Mike Vrabel had some really great things to say about his friend Arthur Smith as he ascends upon Columbus to be the Buckeyes' offensive coordinator.
Two of Mike Vrabel's worlds collided when it was announced that his former offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, accepted the same position for Vrabel's Ohio State Buckeyes.
Vrabel is a Buckeye through and through. He is one of the greatest players to ever play in Columbus, as he still has the all-time lead in both sacks with 36 and tackles for loss with 66.
Ohio State is also the place where Vrabel got his first opportunity as a coach. After retiring from the NFL in 2010, he wasted no time at all and went immediately into the coaching ranks. He was the linebackers' assistant under Urban Meyer.
Vrabel told reporters this week that Ohio State means a lot ot he and his family, and he is excited that his friend Arthur Smith is taking over the offense there.
When asked what advice Vrabel would give Smith, Vrabes quipped that he "didn't know anything" and that he is "certainly not going to give him any advice."
Vrabel is as good as it comes when he speaks in front of a microphone and always has something good to say. He also joked in this media scrum that he was going to be one of the Buckeyes fans in the fall who complain to Ohio State when they don't score 50 points.
For Smith, it is a large challenge for him to go from the NFL to college, very similar to what Matt Patricia went through last year.
I'm certainly not going to fall victim to two years in a row to doubting the transition from a veteran coach transitioning to the college ranks. However, I do think that it is going to be a much stiffer challenge for Smith than it was for Patricia.
Patricia took over a defense that had three players on it who are going to be top-10 picks in the NFL Draft and four guys overall who are going to be first-rounders. Couple that with the fact that he could run NFL-style schemes and totally dismantle opposing offenses.
Smith will have the best player in college football at his disposal in wideout Jeremiah Smith and one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation behind center. He will have to be creative to find other guys on the offense to get the football to and establish a consistent run game.
Even then, it will still be a very tall mountain to climb, but if he can come in, win over the locker room, and use his expertise to make a difference, then the Buckeyes are going to be in good shape.
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