Presser Bullets: Ryan Day, Justin Fields, Kerry Coombs, Other Ohio State Players Preview Upcoming Michigan Matchup

After beating Michigan State by 40 points on Saturday, Ohio State is all-in on preparation to face the Wolverines in four days. While Michigan postponed its media availability on Tuesday, head coach Ryan Day, defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs and a slew of Buckeyes players did join the media on Tuesday – the only day players are scheduled to meet with the media this week, as Ohio State isn't holding Wednesday media availability this week – to preview the rivalry game.

Bullet-point updates from each of them (with video to come when this wraps up):

Ryan Day

• Preparing with uncertainty surrounding Ohio State-Michigan: "It's not any different until we hear otherwise. You can't get distracted by anything other than focus on The Game."
• On Haskell Garrett: "I think you're seeing the best version of Haskell. Everybody's proud of what he has become." He says ever since he got shot, he's had a different look in his eye.
• Day says the Big Ten's policies of when players who test positive can return to play is a "topic of conversation" with the athletic directors and presidents. 
• On Michigan's defensive line: "They're very good. They always have been. They give a lot of looks and change up." Says Kwity Paye is one of the best defensive linemen in the country.
• If CJ Stroud is the backup quarterback: "We'll see how this week goes. It's something we look at week to week."
• He says Gene Smith is the one who updates him about this weekend's game's status. The last update he received from Smith: "Just that the game is on and they're practicing. We're going to move forward until we hear otherwise."
• "I tell recruits that: The No. 1 job is to beat the Team Up North."
• Day says he tries not to get involved with conversations about things like replacement games if this one were to fall through. Smith handles anything like that.
• On Luke Farrell: "I've seen excellent play this year. I think he's played really, really well." Says he was open for a possible touchdown when . "That's Luke Farrell. He's unselfish. He's tough."
• What he would think if the Michigan game get canceled: "I try not go go there. Just the disappointment and all that stuff is getting old."
• Day says the Big Ten has to "take a hard look" at the conference championship game minimum if this weekend's game gets canceled.
• If it's a disadvantage for the Big Ten to not host recruits on campus like other conferences: "I think it's a big-time disadvantage, yeah. We had recruits, even last weekend, who visited games." He's referring to Emeka Egbuka going to Oklahoma.
• On the “hang 100 on them” comment from earlier this year: "That was all back in the summer and now it's all about right now. It's about focusing on what's important." ... "We've just got to find a way to win the game."
• Day says he took testing positive for COVID-19 hard because he wanted to set an example for the state of Ohio: "It was a little bit of an embarrassment. I felt I let people down."

Kerry Coombs

• "This game, this rivalry game, are you kidding me?" As an NFL assistant coach, he'd be coaching a practice during the Ohio State-Michigan game so people would give updates on it through the afternoon.
• On when Ohio State paused the program: "The first word to describe it is that it was the loneliest week I ever had in coaching." He says it was quiet, lonely and miserable. He loved practice because it was the only time he was around people.
• How much he pays attention to what's happening at Michigan: "I would tell you that I'm not even aware of the soap opera stuff."
• Asked about underdogs: "I would never talk about getting beat, so I'm not going to go that route." He says in high school football, the first time they beat a team in the GCL, it was a big deal. Also mentions the Sugar Bowl against Alabama sticks out.
• On the defensive line: "I think they're playing really well." Says the line pressures quarterbacks.
• On what it would be like if Ohio State couldn't play the Michigan game: "I don't want to go there because I just got sick to my stomach when you said that." ... "We all want to play this game. This game means a lot."
• Coombs says Ronnie Hickman is "playing an awful lot on special teams" and is capable of playing both safety positions and in the nickel package. "He's a valuable guy for us. He continues to develop. He's a big, fast guy." 
• On Marcus Hooker's performance versus Michigan State: "He played well. He graded champion. It was great for him and it was great for us. It was great for us to kind of hit the reset button."
• He says "the art of recruiting has changed dramatically." Also mentions Day "does a really good job" of staying in touch with all recruits. Coombs says he really struggled with evaluating underclassmen coming from the NFL, especially since he couldn't do it in person.
• On preventing big plays through the air: "We let one go Saturday, so we're not there yet." ... "There not doubt we got better, and we got better in practice."
• His level of confidence relying on Baron Browning at Mike this weekend: "Very confident. I thought that what he did last week was he built his resumé."
• Coombs said he asked Lathan Ransom after practice yesterday if he knew who Tyvis Powell is. Ransom replied that Powell was the player who intercepted the 2-point conversion pass against Michigan, which showed Coombs that he understands the importance of the rivalry.
• He says he loves walking up and down the hall screaming, "It's time for war," this week. "I know it irritates them, but that's OK."

Justin Fields

• On following Trey Sermon to the end zone on Saturday: "It kind of just came naturally. I usually do it in practice to get conditioning in." He says he'd have been mad if they called it back with a penalty. "If they didn't call it, it wasn't a block in the back in my eyes."
• "We're preparing for the Team Up North. We're not preparing for anybody else."
• He says Michigan has "great athletes" and "great players" and "run a great scheme." ... "It should be a fun week."
• On Michigan's record: "I'm not going to judge their team by their record. I don't look at teams' records." Says they'll play the same whether the opponent is 10-0 or 0-10.
• Fields says Ohio State isn't worried about the CFP or Big Ten championship or anything else beyond every individual day because they know how quickly things can change.
• On Harry Miller's errant snaps: "I think Harry got adjusted to snapping the ball after the first drive, to be honest with you." Says he expects Miller "to be fine playing center."
• The Michigan rivalry: "It's definitely a big thing. We take this rivalry very seriously around here. It's definitely the most important game of the year. We all know that. We all know how serious this rivalry is. I don't need to hype it up any more than it is."
• Fields on Michigan: "We expect to beat them every year." He says it's a standard and an expectation.
• "Everybody knows what time it is or who we play this weekend. It's not a big surprise. We've been preparing for this game the whole year. When you prepare for a team 365 days out of the year and that week comes, you don't really do anything differently because you've been preparing for them the whole year."
• He says the offensive linemen who filled in last year "thrived" in the situation. "Hopefully that confidence helps them grow and get better."
• On communicating by Zoom: "It wasn't that bad to be honest." Says as long as they get to see the defense and communicate, it wasn't much different. The biggest difference was not having Ryan Day on the field with him.
• If he thinks about this being his last game at Ohio Stadium: "No, not really. I'm just focused on beating them, to be honest."
• Chris Olave told the team last week that they have limited time remaining with each other, he said, so they won't take anything for granted.
• On the players who will be unavailable on Saturday: "We're going to definitely play our hardest for them."
• Fields says the intermediate throw with velocity just comes with reps. 
• On if it was an oversight to not have Garrett Wilson or Chris Olave as a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist: "I think they should be on there, but we try to not focus on individual awards. We just care about national championships, winning Big Ten championships and of course beating the Team Up North this weekend."
• He didn't realize how big of a deal his touchdown pass coming off the bench after getting hurt last year versus Michigan was until after the game.

Wyatt Davis

• On Michigan: "This is why you come to Ohio State. To play in games like this." Says the scoreboard says 0-0 when they step onto the field, so they can't afford to look at the records.
• Davis, who left the Michigan State game early with an injury, says he'll be available to play this weekend. "I will be all good. I'll be playing this week. Been getting a bunch of treatment, so I'll be ready to go this week without a doubt." He says he knew he'd be able to bounce back from it. "We have a great training staff here at Ohio State. I've been getting treatment religiously."
• Davis says Max Wray's ability to step in as a starter says a lot about the culture of the offensive line room. 
• Being able to control the line of scrimmage will be key, and the team that runs the ball best will win, he says.
• Davis remembers walking around Ohio State's campus as a freshman during Michigan week and seeing the Ms crossed out: "I was trying to figure out if it was vandalism at first."

Pete Werner

• Even during the spring and summer, the players around the country had to do workouts by themselves revolving around the Michigan game. "It's weird to reflect on."
• "Now since I got here, you really have to appreciate the rivalry. Everything that goes into it, it's just insane." Says he was overwhelmed with Ohio State-Michigan as a freshman. " Now, I live about it. I'm about that, you could say."
• The uncertainty with this game: "We're not going to prepare any different at all." ... "We've got to prepare for this game harder than we ever have."