After signing yet another star-studded recruiting class, Ryan Day is ready to start preparing for next season.
As the Buckeyes look to close the book on 2020 and turn the page towards 2021, Day took to the radio waves on 97.1 The Fan to discuss a number of things like the challenges of recruiting this season, inexperience at the quarterback position, the staff changes, and more.
Day was also joined by defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.
Ryan Day
On signing everyone in December
- "Everything's just different."
- "The old signing day model is just very different."
- Day notes that it's good to now have so many early enrollees.
On the difficulty of this recruiting process
- "I've gotta give the families and these recruits a lot of credit for being able to adapt."
- Day credits the coaching staff on signing "one of the best classes in a long time."
- Day said these recruits are closer than other classes because of the amount of time they spent on social media.
- "For some of them, it was the first time we met them in person. For the others, it was a year since we've seen them so they looked like different people."
On players getting an extra year of eligibility
- "Yeah, it's very confusing."
- Day said he doesn't want to get too far over 85 players, and Ohio State won't be.
- Day said even if he could have more than 85 players, he likes to be around 85 because "things just get too log-jammed."
On if Day has ever had this little experience in a quarterback room
- "No," Day said with a laugh. "There's gonna be some sleepless nights."
- "We'll just have to try to do a great job of trying to simulate some games this spring."
- "We're going to try to figure out a way to simulate as many games as possible."
Aside from his talent, what other aspects of Justin Fields will be missed?
- Day mention's Fields' toughness.
- "He never missed a game. ... He was always there."
- Day notes that he never had an experienced backup behind him.
On the staff movements
- "I think we did a good job against the run, and I think a big part of that is Larry Johnson and a big part of that is Al Washington."
- "The decision that I made is that we should use that (extra assistant) position on the back end."
- Day said Matt Barnes' promotion allows Kerry Coombs to be more of a coordinator with Barnes handling the cornerback and safeties.
- Day said after moving Barnes, he wanted to keep some continuity on special teams.
Do you expect things to return to normal in the spring?
- "We're hoping it gets back to normal."
- "At least we'll have seven weeks of offseason workouts and then a full spring."
- Day said in the spring they'll be able to get some recruits on campus, too.
On playing for Big Ten championships helping recruiting
- "I think so much of our recruiting is that every year we're going to be in the national championship picture."
- "We're right there every year."
- "I think that's what these guys are excited about – when they come to Ohio State, they're going to get a chance to win a national championship or be a first-round draft pick."
On navigating the transfer portal
- "I never thought it would be like this – this is crazy. But we've got to adapt to the times."
- "Realy what we've done with these guys is finding a culture fit."
- "Having a guy come in and jump ahead of guys who've put work in – that's a tough thing to do."
- Day said they always try to evaluate how the players would fit in the culture and the locker room too.
Kerry Coombs
On his feelings towards recruiting
- "I love recruiting. I love talking to kids. I hate doing it on zoom and text."
- "I hope they let us go on the road at some point in time."
- Coombs said the first time he met Denzel Burke was after he signed.
On emphasizing Ohio in recruiting
- "We have a footprint here in the midwest. We're always going to recruit the best players in the state of Ohio."
- "We also believe we're a national team and we have to be able to recruit anywhere in the country to get the best players."
On taking over as sole defensive coordinator
- "There's still going to be so much carryover in style and scheme."
- "I'm also very excited about the transition."
- Coombs said he's been working with Matt Barnes in the secondary all year.
- "I love that our head coach loves and believes in hiring and promoting from within."
On DeVonta Smith and the Alabama passing game
- "He's sneaky fast."
- That's an exceptional talent."
- "Obviously, we didn't play our best day."
Kevin Wilson
On getting some of the new offensive players into the fold
- Kevin Wilson mentions that Ohio State has all but one offensive signee on campus as an early enrollee.
- Wilson said they're working with coach Mick to get their bodies ready.
What areas do you look to improve in?
- "Each area, just because you did it before doesn't mean you're going to do it again."
- Wilson said you have to play to the strengths of your players, so they'll be trying to figure out what the looks like for them this season.
- "In the end, it's what can you do and what do you evolve to based on what you have?"
On the quarterbacks
- "It's really just reaching those guys the offense."
- Wilson said the offensive line, run game and receivers will take off a lot of pressure from those young quarterbacks."
- "There's a lot of stress and a lot of expectation that comes with being the quarterback at Ohio State."
On the tight ends
- Wilson said Jeremy Ruckert wants to become more of a complete player and that Wilson wants to get him the ball more often.
- Wilson said he expects Jeremy Ruckert to play many more snaps this year.
- "That room needs to develop."
- Wilson notes that after this year, they're very inexperienced behind Ruckert and Mitch Rossi.
