SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – For the first time since Ohio State’s football team arrived in Arizona, sun replaced the gloomy, fog-filled, rainy weather that had permeated the atmosphere the rest of the week. Merry Christmas, Mother Nature apparently told the Buckeyes.
Along with the warmer weather came a loose, downright cheery Ryan Day who delivered a fiery speech before the prior day's practice. He and his team are now just three days away from taking on Clemson in Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl.
“Have a great day today, win today and go kick their ass,” Ryan Day said to his team before breaking the huddle and beginning the practice.
With the game approaching, the media was invited to watch stretching and the first period of Wednesday’s practice at Notre Dame Preparatory High School. This was the final viewing period for reporters before the game.
Some observations from the viewing period:
Welcome To Practice
Typically, players can walk to the practice field without any obstacle. They're able to mosey over by themselves or as a group then get ready by themselves before Mickey Marotti and the rest of the coaches lead them through stretching. On Wednesday, though, they had somebody preventing each of them from getting to the practice field.
Ryan Day.
The head coach grabbed a pad and had every player or coach hit it and then run through a tackling dummy as they walked onto the field. As they went, the Buckeyes got some commentary from Quinn Tempel over the speakers, calling out some of the players and coaches by name as they completed the unexpected hurdle.
For more, see the entire video below:
The entrances peaked when the offensive line arrived.
As Wyatt Davis, Josh Myers and Jonah Jackson got to the field, they gathered together on the track, not wanting to hit the pad Day was holding individually. Once they all arrived, they simultaneously took a few steps toward Day and began jogging. Davis picked up the red metal barrier that everybody had to duck under, placed it to the side and the linemen chased their head coach, taking him to the ground before lifting him off the ground and raising him onto their shoulders.
Ohio States offensive line: 1
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) December 25, 2019
Ryan Day: 0 pic.twitter.com/ne07Kkofer
If nothing else, this team showed no signs of tightness or anxiety on Wednesday.
Justin Fields’ Bulky Brace
For the second day in a row, Justin Fields eschewed the smaller brace on his left knee in favor of his bigger, bulkier brace that he wore during the second half of Ohio State's win against Michigan.
Unless something unexpected happens, Fields said on Tuesday, he plans to wear the smaller brace on Saturday for the Fiesta Bowl.
Justin Fields is wearing his bulkier brace again for todays practice. He plans to wear the smaller brace vs. Clemson. pic.twitter.com/ymyoNjVwI2
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) December 25, 2019
Fields wearing the bigger brace during practices this week shouldn't be viewed as an indication that he's not progressing as quickly as expected or will actually wear that brace during Saturday's game. Rather, he's likely still wearing the bigger brace during practices for precautionary reasons. Then, on the day of the game, he would use the smaller brace unless he re-aggravates the knee injury and is forced to wear the bigger brace once again.
Fields said Tuesday that his knee is 80-85 percent healthy and hasn't progressed as quickly as he had hoped.
Jonathon Cooper And C.J. Saunders In Attendance
Neither Jonathon Cooper nor C.J. Saunders will play on Saturday or, should the Buckeyes win the Fiesta Bowl, in the national championship. However, they both were at Wednesday's practice.
Cooper, who played four games and will take a redshirt this season in order to return as a fifth-year senior in 2020, participated in practice as if he were any other player. Saunders, who wasn't using crutches, didn't dress in pads or go through practice. After the Big Ten title game, the fifth-year wideout said he has applied for a sixth year of eligibility at Ohio State.
Other Notes
- Before practice officially began, somebody was standing just outside the facility behind the end zone. The person looked to be taking a selfie or taking a phone, and Tempel yelled over the public-address system for them to keep moving and leave. Days from the game, secrecy is clearly at a premium.
- Everybody on the scout team again wore purple and orange uniforms to represent the Tigers. They also each wore the respective numbers of Clemson's players at each position.
- No players sat out and watched the practice from the sideline. Everybody in attendance was active.
