Jim Tressel

The punt is the most important play in football

No, I've said it's [the punt] the most important play. All right, the most important play.

Penn State is the toughest Big Ten stadium for opponents but it looks like an erector set with no character

Probably Penn State when they're playing well is a difficult one because it's like an erector set, and it's huge... it doesn't, in my opinion, have that much character. It just looks like it got added onto and added onto another erector set.

Grit is more important than athletic ability for a quarterback

That's why I think grit's more important than ability is because Craig Krenzel was not the most talented quarterback in the nation... but he did the one thing that you're supposed to do if you're the quarterback, and that's win every game.

Fullback dives are not gritty; they are essentially a pillow fight

No [fullback dives are not gritty]. Fullback dive is kind of like a pillow fight. You just run up in there. I mean, it's either you get a lot or you get nothing because you don't get any movement. You don't even have enough running start to have a collision in a fullback dive.

The punt is the most important play in football

I've said it's the most important play... the impact that the punt play makes in the game is incredible. If you get one blocked, it's devastating. If you block one, it's exhilarating. It's kind of like a relationship.

The 2003 Fiesta Bowl was won by a bad call in regulation, not the controversial pass interference in overtime

Go back to the film and look at the end of regulation when they said Chris Gamble didn't stay in bounds or whatever. The game should have ended in regulation. So the real bad call was that one... I think if you look at it [the PI call], the guy was mugged.

Football is safer than riding a bike or cheerleading in terms of concussions

I would definitely let my son play football. I wouldn't let him ride a bike or you know the other things that cause more concussions than football does. I think where is football ranked? Eighth among sports and in per capita concussions? I just read that Georgia Bulldogs cheerleaders get more concussions.

Year-round training and specialization are 'fouling up' youth sports by preventing kids from developing grit through diverse experiences

I think we've kind of fouled up the whole thing by having all year round soccer, all year round football, all year round basketball... student athletes aren't doing internships because they're so busy training... all of the things that help develop grit, we're just doing them in one direction and in training.