Presser Bullets: Ohio State's Ryan Day, Justin Fields and Jonathon Cooper Look Ahead to Big Ten Championship Game Against Northwestern

To preview the upcoming Big Ten game, Ohio State coach Ryan Day, quarterback Justin Fields and defensive end Jonathon Cooper participated in a call with media members on Sunday afternoon to talk about the matchup with the Wildcats, how they responded to the Michigan game being canceled and more.

A bullet-point rundown of what the trio of Buckeyes had to say (with video coming shortly):

Ryan Day

• "The one thing that has been a little bit different in terms of recruiting is that nobody's been visiting." He says going into signing day this week, it's been "a little bit less hectic." Also mentions they've done a "great job of keeping the lines of communication open" with recruits and their families.
• Asked about style points, Day says he doesn't think there's any other sport in the world where winning isn't the only thing that matters. But he doesn't want to pay attention to that. "We'll just focus on that, one play at a time, and then at the end of the game we'll look up and see where we're at."
• Asked if the players who missed last game would be back, he says he jinxed himself last time he talked about that: "I'm going to plead the fifth on this one."
• Day says Northwestern has some "really talented guys on defense" who have "played a lot of football."
• "I feel strong about our team. I think we've been through a lot." He says there's nothing more rewarding as a coach than seeing a team overcome adversity and become tougher throughout the season.
• He wishes the bottom half of Ohio State's roster got a chance to play more throughout the season. Notes that many of them saw their most action against Michigan State.
• On what Ohio State wants in its first recruit in a class: "You want to have somebody that not only has the respect of the other recruits because of their ability but also how they handle themselves." Calls them the Pied Piper of a recruiting class.
• If the 2021 recruiting class has had to lead more on the trail : "Yeah, because they've had to. The leadership has already been great."
• Asked about coaches who take shots at Ohio State's resumé: "Everybody has their team's back ad they want to fight for their team and that's great. I'm not going to get caught up in the emotion of it all. ... To be undefeated and to win the Big Ten championship, that speaks for itself."
• "This team can play with anybody in the country, and that's a fact."
• Day says the Buckeyes take an iron-sharpens-iron approach: "If you can play with these guys, you can play with anybody in the country."
• He says once players who tested positive for COVID-19 clear their cardiac testing, they then get back to weight room workouts. Then they ease them back with 30 percent of their reps followed by 50 percent of their reps in practice. "It's a progression over about a week."
• On what impresses him about Peyton Ramsey: "I think he's a winner."
• Day says it would probably take a while to get over the Michigan game cancellation in any other year: "But we're actually getting used to receiving bad news and having to move on quickly."
• He says they've been "really dominant in a lot of spots" and have also had to learn about themselves in other times. 
• On the number of targets to Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson: "They've done a really good job with their opportunities. I don't think it's anything about him picking a receiver."
• About Pete Werner: "I think he's playing as good as anybody in the country at linebacker. ... He's a man. He maybe didn't come in here that way, but he's leaving a man."
• Day says they'll start to get with some of the seniors and figure out if any of them are staying at Ohio State next season after this weekend's game.
• Seeing Dawand Jones, Max Wray and Matthew Jones step up in a "big, big way" mattered a great deal, he says.

Justin Fields

• On how close he was to picking Northwestern out of high school: "I was really actually close to going to that school." Says he loves Pat Fitzgerald and how he runs the program. "I think they have a great culture over there."
• Fields says he remembers Fitzgerald and the other coaches being "very nice" and "about their business."
• He says you have to control what you can control and not focus on things like the cancellation of The Game.
• If he ever pays attention to the Heisman Trophy race and whether he might not have been able to play enough games to win it: "No, because I tend to focus on the things that I can control."
• Fields says they've had extra time to prepare for Northwestern, so he thinks the Buckeyes have a good idea of what the Wildcats will do defensively.
• Asked about coaches who don't think the Buckeyes should go to the playoff: "At the end of the day, those people that are saying those things don't make the decision of if we go to the College Football Playoff ... I think we're in the four best teams in the country, for sure, and I think we control our own destiny.”
• Fields said Josh Myers, Nicholas Petit-Frere and Thayer Munford are back in the facility working with the team.
• Fields said that while it was disappointing not to get to play Michigan, he thinks the Buckeyes having more time to practice against each other only helps them, because they have so much talent on both sides of the ball.
• Fields said he enjoyed eating deep-dish pizza on his visit to Northwestern, but that's not part of his diet anymore.

Jonathon Cooper

• On not getting to play in the postseason last year after making the decision to take a redshirt year: “To put it frankly, it sucked.“ But he said he did everything he could to help the team as a leader in the postseason even though he couldn't play.
• Cooper said that even though his year hasn't gone the way he thought it would with playing only five regular-season games, he still feels blessed that he's had the opportunity to play at Ohio State for another year.
• Cooper on losing out on his final Michigan game and final game in the Shoe: “That sucked, and it hurt ... but now we're playing for rings,” so he's had to put that disappointment behind him and focus on preparing for the postseason. “It is what it is, man. Nothing surprises us.”
• Cooper said he didn't do anything special to commemorate what would have been his Senior Day on Saturday – the Buckeyes practiced on Saturday, then he went home and called his parents and watched some football. 
• He said he's learned to appreciate every game he gets to play more this year knowing that no game is guaranteed. He still believes he can show more of the player he is in these last two or three games since he's only had five games this year.
• Cooper said he did watch some of LSU's win over Florida, but he doesn't think that game changed anything for Ohio State or the team's mindset – they just need to focus on winning this week. On Florida cornerback Marco Wilson throwing a LSU player's shoe to keep LSU's game-winning drive alive, Cooper smiled and said, “That was something.”
• Cooper said he thinks it does provide more motivation to the team when they hear people say the Buckeyes haven't played enough games to belong in the College Football Playoff, but they'll respond on the field, where they think they can prove they're one of the best teams in the country.
• On Northwestern: “They're a good team. Obviously they're in the Big Ten Championship Game for a reason ... I think they're a really good team, actually. I think we have to go out there and play really well.”
• Cooper said Northwestern's running backs and left tackle Peter Skoronski are among the players who stand out to him on film.
• On what the Big Ten Championship Game win would mean to him: “It would mean a lot. I probably can't put it into words until we actually get to that point,” but that's why the Buckeyes are working so hard. “When that does happen, it will all be worth it.”
• Why is Ohio State playing for a fourth straight Big Ten championship this week? “If I could put it down in one word, that would be the brotherhood ... it's hard to describe unless you're in it ... it's real. We do this for each other. We don't do it just for ourselves or personal accolades. When you go out there and play for the guy next to you and not yourself, you play harder. You play better.”