It's just a few weeks before the Ohio State football season kicks off against Nebraska, and Ryan Day continues to get the Buckeyes ready.
During his weekly appearance on his 97.1 The Fan radio show on Thursday afternoon, Day gave a few updates after a week of padded practices, discussed the "game-like" atmosphere of the scrimmages at the 'Shoe, reacted to the Washington Football Team benching Dwayne Haskins, and more.
Day was also joined by defensive line coach Larry Johnson for the last portion of the show.
Here's a rundown of the highlights.
Ryan Day
On having pads on in practice
- "It's helped evaluation a lot."
- "Now that the pads are on, it's been great."
- "You find out a lot about your team."
- "While you're not able to go through a preseason camp – a whole month of it – you're kind of in it now."
On starting game prep
- Day said they're still in training camp mode this week.
- Next week, they'll transition to game prep and it will be "a hybrid week."
- In two weeks, Ohio State will begin exclusively prepping for the season opener against Nebraska.
On practicing in the 'Shoe
- "We'll try to make it as game-like as possible"
- Day notes that it does feel like a game atmosphere since the stadium will be empty.
- "We're treating it like a game."
On artificial crowd noise.
- Day said they'll be pumping in crowd noise in the 'Shoe.
- Day said they're working with the Big Ten to see what sound level is appropriate.
- "I don't think it should be a distraction for either team – that doesn't make sense."
- Day said he does think it helps the atmosphere.
On the safety position
- "We're getting there."
- I think Marcus Hooker, Josh Proctor and Marcus Williamson have all done a nice job."
- "There's been some good, competitive practices thus far."
On Kerry Coombs
- "He has great enthusiasm and that kind of carries over to the entire defense."
- "Those guys are playing with great energy and he's a great leader."
- Day said Coombs came in with some great ideas.
What do support staff do?
- "We have a lot of help and there are so many different people who make this thing work."
- Day said Quinn Temple is a great example of a guy who just does general day-to-day operations.
- Day mentions Brian Voltolini and Ryan Stamper as guys who also help run day-to-day operations.
On players' parents
- "You're not just recruiting the player or the young man, you're recruiting the family."
- Day said he knows the influence a player has on them is "critically important."
- He said if they aren't aligned with the family, the player gets distracted.
- Day said it's important that they find the right fit.
On who will coach from the box?
- Day said Kevin Wilson will be in the box again this year. "He sees it really well."
- "On defense, they're still trying to figure that out."
On game prep
- Day said the team will miss the pregame Skull Session, but getting ready for the game in the Woody has its own advantages.
- In the Woody, they have more space, all of their training equipment, a bigger locker room, workout and warmup equipment, etc.
- Day said Ohio State will actually do most of their prep and warmup and training at the Woody Hayes.
- Day said he thinks they'll probably dress at the Woody this year.
On changes to recruiting
- Day said they're going to go a whole year without having recruits on campus.
- "That's a huge part of our life – is recruiting."
- Day said there have been a lot of zoom calls, phone calls, text messages, etc.
- "It's been hard, but I think we've done a good job of it."
- Day says he feels bad for the kids. "They're trying to make a decision here without a ton of information."
On snaps under center
- Day said it helps to change up the look from time to time.
- "We don't like to gameplan or change up what we do on a weekly basis" but he likes to do small changes.
- "We're always experimenting."
On Dwayne Haskins' benching
- "Dwayne is a very talented young man," Day said. "I've got a special place in my heart for him."
- "He's going to come out of it."
- "He's resilient, he's strong. He's going to work through this. All great quarterbacks go through adversity."
- "This is going to be a learning experience for him, for sure. And I know he's going to come out stronger in the back end."
Larry Johnson
On the defensive ends
- "Having Jonathon Cooper back, means a lot. His leadership is off the charts"
- Johnson said he wants to rotate a lot of players.
- Johnson mentions Darrion Henry-Young and Noah Potter as young guys who are coming along.
On his seventh season at Ohio State
- Johnson said it feels like two years.
- "It all goes fast when you're having fun."
On the defensive tackles
- "Antwuan Jackson has really grown a lot, and I think it'll be a pleasant surprise how he plays in the fall."
- Johnson said they've only seen the "tip of the iceberg" of what Tommy Togiai can do.
- Jerron Cage is making a push
- Jaiden McKenzie has been impressive.
- Ty Hamilton is a young guy who's impressed him.
On if they can top last year's 54 sacks this year
- "Don't put that pressure on me."
- "You've gotta keep in mind, we're only playing eight games."
