Ryan Day won't be holding his game-week press conferences until Tuesdays this year, but he will be appearing on Monday nights on the Buckeye Roundtable show on 97.1 The Fan for his first media appearance of the week.
As such, we'll be listening in to hear what Day has to say as he recaps the previous week's game and looks ahead to the upcoming weekend's game before he meets with the media at large on Tuesdays at noon.
Here's a quick bullet-point recap of what Day had to say on the first Buckeye Roundtable show (which is also broadcast on Ohio State IMG Sports Network affiliates throughout the state) of the season:
- What's the biggest thing you're excited to find out about your team come Saturday at noon? "How tough we are. That's really something we've been preaching all offseason."
- Day said he watched the CFB150 documentary on ESPN on Saturday night and enjoyed seeing Woody Hayes talking about toughness, because that's something he's trying to accomplish with his team this year.
- Day is pleased with the health of the Buckeyes and said that's a testament to Mickey Marotti and Ohio State's strength and conditioning program. Said he wouldn't describe the team as "100 percent healthy" but "I feel pretty good about where we're at going into this game ... There's been bumps and bruises along the way but for the most part, I feel pretty good about where we are health-wise."
- Day said the Buckeyes usually line up about 10-12 offensive plays that they will call early into the game, but he tries not to stick too strictly to a script in order to react to the flow of the game.
- On Justin Fields: "Every time he's out there taking a rep, he's getting better ... I think the sky is absolutely the limit for this kid." Expects Fields to "learn some lessons along the way" and said the only way to learn some of those lessons is to play in games, but said Fields has "already learned a ton of lessons in preseason camp"
- On Josh Myers: "I don't think about Josh being a first-time starter," because of how well Myers handles himself at the center position, but Day acknowledges there could be some early growing pains for him as a first-time starter.
- On FAU coach Lane Kiffin: "He's very creative. He's aggressive. And he's going to be looking to go after our defense ... He's got some innovative ideas on offense. So our defense has got to do a great job of tackling in the first game."
- How excited are you personally for this week? "I'm excited for the kids. I'm excited to get going and play the season. Figure out where we're at with this thing, start the journey and solve the problems that are going to come up along the way ... It's a long journey, but it's time to get going."
