Presser Bullets: Ryan Day, Mark Pantoni Discuss Ohio State's 2021 Recruiting Class

So within the hour, head coach Ryan Day and director of player personnel Mark Pantoni hopped on a Zoom call with the media to discuss the Buckeyes' 2021 recruiting class, along with a few notes about the upcoming Big Ten championship game.

A bullet-point rundown of what they had to say (with video coming soon):

Ryan Day

• On Kyle McCord: "Kyle, right from the jump, is somebody that we recognized early is very, very talented." Says he knows McCord is excited to compete "from the minute he walks in the door." 
• Day says TreVeyon Henderson is one of the best people he's ever met. Also mentions his bond with fellow running back Evan Pryor: "These guys have built a special relationship, he and Evan."
• "I can't wait to get around these guys."
• "The Ohio guys this year are special. They're special." He says one of the first things he did as a head coach was meet with Jack Sawyer and his family. "So, so fired up that he's a Buckeye." ... "He's one of the most talented young men I've ever been around."
• Day on Mark Pantoni's impact on building the recruiting class: “This class wouldn't be where it is without Mark and his staff.”
• He says Kerry Coombs did a "good job" with the defensive back class. "A huge emphasis for us was the secondary." Day says they think Jantzen Dunn and Andre Turrentine might be able to play right away. Says Jaylen Johnson has been "a glue" with the other recruits.
• Day calls Emeka Egbuka a "special young man." Says he was at his high school twice over the process. Egbuka "fell in love with the place when he got here." Calls him "another piece to the puzzle here."
• He says Ben Christman is a "big, strong, athletic guy." Mentions that Donovan Jackson "just jumps off the film," and he almost fell to the floor when he committed earlier this year because he didn't expect it. Seeing Zen Michalski's senior film, especially against Cincinnati Elder, made him a target.
• Day makes the pitch for Ohio State in the CFP, saying the Buckeyes can "play with anybody in the country." Also mentions he believes they've dealt with more challenges than other teams. Ends it with this: "If some people can't see that, then that's their problem."
• He thinks all three offensive linemen Ohio State signed can play multiple positions.
• On the importance of character fits: "If they don't fit, then they probably need to go somewhere else."
• How he evaluates this class: "It's the best class in the country for Ohio State. What's the best class in the country for another school, that's not the same for us." They look at physical ability, culture fit and academics.
• Day says Pryor is a little bit more of a hybrid back who can do things in space and catch the ball in the perimeter. Henderson is a little bit more of an every-down back, he believes. He thinks it's important to adapt to the personnel, though, after getting the best available.
• On if McCord will have a shot to start as a freshman: "That is going to happen. He will compete for the job."
• He says this team's maturity is what's special because they can handle adversity and disappointment while continuing to move forward. Also says there's a seriousness with the older players on the team. "They know exactly what they want."
• "I want to make sure we have something to show for all this sacrifice."
• Day says they've been practicing at noon to start the week to get used to the Big Ten title game. It'll be different without fans: "That's usually one of the more electric environments year in and year out."
• He says it'll be an anxious feeling with quarterbacks C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller and Kyle McCord competing to start since none of them have played much.
• Day says the only guarantee in recruiting is that whatever you think your journey will be, that won't be the case, so you have to be able to adapt.
• Day says it doesn't mean anything to him who has the No. 1-ranked recruiting class. “In the end, I just want to find the right guys for us.”
• Day: “I wouldn't be surprised if you're going to see really, really special things from this class moving forward.”

Mark Pantoni

• Pantoni says over the offseason he gave his staff a project where they were assigned a conference and were told to look at the commits to each of the programs. Zane Stevens had the ACC, and he found Zen Michalski. "Congrats to Zane. He discovered him." They did their homework, learned about the increased weight and saw the senior film.
• He says the commits let the staff know of any potential issues or things that could happen.
• If there's anything they've learned this year that they can apply going forward: "I think Zoom's been really good, in a lot of ways, for kids who can't get up here unofficially."
• "Obviously Ohio's our main priority overall." They help build the "backbone and the structure of the recruiting class."
• "The commits and our players are our best recruiters."
• He says culture fit is the most important thing for the Buckeyes. 
• Pantoni says Tony Alford is "one of our best recruiters," and he's "relentless" in building relationships. Throughout the recruiting process, he was open with Pryor and Henderson that they expected to take two tailbacks.
• On getting the No. 1 recruiting class: "It's not a big deal." He grades recruiting classes by how they end up, with starters, contributors and NFL players being the way they look at it.
• Asked if the freshmen have to get their expectations rest: "It's two words: Mickey Marotti." They get a wake-up call from him, he says. "These guys have no idea what hard work is until they come here and see the veterans."
• Pantoni says a lot of the focus right now is back on the 2022 class. "We already have leaders in that class."
• He says Ohio State will "look into different options" after the season when they see how much attrition the team has to determine any other additions in future months.
• "The head coach always drives the train." He says "winning is a great recipe for recruiting."
• Pantoni says cornerbacks are the toughest position to evaluate because many of the high schoolers don't play the position. He says they'd never want to take a cornerback's commitment if a coach hasn't seen him do movement drills in person.
• On if Ohio State's pushing a snowball or riding a snowball: "Probably a little bit of both."
• On Reid Carrico: "He's just an old-school linebacker who has no regard for his body." ... "If you have stock, you're going to put it in that kid."