"They were looking for a guy that coaches quarterbacks, and maybe had the Ohio roots, recruiting Texas, possibly, knowing the Big Ten conference. So I think it was a pretty good marriage," Ohio State's new quarterbacks coach Tim Beck said Wednesday. Watch video
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tim Beck and Urban Meyer first crossed paths 10 years ago. Beck was a high school coach at Mansfield Summit in Arlington, Texas, and Meyer was piecing together his first recruiting class at Florida.
By what's now come to be expected from Meyer's recruiting classes, his first at Florida didn't necessarily make a splash. A couple of four-stars, no five-stars, and a slew of three-stars. A late piece to that class was Summit running back Kestahn Moore, who ended up having a small part in the two national championships Meyer won with the Gators.
What's more important for Beck, though, is that Moore's recruitment served as an introduction to the man who would end up hiring him down the road.
Beck was officially named Ohio State's co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Jan. 14, two days after the Buckeyes beat Oregon in the first College Football Playoff National Championship. Beck was previously the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Nebraska. He'll replace Tom Herman, who took the head coaching job at Houston.
"I think when Tom had his opportunities to go they were looking for a guy that coaches quarterbacks, and maybe had the Ohio roots, recruiting Texas, possibly, knowing the Big Ten conference," Beck said Wednesday. "So I think it was a pretty good marriage."
This marriage doesn't come without its complications.
First, Beck had to jump into the recruiting fray and sell himself to 2015 quarterback commits Torrance Gibson and Joe Burrow.
That meant explaining to Burrow, whose father and brothers played at Nebraska, why he didn't get an offer from the Cornhuskers while Beck was there.
"More discussing than smoothing over," Beck said.
And Beck, a Youngstown native, takes over a quarterback room under a national microscope with Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller all set to return in 2015. Beck was adamant on Wednesday that Miller would in fact be returning.
Add in Gibson and Burrow, and don't forget the Buckeyes also have Stephen Collier entering his redshirt freshman season. Six scholarship quarterbacks? That's a whole lot of mess to sort through.
"It's kind of a good problem to probably have right now, isn't it?" Beck said.
But more on that later. Why is Beck the right fit to replace Herman?
Beck fills a major recruiting void left by Herman, who was Ohio State's man in Texas during his three years on Meyer's staff. Herman helped bring in players like Barrett, H-back Dontre Wilson and offensive lineman Demetrius Knox. When searching for his replacement, Meyer wanted someone with Texas recruiting ties.
It seems Meyer can at least check that part off his list.
"There won't be any drop-off as far as recruiting goes," Todd Peterman, an assistant coach at DeSoto High School in Texas, told Northeast Ohio Media Group last month. "Coach Beck is well respected by Texas high school coaches. Some guys come in and they're uncomfortable, Coach Beck isn't one of those guys."
The tough part for Beck becomes picking up where Herman left off as it pertains to the continuing development of Ohio State's treasure trove at quarterback.
"We're in a unique position," Beck said. "No. 1, I'm replacing a great guy. He did an outstanding job here and I'm coming in here and have to bond with three super young men -- really, more than that. There's seven guys, counting all the walk-ons. But I've got to bond with all those guys in that room. Before I could really coach them and reach them, I've got to get to know them. That's kind of where I'm at at this point."
He had great success as Kansas' passing game coordinator in 2007 under current Ohio State offensive coordinator Ed Warinner, who was the Jayhawks' OC and quarterbacks coach at the time. That team finished 12-1 and shattered Kansas offensive records.
Maybe the thinking is that Beck and Warinner can mimic some of that success at Ohio State.
To get a better feel for how Beck brings guys along, though, you might want to look to Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong. Beck recruited and developed Armstrong, who took over as the Cornhuskers starter in the middle of the 2013 season.
Here's what he did in two seasons under Beck:
* 2013: 68-131, 966 yards, 9 TDs, 8 INTs, 8-1 as a starter.
* 2014: 184-345, 2,695 yards, 22 TD, 12 INT, 9-4 as a starter.
No, not exactly the numbers the Buckeyes saw from Barrett and Jones this season. Maybe that's the the biggest hill for Beck to climb, trying to find a way to meet the expectations set by Herman.
Having three quarterbacks who are already in the Heisman Trophy conversation for 2015 will help, the task is keeping it going. Beck knows this, just don't expect him to change the way he's always approached things.
"You know, I believe in our guys," Beck said. "They've got to be accountable. We've got to build trust. They've got to be tough. I think toughness, that's the one thing. Somebody asked me what was it like watching the championship game or the game against Alabama, what did you notice? I noticed how tough Ohio State was. Just physically, mentally tough.
"And growing up in that environment, that's really important. It's kind of my roots."