Ohio State acting head coach Ryan Day seemed right at home in front of a jam-packed room of reporters Monday afternoon at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
It was Day's first, and possibly only, meeting with the media this season as he filled in for suspended head coach Urban Meyer. Tuesday, he joined the weekly B1G coaches teleconference call and discussed the Buckeyes' offensive game plan against Oregon State and the tight end position, among other things.
Day was also asked about Meyer's message to the team after last Wednesday's press conference. Meyer was allowed to visit with players and coaches Thursday morning.
"There were a lot of hugs. I know Coach was happy to see the guys," Day said. "As you can imagine, he was giving them an update on what was going on, and kind of explaining some of the situation and talked about moving forward. We try to keep most of those meetings between us, but that was the gist of it."
With the departures of Billy Price and JT Barrett a year ago, Day was also asked about how Ohio State's offense would look this Saturday.
"Without J.T. and Billy in there, it’s going to take on a little bit different personality ... but for the most part, our offense is our offense," Day said. "We have great wide receivers and we're going to need them on the field, and (quarterback) Dwayne (Haskins) has a different skill set than JT. But for the most part, it's going to be Ohio State's offense."
Here's what remains from Day's appearance on the weekly teleconference.
The Dawn Of A New Day
- When asked about the tight end position, Day said Luke Farrell would be the team's starter this coming Saturday. He also said that freshman Jeremy Ruckert would see playing time early as well as Rashod Berry.
- Michael Jordan was moved to center from guard, beating out Brady Taylor and Josh Myers for the starting position. Day said the coaching staff "made the choice that put the team in the best position to be successful." He also mentioned that Jordan, Taylor and Myers all received equal reps during the spring and preseason but Jordan "took it and ran."
- Day described Ohio State running backs Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins as a "two-headed monster" and said the two have a good relationship. He also made mention of the Buckeyes' young running backs and said the group would have to help carry Weber and Dobbins' offensive load.
- Dwayne Haskins was reiterated as the team's starting quarterback but Day also said they'd be looking to get backup Tate Martell playing time.
Northwestern and Purdue are the only two B1G opponents to play each other this week while. Those two will meet in West Lafayette at 8 p.m., Thursday. That same evening, Minnesota hosts New Mexico State at 7 p.m.
The conference also plays two Friday night games as No. 11 Michigan State hosts Utah State at 7 while No. 4 Wisconsin welcomes Western Kentucky to Madison at 9.
Then Saturday, of course, is the big day. Illinois, Rutgers, Iowa and No. 10 Penn State all play on the Big Ten Network while Indiana travels to Florida International on the CBS Sports Network. Maryland hosts No. 23 Texas at noon on Fox Sports 1 and Nebraska takes on Akron at 8 on FOX.
At 7:30, No. 14 Michigan travels to South Bend, Indiana for a meeting with No. 12 Notre Dame, televised on NBC. No. 5 Ohio State hosts Oregon State at noon on ABC.
Here's some of the highlights from the rest of the B1G's head coaches during Tuesday's teleconference call.
Chris Ash, Rutgers
- Noted that Saturday's game against Texas State was an opportunity to measure progress for program and that true freshman quarterback Artur Sitkowski gave the Scarlet Knights the best opportunity to go out and put points on the board. Said that it was comforting to have redshirt senior Giovanni Rescigno as a backup quarterback. Rescigno is also a team captain. Ash said of Rescigno, "He's very selfless. It's about the team, it's not about him. He worked hard to become the starting quarterback and it just didn't work."
Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
- Commented on wide receiver Tarik Black's injury saying, "It's tough thing. We feel like the best is yet to come for Tarik and that he'll be back. Receiver wise, guys have had a good camp and they've made a lot of strides. We're excited."
- When asked if he was considering moving anybody to receiver for depth, he said, "We like what we have there."
- When asked about quarterback Shea Patterson, Harbaugh said, "No fear. I'm excited to watch him compete and really looking forward to it. Here's something that really stands out ... his focus. The intensity that he has on the practice field, just overall. He's got really good athletic ability, really good arm talent and really good intensity in every drill. I really enjoy watching that."
- Commented on running backs Karan Higdon and Chris Evans saying, "All positive. Everybody on the team sees two really good players that work hard, compete hard and make each other better. They try to make each other better in a non-combative way. It's a way that's really healthy and productive for the team."
Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
- Was asked just one question on Wisconsin's opening opponent Western Kentucky and said, "That program, those players have won a lot of games. We're preparing to play a good team."
Scott Frost, Nebraska
- "We're excited to get the season started. The guys have made a lot of progress. We're anxious to compete and test ourselves. We're starting to build relationships with the kids. I love the process of letting that happen. Part of the fun in year one is to build. There's going to be some bumps in the road. But when you look back at it, you look back at that with the most pride."
- On true freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez: "At the end of the day, we pick the players at every position that we feel give us the best chance to win. His overall play and command of the offense made him a pretty clear choice. We're anxious to see him get out there and make some plays. He's a very mature kid. There's going to be challenges. I don't want him to think about any of that. I want him to go out and be him."
- On transfers in college football: "I hope that college football doesn't become transfer mania. It's hard to manage as a coach. We preach to our guys all the time 'team before me.' It would be hypocritical to have someone on the team that's 'me before team.' I think it's a sensitive issue."
Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
- Commented on starting quarterback Brian Lewerke saying, "Brian has had a good camp. He's improved his strength component and he's a little bit bigger, stronger than he was last year. He had success last year in the system and I think he's poised for a good 2018. He was elected as one of our captains, which I think is a major point of emphasis."
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
- "We're all eager and excited to get on the field and find out where our team's at. We've had a busy and productive preseason."
- Commented on starting offensive tackle Dalton Ferguson saying, "Dalton is a quality young man and we're happy to see him continue to progress. He's been a great guy to have in our program and he's done a lot of nice things over the years."
- On season-opening opponent NIU: "They've got a great program. To see the growth and success they've had, it's just very impressive. We played them in 2013 in our opener and lost. They've done an amazing job there. They play hard and they're very well-coached."
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
- "It's an exciting time for our program. Our nine seniors, on offense and defense combined, have done a good job leading our team in our 'race to maturity' mindset. I'm excited about both quarterbacks. Everything is hypothetical at this point. This is the second year in a row where we have a starting quarterback (Zack Annexstad) who's never thrown a college pass. Hypothetically, I feel like we have a really good team. We're very young, we're very inexperienced, but very talented at same time."
- On policy to not have freshmen speak to media: "The thing about freshmen is I don't know if they've been in the program long enough to know how we handle things. They've had a high school culture for so long. Sometimes when you put freshmen in this culture, it's a different feeling for them. Year one is all about education in media. They have a chance to study that. Their world is truly about media. I want them to understand how big of a world they're speaking to the first time they say something. I'm pretty strong to that feeling of educating in year one."
Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
- On preparing for Purdue, who hasn't named a starting quarterback: "You have to prepare for both (quarterback options), regardless. Both guys have played in the past and have been successful. No matter who you play, you're going to have to plan to adjust. Hopefully we'll adjust well for our guys and give them a chance to play fast. I understand why we're (opening with a Big Ten opponent). It's a big game for both teams and it should be exciting for Big Ten fans."
Lovie Smith, Illinois
- "We're really excited to get started. The guys have worked extremely hard. We feel like we have all the players in the right spots and coached them up as much as we can. When you get into the game week routine, it's pretty special. We have some new players who will play some big roles for our team, starting with quarterback A.J. Bush."
- On Bobby Roundtree and Jake Hansen: "Bobby, every game he's played, he's started. He's a good student and he shows up everyday. He can rush the passer from the outside and he can be a physical player. There's nothing to dislike about him. The same thing for Jake Hansen. What we see in Jake as a linebacker, he's a skilled guy who can play in space and he's a coach on the field. We're expecting big things out of both of them."
- Commented on quarterback A.J. Bush: "When you're a graduate transfer quarterback, you know this is your last time. He was a perfect fit for us here. You have to be an example for our younger players and we want them looking at how A.J. prepares. We think A.J. can do everything our quarterback needs to do."
Matt Canada, Maryland
- Was asked about Byron Cowart and Trey Rucker and said, "Byron has come in and has added a pass rusher for us. He's a very smart football player and he's brought some experience to the defensive line. Same with Trey coming in. He's excited to play. Both of those guys are good additions for us and we're excited to watch them play."
- On getting players focused on football after everything that's happened: "I think the players are excited to focus on football. We're going through a grieving process as an entire program, grieving (late offensive lineman) Jordan (McNair) and it's something every person goes through differently. We're leaning on each other through that. We're trying to pick each other up when somebody has a bad day. But when we're here working on football, I think our kids are doing as good of a job as they possibly can."
Jeff Brohm, Purdue
- "Excited to get the season started. I know our guys are excited to play Northwestern, a great opponent that's extremely disciplined and well-coached. We do have them on our home turf and hopefully that can be an advantage for us. But it's definitely an exciting time."
- How he's deciding on starting quarterback: "I think every situation is different for us. We'll play it by ear if we play two (David Blough and Elijah Sindelar). I think it's important we do what's best for our team. For us last year, playing both, it benefited us. Nothing really more than that."
- On tough schedule the Boilermakers face: "I think for us, in my opinion, playing great teams will make you better in the end. We can't take any weeks off and we have to come ready to play. We're going to have to be physical and play hard the entire game. We understand if we don't do that, we're not going to win."
James Franklin, Penn State
- Commented on Jordan Miner's heart condition and decision to walk away from football. Franklin said that he thought the program did a good job in keeping up with Miner and keeping his family informed. Franklin also said, "Jordan Miner is going to have a successful career. It just may not look like one he had originally planned for."
Tom Allen, Indiana
- Noted three things he looks for at the quarterback position and said that redshirt sophomore Peyton Ramsey checks all the boxes. Allen named Ramsey the starting quarterback this past week and said he moves the offense downfield well, shows the ability to secure the football and has won over his teammates.
