The Buckeyes are back.
Two months removed from a runner-up finish to Alabama in the national championship game, Ohio State returns to the field for its 2021 spring football season on Friday.
In his first media availability since Feb. 3, Ryan Day on Wednesday previewed the Buckeyes' spring season, discussed the quarterback competition among C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller and Kyle McCord and gave updates on how the offseason has taken shape thus far.
A bullet-point rundown of what Day said today:
- On new special teams coordinator Parker Fleming, Day says Fleming is "a self-starter" who has impressed him throughout the winter and spring.
- On Marcus Hooker, Day says he is "suspended indefinitely" and that "we're going to let the process play out ... and get all the information" before making a decision on Hooker's future with the team.
- Most of the players are going to get "equal reps and an equal shot to compete," Day said, and he said it's "really exciting" that with a big roster that the Buckeyes are still going to get the guys "a lot of reps."
- Day on choosing a starting quarterback: “You'll know when the time is right. We'll know when the time is right.”
- Day said he's excited about Ohio State's next quarterback being around as a starter for “at least two years, maybe three years.”
- "Nothing has stood out yet" about the three quarterbacks "because we haven't really been on the field yet."
- Day said he's scheduled to get the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday and says he's "fired up" that the vaccine will become more readily available in the near future.
- Vaccines will not be required for players, but Ohio State will help players set up their appointments to get them.
- "No one has left the program," Day says, "at least not off-hand." He said that there are guys who will be limited in the spring but that every player should be available for at least some sort of work this spring despite injuries.
- When it comes to position battles, other than the quarterback, Day said the linebackers is one of the most interesting positions to watch, and he discussed the secondary as another spot that's intriguing. He mentioned Lathan Ransom and Josh Proctor as two guys who caught his eye toward the end of the season: "We need to build some depth there. There's some young faces in the back end."
- Ransom “really stepped up late” and Proctor “flashed at times” when talking about the secondary.
- Tight end is another position Day marks as one that needs to see some improvement in terms of depth after losing Luke Farrell.
- It's going to be important for a second tight end to step up behind Jeremy Ruckert this spring. Said Farrell was a player who did a lot for the Buckeyes even though he didn't get a ton of attention.
- On the addition of analysts Paul Rhoads and Todd Fitch to the coaching staff: “The early returns on this have been a home run.”
- On Paris Johnson Jr: "He has some position flexibility. He's just so talented. Really, our guards and our tackles are interchangeable." Johnson is going to start off at guard this spring, Day says. The most important thing is "getting your five-best offensive linemen and going from there."
- On pre-draft discussion about the criticism of Justin Fields being a one-read quarterback: "I don't really think much about that. I don't listen to any of them. ... When I was in the NFL, I had my opinion of the guys I would watch on film. ... Some of that stuff I don't really put much stock into. When you look at Justin's body of work ... and the first read's open a lot, that's not his fault. You know what I mean?"
- If the first read is to go to Chris Olave or Garrett Wilson, then that's where the ball needs to go. He said that's the entire point of the Buckeyes' scheme.
- "Whatever an NFL team asks him to do, he's gonna do it. ... He just goes and makes plays. That's what he did here. He made plays. ... I can promise you this, Justin Fields is gonna make plays in the NFL."
- On Fields: "Someone's gonna get very lucky by drafting him."
- Day singled out Zach Harrison as somebody who has stepped up the past couple months: "He just looks different. Hats off to him for a great offseason. He just has a different look in his eye."
- Day said that quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis runs the meetings in that room, saying simply: "At the end of the day, he coaches the quarterbacks."
- On advice for the three young quarterbacks entering the spring: "The first advice is you can't get into a daily battle with the guy next to you. ... I've been in those rooms my whole life, and what you find is that if there's friction there it's not good for the group or either guy. Some of the fiercest battles I've been around, they've become really close."
- Day: "Being a leader is the No. 1 job of the quarterback, and it's really hard to do that when you're young." Building up credibility in the locker room is critical in order to establish that leadership.
- On the success of the Buckeyes' basketball team: "That first game can sometimes be the hardest, but if they build up some momentum I think they can make a run."
- Day: “I love March Madness. ... I think Chris (Holtmann) has done an unbelievable job. I think his team plays really, really hard ... As long as they stay healthy, I think they're going to make a great run. It's been fun to watch them play.”
- On Ohio State having to shut down team activities because of positive COVID-19 tests: "It was like taking a punch last week when we got shut down for a while. It was like, 'oh, man. Here we go again." But because of the vaccine news and because they have been able to come back into the facilities without much issue, Day said "you can kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel. ... We're in a good place right now."
- On the No. 1 thing that Day wants out of his team this spring: "I don't know if there's just one thing. But we have to get better fundamentally, and we have to get 15 practices in. We'll start with that right there."
- On Kourt Williams and Cam Brown as they recover from injuries: “We have a good place for Kourt. We have a spot for him in terms of the safety position.” He said Williams will be able to practice in some capacity, as will Cam Brown. He said they won’t be able to go in full-contact practices until the pre-season but will be able to get some work in."
- In retaining Al Washington: “I wasn’t happy that some of those things were public. ... But I love Al. He’s like a brother to me. I’m glad he’s back, and he’s always going to have good opportunities.”
