With preparation for this weekend's trip to Dallas well underway, Ohio State acting head coach and offensive coordinator Ryan Day and associate head coach and defensive coordinator Greg Schiano met with the media once again on Monday to recap this past Saturday's 52-3 win over Rutgers and look ahead to this upcoming Saturday's primetime clash with TCU at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Here's what you need to know from each of their Q&A sessions:
Ryan Day
- On Ohio State's offense: "The rhythm has been good."
- On TCU's defense: "They make quick adjustments. They know exactly how you're trying to attack. Very, very talented group as well. They have a lot of veterans back there."
- Day said Urban Meyer has "had a huge amount of input" in game planning even though he still isn't allowed to coach on Saturdays.
- On J.K. Dobbins: "Great personality. Very, very competitive ... He's a very likable kid, but he works really, really hard." Says Dobbins and Mike Weber are pushing each other in the running backs room.
- How have things gone smoothly without Meyer? "The culture of our team."
- Day said Haskins has the authority to make changes at the line of scrimmage in both the passing game and running game, and that Haskins has a good handle on that.
- On Tate Martell's performance Saturday: "Nothing he did surprised us ... As we've said before, we plan to play Tate. How much kind of depends on the game moving forward."
- Day said Meyer's feedback to him today after Saturday's win was to make sure they don't overlook their mistakes as they prepare for tougher games. "We have to make corrections. And we got to be critical of ourselves moving forward."
- "I don't think there's any one thing," Day said of areas in which his offense needs to improve after scoring 129 points in the first two games, but said the overall execution still needs to improve as competition gets tougher.
- On the offensive line: "Overall, it's been solid." Said communication has consistently improved and Michael Jordan has "done a nice job" in move to center.
- Day said the Buckeyes are asking Haskins to read a defender – sometimes a defensive end, sometimes a linebacker, sometimes a safety – on mostly every play.
- After Cleveland.com's Doug Lesmerises told Day that he has been getting in "Twitter fights" about when Martell enters the game, "You shouldn't be getting in Twitter fights with people."
- On TCU coach Gary Patterson: "One of the best coaches in the past 20 years of college football."
- On punt returners C.J. Saunders and Demario McCall: "They're both dynamic in different ways." Didn't give any indication as to whether the Buckeyes would favor either punt returner going forward.
- On his experience as acting head coach: "It's been a huge learning experience for me going through it on a day-to-day basis."
- On preparing for every game: "If you don't think it's a big game, try losing it."
- "(TCU's) team speed is excellent. They're fast, they're constantly running to the ball."
- "I think that, when you play in big games, you have to take care of the football. Every play is so much more important. But we're going to be who we are. We've gotta focus on us. If we play the way we know we can play, that's going to give us the best chance to win."
Greg Schiano
- Schiano said Jordan Fuller is a "very good athlete," which is why he's so successful at safety, but that he could also play cornerback or even receiver if they needed him to (not that they have any plans to change his position).
- Isaiah Pryor and Jahsen Wint will continue to rotate at safety until one of them pulls away.
- Schiano reiterates that the Buckeyes will continue to rotate linebackers, and that Baron Browning and Tuf Borland will both see playing time at linebacker even when Borland is healthy.
- Schiano said Shaun Wade will "eventually" be able to play at the safety position, but the Buckeyes feel confident playing him playing at cornerback and nickel right now.
- Schiano said TCU's offensive line "is as good as any in the Big Ten." Also praised their team speed at wide receiver and running back, describing them as one of the most athletic teams in the country at the offensive skill positions.
- On preparing for TCU quarterback Shawn Robinson, the first running quarterback Ohio State has faced this year: "It changes the math" for Ohio State's defense, Schiano said.
- On TCU wide receiver KaVontae Turpin: "He's as quick as a cat."
- Schiano said he "didn't want to make too big a deal" over Chase Young's ejection from Saturday's game.
- On Nick Bosa: "He's not getting a ton of one-on-ones," and Schiano said he expects defenses to continue looking for new ways to block him. "He's playing at a high level. Very high level. If you're an offensive coach, you need to know where he is all the time."
- On playing in AT&T Stadium: "Certainly there will be a familiarity with the stadium. But it's really a home game for (TCU), though. I wouldn't get too excited about it."
- On whether he expects Bosa to garner Heisman consideration: "The reality is it's more of an offensive award. Nick's a dominant player in college football right now; there's awards for that as well."
Stay tuned with Eleven Warriors for additional coverage from Monday's press conference.
