Ohio State coach Ryan Day held his final two media availabilities of the week on Thursday afternoon, when he spent an hour on the radio fielding questions from Paul Keels and Jim Lachey before also spending about 10 minutes answering questions from the local media at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, two days ahead of Saturday's second game of the season against Cincinnati.
A bullet-point recap of what the head coach had to say on 97.1 The Fan and to local reporters (video from his in-person meeting with the media above):
Ryan Day Radio Show on 97.1 The Fan
On scripted plays
- "We try not to stay too held to a script"
- Day said they usually change the plan quickly depending on what the defense shows.
- "We have opening ideas and then the ability to adjust."
On playing some reserve players
- Day said some of the bench players have to be prepared to play.
- Ohio State wants to try to rotate in non-starters regularly.
- Day mentioned Josh Proctor and Jameson Williams as two players who took advantage of the playing time.
What does the equipment staff do?
- They shuffle balls in and out, which is a really big deal on rainy days
- They set up the locker room, taking everything from the woody to the 'Shoe
- They sometimes even serve as referees, spotting balls in practice
On multiple tight end sets
- Day said that's a look we will continue to see.
- "Having the ability to change multiple personnel groupings is something we want to do."
- Mentioned that the backup h-back is almost a tight end.
On Justin Fields' first start
- Day praised Justin Fields' ability to adjust on the fly to things they didn't prepare for.
- There were some times when there were eight men in coverage and only three receivers.
- "I thought he managed the game really well."
- Day praised Justin Fields' decision making when he threw the ball away on third down.
On the defenses' tackling
- "Not only did we tackle well, I thought we tackled hard."
- Mentioned big hits from Malik Harrison, Pete Werner and Jeff Okudah.
- Day was happy with the way they swarmed to the ball, but understands eventually they will give up some big plays.
On first-game jitters for Justin Fields
- "You know, he's pretty poised," Day said "He's poised."
- "He's always seen himself in this type of environment. From a young age this is what he really wanted to do, so he kind of stepped into it really well."
- Day said he never really saw any nerves.
On the offensive line
- "Coming off the field I wasn't sure," Day said. "But after watching film, Jonah had 9 knockdowns and Josh had 6. So 15 knockdowns between them is a lot."
- "It's very rare you have that many offensive linemen you can roll."
- Day said they feel good about four offensive tackles – mentioning Josh Alabi – and even true freshman Harry Miller could play
- Day did acknowledge that you also want a sense of familiarity among the starters
On playing in-state foe Cincinnati
- "We understand, they're right down the street," Day said, mentioning that many of them wanted to come to Ohio State.
- "They're coming in here hungry."
- 78 players on Cincinnati's roster are from the state of Ohio.
- "I don't think anybody on either side will play harder," Day said, saying they already play as hard as they can every game. "You can't play any harder than your best."
- "Once the emotion of pregame is overwith, it's about execution, fundamentals and playing the game."
On welcoming former players
- "We want to make sure they know they're part of the family."
- "It's always an open door policy."
- "We want to make sure they understand they reason why we're here is because of them."
On Chris Olave's recruitment
- They were looking at the quarterback there – Jack Tuttle, now at Indiana.
- Chris Olave was ineligible to play his junior year, so there was no film on him.
- "We were recruiting him at a high, high level."
- "I just knew what we saw."
- "We were sure with Chris."
- Day said they tell kids from across the country that they're going to be homesick at some point, but they've had enough players from across the country that they have a support system in place.
On the gunners
- Day said it was good – probably a little better that, but there's still room for improvement.
- Day mentions they were probably the best in the country in that area last year.
- "The expectations are so high at that level."
On new freshmen
- "Everything about it is different," Day said, mentioning class schedules, friends, coaches, free time, etc.
- It's also different because talent becomes equal and they're playing with players four and five years older and more developed than they are.
- "Talent can only take you so far," Day said. "In high school they just got away with how talented they were."
Ryan Day Meeting with Local Media
- Day said the No. 2 running back job is still in flux. Said he thought Master Teague did a good job in the season opener, but still needs to earn the second-string job after missing practice time in fall camp due to injury, and Demario McCall is also in line for continued playing time.
- Day has been pleased with what he has seen from Rutgers graduate transfer Jonah Jackson at left guard since he arrived at Ohio State this summer.
- On the absence of C.J. Saunders at H-back: "It affected us, because he was the backup H going into the season." Day said Jaelen Gill is still in the mix for playing time too, but still needs to gain more experience.
- Day said he doesn't expect the extra time to recover and prepare for this game for Cincinnati, who played on Thursday night last week while Ohio State played on Saturday, to make a significant difference on this week's game.
- Day said Josh Proctor is "inching closer" to playing at starter level, and that the Buckeyes will rotate him in with Jordan Fuller for more playing time once he gets to starter level.
- On Joe Burrow and how he is performing at LSU: "Boy, I could talk about him for an hour. What a special young man ... I couldn't be prouder of what he's done down there." Said LSU coach Ed Orgeron told him at the NFL draft that Burrow became the leader of his team and turned the direction of the program around.
- On the depth of Ohio State's offensive line: "I thought that was a tribute to (offensive line coach Greg Studrawa) and what we've done on offense. (Offensive coordinator) Kevin (Wilson)'s been involved ... Right now, we are deep."
- Day said backup guard Gavin Cupp "has been huge for our program" and providing depth even though he is not a starter.
- On the 2018 recruiting class, Day said he thinks they've been "solid" but that some of those players have to start stepping up more and playing bigger roles for the team this year.
