“They make my job easy. All credit to them,” he said. “They just tell me, ‘Just put her around me, and I’ll get it down.’ And that’s what we just did. They’ve been solid all year. I couldn’t ask for anybody better.”
The beauty of a Victory Monday
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November 12, 2018The postgame interview on FOX. The postgame press conference in the media room. All of it was so unfamiliar to Drue Chrisman. He even admitted it after the game.
“I didn’t even know this room existed,” the sophomore said when he first got to the mic in the media room following the Ohio State Buckeyes win over Michigan State.
Punters aren’t usually the ones doing postgame interviews, whether it be on the field or in the media room. Chrisman doing both showed just how impressive of a game he had.
“I didn’t really even know that was a thing. I’ve seen guys do it after the games, but never a punter,” he said while talking to members of the media following the win. “I’ve seen a kicker a couple times hit a couple clutch field goals, but did not know it could possibly be a punter.”
What’s not familiar to him is what saved the Ohio State Buckeyes in East Lansing Saturday afternoon. Whether it’s flipping bottles or flipping field position, the punter is outstanding at doing both. He always does his job, but much like most of college football and even in the NFL, the punter is rarely ever noticed. He’s supposed to do his job while being underappreciated. The punter is no one’s favorite player. That wasn’t the case in East Lansing this past weekend.
On Saturday, his work was very much appreciated by all Buckeyes. He was essentially every member of Buckeye Nation’s favorite player as well. What started as a nightmare for Chrisman with his first punt being a shanked, four-yard ball out of bounds that allowed the Spartans to start their drive on Ohio State’s 35-yard line, turned into his most impressive game as a Buckeye.
“I didn’t realize how strong the wind was. Just pushed it out of my hand, right off the drop, came off the side of the foot about 10 rows deep into the bleachers,” he said. “I think after you have a punt like that, I don’t know where it ranks in Ohio State’s worst punts in history, but it’s definitely my worst punt, and I was just like man, I just got to ball out after this one.”
He more than made up for that first mishap.
His last eight punts after that first, four-yard punt were all fantastic. His remaining three punts in the first half averaged 46.5 yards, all of which were not returned.1 Then, he had about as perfect of a second half as a punter can have. His five punts in the remaining two quarters were all downed inside Michigan State’s six-yard line.2 The last two led to nine points: One was a safety where Michigan State’s long snapper purposely snap the ball over the punter’s head and the last one led to a strip sack recovered by Dre’Mont Jones for a touchdown.
“We just kept playing the field-position game,” head coach Urban Meyer said. “Six times we kept them inside the 20 … Five inside the 6-yard line. And in those kinds of conditions, that was to me the difference.”
Meyer even admitted that Chrisman’s performance might have been the most a punter has ever changed a game in his 17-year coaching career so far.
“I think so. Especially against this kind of environment,” he said.
Flipping field position is always a plus. When you have a struggling offense mixed with cold weather, it’s even more important. The Buckeyes’ offense may not have been able to get things going for much of the game, but it was Chrisman who allowed the scarlet and gray to hold the lead. Pair that with Ohio State’s defense playing very well and the Spartans had no answer offensively.
Chrisman’s performance was key, but the gunners on Ohio State’s punt team shouldn’t go unnoticed either. The punter did his job by pinning the Spartans inside the 10-yard line, but it was players such as wide receiver Terry McLaurin who were able to get down the field and down the ball before it went into the end zone. Wide receiver Johnnie Dixon and long snapper Liam McCullough were the other two players who were able to a punt inside the six-yard line on Saturday.
Defensive end Dre’Mont Jones, who recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the second half, made sure to recognize both Chrisman and McLaurin’s performance on special teams.
“Our efforts are because of Drue Chrisman and Terry McLaurin and their ability to stop the ball before it got to the end zone,” Jones stated following the game. “That really gave us a lot of juice and a lot of enthusiasm to go out there to get a safety or make a play.”
Chrisman also did so, recognizing that while he may have had a great game, it was his teammates on special teams that made it look even better.
Meyer also made it known that McLaurin is the best gunner he’s ever had on special teams.
“It’s with great reverence I say that, because you go back all the way to Brad Roby to Devin Smith to Denzel Ward, Gareon Conley (other gunners that Meyer has had at Ohio State) … Terry’s as good as there is,” Meyer said of his receiver and gunner. “Terry’s taken over the title as the best as I’ve ever had.”
Playing almost every snap on offense along with making so many plays on the punt team, McLaurin was worn out. But the fifth-year senior never made an excuse and continued to impress. It truly showed the type of leader he is.
“When you’ve got a fifth-year guy and a senior, you want him to be able to do everything,” he said. “So I pride myself on being a leader and making plays when we need it, no matter how tired I am.”
The Meyer-led Buckeyes aren’t used to having to lean on their punter so much. The high-powered, high-scoring offense Ohio State is used to having rarely ever had to use their punter as much as they did Saturday afternoon in East Lansing. Yet, when they needed him to step up, Chrisman did just that. It was reassuring, to say the least. The Buckeyes don’t want to have to count on their punter going forward as much as they did against Michigan State, but they are confident in the sophomore if they do in fact have to.
While underappreciated, special teams is an important part of football. Chrisman reminded us of that Saturday in East Lansing. Jim Tressel would be proud, and so should all of Buckeye Nation.