Ohio State players say Urban Meyer's first practice was intense

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- At daybreak, a new era dawned for Ohio State football.

Urban Meyer's first official regular-season practice began at 6 a.m. Friday.

The former Florida, Utah and Bowling Green coach declined to speak until he had seen his players work out for at least a couple of days, but the reviews were favorable from his Buckeyes.

"I'm not really an early-morning person but it wasn't too bad," offensive lineman Garrett Goebel said with a grin. "The tempo was really good. It was fast paced, high energy. You could tell guys were excited to be back out on the field."

Unlike a lot of camp-opening practices, this one -- which avoided the high heat and humidity prevalent later in the day -- seemed more effective and more organized, third-year cornerback Bradley Roby said.

"You can tell just by the practice: It's totally different than coach Tressel's (practices)," he said. "Just the whole intensity of practice is more urgent, there's more intensity, it's more competitive. (The coaches) stress the competitiveness so it brings out more."

The tipping-point player for the Buckeyes is without question quarterback Braxton Miller. He showed flashes of breathtaking talent a year ago, leading the team in rushing with 715 yards and seven touchdowns, while also throwing for 1,159 yards and 13 scores.

But in a season in which Ohio State lost its final four games and, at 6-7, lost seven games for the first time since 1897, Miller also had as many moments where he looked like the bewildered freshman he was.

Another year of seasoning, of working hard on fundamentals, and of gaining confidence in his own abilities has made a lot of difference.

"It's like I know what I'm doing," he said after the practice.

He was reminded that Meyer prefers a high-octane passing attack, disdaining the conservative attack favored by Tressel for 10 years before he was forced to resign in May of 2010 in the midst of an NCAA investigation. That probe also led to NCAA probation, vacating the 2010 season, recruiting limitations, a return of bowl proceeds and a bowl ban after the upcoming 2012 season.

Miller said an offseason of seasoning has given him the tools to help people forget about a lot of the bad things that have clung to the program over the past 18 months.

"Going out in practice every day, man, everything is going to get better each and every day," he said.

The first practice was a clear improvement over the Buckeyes' first spring workout under Meyer. Meyer had called his offense "a clown show" after a series of missteps, bad throws, fumbles and blown assignments.

"When we came out here in the spring we had no clue," junior running back Carlos Hyde said. "Today, we were pretty sharp."

Ohio State has summer-term final exams next week, so the team will have single practices Monday through Thursday.

The first two-a-day practice is Aug. 10. Then classes begin Aug. 22 -- Ohio State's first year after the change from the quarter to semester system -- with the first game (the first of four straight games at Ohio Stadium to open the season) on Sept. 1 against Miami (Ohio).

Friday's very first practice only included upperclassmen. Freshmen went through their paces later in the day.

Roby said he was pleased to finally get the NCAA sanctions, coaching change and all the other idle talk out of the way.

"There was a lot of stuff going on last year," he said. "I feel like it really affected everybody."

No wonder everyone was embracing a fresh start.

With a new season come the same old expectations, however.

"The goal is set, for every year. Nothing less, man, you've got to win every game," Miller said. "You've got to go out there and show we're Ohio State. So you know we can't lose. We have to go out there and set the tone."