QuarterCenturyLegend
Stoopid Life
The Indiana game he didn't play the 4th and had still had like 15 tackles
Here's the full article.
"I like that," McMillan said Monday, pondering the answer. "How many
tackles should I make? Any tackle in the area
or near a guy, I think I should make that
tackle. I think I shouldn't miss any tackles. I
think that's a better answer. I don't think I
should miss any."
Basically, Ohio State's sophomore linebacker thinks all of them.
Through six games, McMillan with 62 tackles (vs. four or five missed tackles, he said) leads the Buckeyes and the Big Ten and ranks fifth in the nation. If he plays 14 games (regular season, Big Ten Championship and at least one postseason game), he's on pace for the most tackles in an OSU season since Chris Spielman made 156 in 1987.
The only thing that has stopped McMillan so far is a cannon. Two weeks ago, McMillan made 14 stops at Indiana despite playing just a little over two quarters against the Hoosiers because of a migraine headache. The cause? Indiana's celebrations.
"Indiana has this cannon that goes off, and that triggered it," McMillan said, noting the migraines are rare and typically caused by sunlight, though this one was noise induced. As No. 1 Ohio State (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) prepares for Penn State (5-1, 2-0) on Saturday night, the Nittany Lions could see the return of leading rusher Saquon Barkley, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury. McMillan should prepare for another game of catch the running back.
Quarterback runs have hurt Ohio State the last two weeks, but the traditional run game hasn't been an issue.
"We've gone a great job stopping the tailbacks in the running game," co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash said.
Why? Teams are smartly scared to run wide on a defense with pursuit speed and open-field tackling ability, led by linebacker Darron Lee and safety Vonn Bell, that makes the outside dangerous territory.
"We can run down anything," Bell said, name-checking Lee, defensive end Joey Bosa and cornerback Gareon Conley. "I don't think any team can get outside on us."
So teams are better off trying inside. That worked at times for Western Michigan, despite a season-high 16 tackles for McMillan. But the last two weeks Indiana and Maryland tailbacks combined for 56 carries that gained an average of 2.5 yards.
No team gets to just throw out the QB run numbers and shrug their shoulders. The Buckeyes know they have to get that fixed, starting with smarter angles and surer tackles in the secondary to prevent long runs.
Inside, though, they're happy to let the sophomore go to work.
"He's played well. He's made a lot of tackles and there have been some different situations where people challenged the Mike," co-defensive linebacker and middle linebackers coach Luke Fickell said of the middle linebacker spot.
Fickell has seen it in opposing gameplans that looked like throwbacks with some inside power runs, more than anything Ohio State has seen in a few years.
"Those are some things I think will continue to come up through the entire year," Fickell said.
So when it comes to McMillan, keep counting.
Weakside linebacker Joshua Perry produced a huge and underrated season a year ago when he the Buckeyes in tackles with 125. Perry is second to McMillan with 52 tackles this season, with more chances just aimed at the Mike, straight up the gut. As offenses seek to spread out and force the other linebacker, Darron Lee, into outside coverage before running up the middle, Lee's tackles stand at 26.
"They're attacking the Mike, because Joshua is not getting as many tackles as he usually does, because a lot of it's falling on us," backup middle linebacker Cam Williams said. "But (McMillan) is an instinctual linebacker. He finds the ball. If there's one thing you can always say about Raekwon, it's he's around the ball."
If he's around the guy with the ball, McMillan, who has missed four of five tackles this season, thinks he should tackle him.
"I don't think I should miss a tackle," he said. "I think when I miss a tackle I did something wrong."
tackles should I make? Any tackle in the area
or near a guy, I think I should make that
tackle. I think I shouldn't miss any tackles. I
think that's a better answer. I don't think I
should miss any."
Basically, Ohio State's sophomore linebacker thinks all of them.
Through six games, McMillan with 62 tackles (vs. four or five missed tackles, he said) leads the Buckeyes and the Big Ten and ranks fifth in the nation. If he plays 14 games (regular season, Big Ten Championship and at least one postseason game), he's on pace for the most tackles in an OSU season since Chris Spielman made 156 in 1987.
The only thing that has stopped McMillan so far is a cannon. Two weeks ago, McMillan made 14 stops at Indiana despite playing just a little over two quarters against the Hoosiers because of a migraine headache. The cause? Indiana's celebrations.
"Indiana has this cannon that goes off, and that triggered it," McMillan said, noting the migraines are rare and typically caused by sunlight, though this one was noise induced. As No. 1 Ohio State (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) prepares for Penn State (5-1, 2-0) on Saturday night, the Nittany Lions could see the return of leading rusher Saquon Barkley, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury. McMillan should prepare for another game of catch the running back.
Quarterback runs have hurt Ohio State the last two weeks, but the traditional run game hasn't been an issue.
"We've gone a great job stopping the tailbacks in the running game," co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash said.
Why? Teams are smartly scared to run wide on a defense with pursuit speed and open-field tackling ability, led by linebacker Darron Lee and safety Vonn Bell, that makes the outside dangerous territory.
"We can run down anything," Bell said, name-checking Lee, defensive end Joey Bosa and cornerback Gareon Conley. "I don't think any team can get outside on us."
So teams are better off trying inside. That worked at times for Western Michigan, despite a season-high 16 tackles for McMillan. But the last two weeks Indiana and Maryland tailbacks combined for 56 carries that gained an average of 2.5 yards.
No team gets to just throw out the QB run numbers and shrug their shoulders. The Buckeyes know they have to get that fixed, starting with smarter angles and surer tackles in the secondary to prevent long runs.
Inside, though, they're happy to let the sophomore go to work.
"He's played well. He's made a lot of tackles and there have been some different situations where people challenged the Mike," co-defensive linebacker and middle linebackers coach Luke Fickell said of the middle linebacker spot.
Fickell has seen it in opposing gameplans that looked like throwbacks with some inside power runs, more than anything Ohio State has seen in a few years.
"Those are some things I think will continue to come up through the entire year," Fickell said.
So when it comes to McMillan, keep counting.
Weakside linebacker Joshua Perry produced a huge and underrated season a year ago when he the Buckeyes in tackles with 125. Perry is second to McMillan with 52 tackles this season, with more chances just aimed at the Mike, straight up the gut. As offenses seek to spread out and force the other linebacker, Darron Lee, into outside coverage before running up the middle, Lee's tackles stand at 26.
"They're attacking the Mike, because Joshua is not getting as many tackles as he usually does, because a lot of it's falling on us," backup middle linebacker Cam Williams said. "But (McMillan) is an instinctual linebacker. He finds the ball. If there's one thing you can always say about Raekwon, it's he's around the ball."
If he's around the guy with the ball, McMillan, who has missed four of five tackles this season, thinks he should tackle him.
"I don't think I should miss a tackle," he said. "I think when I miss a tackle I did something wrong."
