohio State Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson among those that are anxious to get going, but with a thorough and cautious plan.

"We are still developing what we want to do next week when we put pads back on," Wilson told reporters on a Zoom call on Friday. "Coach Day has done a great job right now in that we are practicing really well without pads … staying on our feet, staying low, doing a great job and avoiding cheap injuries right now … when pads go on, you have to play at pad level and play with velocity … we’ve been without pads forever, we have to be very, very smart to build that pad volume up because concussions can happen early in the year if you’re not smart … second week of work might be even more important than first once we get going again."

That said, Wilson is pleased with their growth considering the circumstances. He repeatedly praised this group's top-end talent, noting that they have to keep enhancing depth for an odd season.

“The way the summer was allowed to go, we probably ran more plays and got some younger guys more reps than in a normal preseason,” Wilson explained. “But we have still missed the young guys getting in some of those really tough days and long workouts. A lot of the redshirted guys typically pop through and make a big jump during those times, so there is still work to be done.”

While Wilson specifically works with the tight ends, he's had an up-close-and-personal look at how Justin Fields is leading an offense that's trying to achieve extremely high goals. Wilson says he loves how the group is coming together.

“A lot of guys have 'opted in', but now we need to make sure that guys keep 'buying in',” Wilson said. “Playing together as a group can always get more than you can individually. In this time of social media, it’s easy to want touches and show what you can do because people are pulling and promoting you. But if we stay together, and remain a brotherhood, we have a chance to be a very special football team.”

As a reference point, he noted how Garrett Wilson made a memorable catch in practice recently, but not many will see the offensive line, tight ends or running backs handling their assignments that allowed it to happen.

It's that kind of cohesion that should allow Ohio State to have an explosive offense ... and frankly, with only nine games on the schedule, they need to be firing right out of the gates to prove the belong in the College Football Playoff.

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