As the Buckeyes completed their third week of preseason camp on Saturday, Ryan Day called an impromptu press conference to announce some news.
In addition to announcing Saturday that C.J. Stroud would begin the season as Ohio State's starting quarterback, Day also wrapped up the Buckeyes’ third week of preseason camp – the final week of camp before Ohio State shifts into its normal fall practice schedule and game preparation next week – and discussed Ohio State's six captain selections for the 2021 season, which were announced Friday.
A bullet-point recap of some of what Day had to say:
- Day said he has challenged even the players who weren't named captains to be team leaders. He says at times, the Buckeyes’ best leaders in past years have been players who weren't captains.
- Day said he felt it was the right time to name Stroud the starting quarterback over Jack Miller and Kyle McCord. He has not yet decided who the No. 2 quarterback will be.
- Kamryn Babb suffered a fourth ACL injury this offseason and remains unavailable, but he was named a captain because of his resilience and the impact he's made on the program off the field.
- On Stroud: “I'm excited about what we've seen, for sure.” He said Stroud has shown all the things Ohio State needed to see to feel confident in him leading the offense against Minnesota.
- Day said the Buckeyes held a “preseason game” scrimmage inside Ohio Stadium on Friday at noon, which helped solidify Stroud's place as the starting quarterback.
- Going to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday was a “great experience” for the team to bond and learn about football history, Day said.
- While Stroud was named the starting quarterback, Day said Kyle McCord is further along than he's seen most freshman quarterbacks at this point, and he expects McCord to become more game-ready as the season progresses.
- On the quarterbacks: “I think they all really think they've thrown the ball well.”
- On the perseverance of players like Kamryn Babb and Demario McCall to stay the course at Ohio State: “I think it says everything about how this is a place players want to be ... I believe in having those guys who have overcome adversity and shown resilience.”
- Day said he has not paid much attention to the reports about a potential Big Ten/Pac-12/ACC alliance because he is focused solely on preparing for the season right now.
- On Stroud's leadership: “He's not afraid to speak up, and that's good.”
- Day said Ohio State is still determining who its starting linebackers will be.
- On the other quarterbacks: “I know they're all committed and they want to be here.”
- Day said Quinn Ewers has been unavailable due to an injury for the past couple of days, but should be back at practice toward the end of next week.
