Presser Bullets: Ryan Day And C.J. Stroud Took Pride in Executing “At A Higher Level” Against Toledo, Day Expects Multiple Injured Players to Return Next Week

Ohio State improved to 3-0 behind the most explosive offensive effort of its season on Saturday.

The Buckeyes hung a whopping 77 points and 763 yards of total offense on their in-state adversary, torching the Toledo defense in a 56-point win. The Buckeye defense may have allowed nearly the same amount of points to the Rockets as it did in the first two games combined, but it was of little consequence by game's end.

Ryan Day, C.J. Stroud and Kevin Wilson spoke about the performance from both sides of the ball following the game, and we took notes on everything the Buckeye head coach, quarterback and offensive coordinator said below.

Ryan Day

Day says the crowd was "unbelievable" for Ohio State on Saturday. "We wanted to make sure we played well in this game because of that."
On C.J. Stroud's performance: "He has very good vision. I thought C.J. had a very good week of practice. ... We had a tough week of practice. We did. ... He embraced that. It's a lot." Day says Stroud "fed on having Jaxon (Smith-Njigba) and Julian (Fleming) back in the lineup."
Day says the Buckeyes will move on to think about Wisconsin "as we leave the stadium tonight" instead of on Sunday.
On the Toledo offense: "Their quarterback was very athletic and made a lot of plays. ... Certainly there were some things they exposed that we gotta get cleaned up."
On injury issues: "They were all available, we just felt like it was the right thing to do to hold them after warmups." Day says he expects Proctor and McCalister to be available next week.
On injuries to TreVeyon Henderson and some other players: "We haven't seen anything we think is gonna be long-term." Day says Ohio State is taking precaution with a number of players.
"We wanted to execute at a higher level this week going in" on offense. Day says the Buckeyes wanted to take pride in their execution level.
On Fleming returning to action: "You can see now the depth we have." Day says "we're gonna need all these guys all throughout the year."
Day says Henderson's injury issue is "a new thing" and not something he dealt with last year.

C.J. Stroud

"I think we were clicking." Stroud says Day's message all week was to start early, and taking the ball to start the game was a part of that.
On making NFL throws against Toledo: "We practice throws like that."
Stroud says Marvin Harrison Jr. has been able to show all aspects of his game and skill set so far in 2022.
"When I'm confident, I think it's a great thing for the Buckeyes."
On Dallan Hayden: "I kind of forced him to take a deep breath when he was in the backfield. ... He's a super hardworker."
On running the ball and scrambling against Toledo: "I appreciate you pointing out that I ran a little bit," Stroud said with a laugh.
Stroud says Cade Stover is one of the people he looks up to most on the Buckeye roster. "He works on a farm, you can tell."
"Once we get momentum going, it's kind of hard to stop us." Stroud says Fleming and Smith-Njigba returning gave him a boost coming into the game. "It's just about execution and taking pride in that."

Kevin Wilson

"It was nice to get Mitch (Rossi) a touch" against Toledo.
On the use of multiple TEs: "I think Coach Day's gotten very comfortable playing to their strengths," and Wilson says they'll continue to use them more as the season wears on.
Wilson says "we're not where we need to be, but we're getting better" in the short-yardage run game.
Wilson says Stroud rivals former Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford in terms of the quickest minds he's ever seen at the position.
On Stover: "He's a real leader because he leads by actions first. His work ethic, his durability, his consistency. ... The wear and tear that he puts and his ability to consistently practice earns him great respect from his teammates."
Wilson says Stover is "the quintessential tight end" because he's "not flashy" but can do it all. Wilson says he's counting on a "big year" from Stover.
Wilson says freshman walk-on RB TC Caffey has "popped a little bit in practice" going against the ones on defense.
On Rossi, Wilson says he told him two years ago that he could have a chance to be an NFL fullback, although the league doesn't use the position all that much anymore.
Wilson says Big Ten play is "very, very different" than what the Buckeyes saw against Toledo.
Wilson says Stover's "coming on strong" and he's "good enough to be in the mix."

In addition to the three videos above, OSU players Julian Fleming, Dallan Hayden, Emeka Egbuka, Jack Sawyer, Ronnie Hickman and Cameron Martinez met with reporters after the win Saturday. You can hear their thoughts on the game in the videos below.