Quick Hits: Marvin Harrison Jr. Has a "Villain Mentality" On the Road, TreVeyon Henderson Wants Ohio State to "Come Out Fast and Physical" at Notre Dame and Sonny Styles is "Excited" to Face the Irish

After Ohio State's Wednesday practice, a star-studded cast of Kyle McCord, Marvin Harrison Jr., TreVeyon Henderson, Sonny Styles, Tyleik Williams, Cade Stover, Josh Proctor and Donovan Jackson held individual press conferences on the Buckeyes' indoor practice field, with each player discussing their anticipation for the Week 4 contest with the Irish.

"This is why you come to Ohio State, to play in this big of a game," Harrison said. "It's a primetime game with a 7:30 kickoff, top-10 teams going at it. (It's) on the road. I like playing on the road. It should be fun."

Much more was said about the magnitude of Ohio State versus Notre Dame on Wednesday. Videos from all eight media sessions and bullet-point recaps of what Harrison and the other Ohio State players had to say can be found below.

Quarterback Kyle McCord

• On preparing for Notre Dame: “I’d say it’s our biggest test yet. It’s a tough environment against a well-coached, talented team. But everybody’s risen to the occasion this week, because we know what’s on the line Saturday.” 
• McCord's thoughts on Notre Dame’s defense: “They’re talented across the board, there’s no position that I think they’re weak in and they have a bunch of experience. They’ve been in the system for a couple years and they’re well-coached. In film, they don’t have many breakdowns or let guys run free. They make you earn every yard you get. So I’m excited for it.” 
• On if his preparation changes when facing a daunting opponent: “I wouldn’t say so. I think every week I hold myself to an extremely high standard regardless of who we play and where we play. But in the back of your mind, you know what type of test it is and what you’re going to see on Saturday night.” 
• On if he feels more comfortable preparing for games: “Now that I have three games under my belt, you know what you’ll need to do during the week to give you a step ahead. I think you use that experience, shape your week and every single minute is mapped out and calculated. That’s helped me get into a routine.” 
• On what his Friday night before the game is like: “I think Friday nights are dotting your I’s and crossing your T’s at that point. The past three weeks we felt good about the work we put in at that point. It’s just about watching that last little bit of film and once you feel good and feel you’re in a good place, it’s good to step back from football a little bit and enjoy the fellowship with your brothers. That’s what we’ve kinda been trying to do the last three weeks.” 
• On practice this week: “This week, we’ve obviously ramped up the intensity. I think just because of who we’re going against on Saturday. I feel like everybody has had an edge to them, which is good. We’ve used that momentum from last week and carried it over into this week.” 
• On playing aggressive against Notre Dame: “I think that’s the mentality you want to have. I think regardless of who you’re playing, that should be your mindset. I feel like when you put in a lot of work on and off the field and feel confident in what you’re going to do, you earn the right to do that. If you try to cheat it and go out there and try to take shortcuts, I don’t think you can play free and truly as fast as you want to. But with the work that we’ve all put in, I think everyone will have the confidence to go out there and let it fly. 
• On how he maintains his composure in games: “I feel like it’s all about a balance, I think you want to have enough composure to where if something doesn’t go our way or whatever, you’ll have a calm sense about you and the guys know we’ll be alright and work it out. But you also want to have that fiery, competitive side to you as well and push the guys and continue to lead in that way.”

Wide Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

• On Kyle McCord: “He’s very calm and collected. He’s not gonna let the pressure get to him. He prepares harder than anybody else. He’s definitely mentally prepared. And obviously, he has the ability. So he just has to go out there and trust himself.”
• Harrison said he likes playing in road games because he enjoys being the villain. “The villain mentality you kind of have when you go on the road, I just really enjoy.”
• He said he thinks Ohio State has “done a good job” of moving him around so far this season, but “we’ve kept some things for some of the bigger games.”
• Harrison said he sprained his ankle in the second game of last season against Arkansas State. He said he “was only able to cut off one foot throughout the whole year,” but that didn’t stop him from having a unanimous All-American season.
• On Ohio State’s offensive performance against Western Kentucky: “I think we got a lot of confidence from last week. Obviously we had to build to get to that point, Week 3, kind of took us a slow start.” He thinks McCord had more confidence in himself after he was named the outright starting quarterback.

Running Back TreVeyon Henderson

• On what he remembers from the ND game last year: “It felt good last year to get off to a fast start, come out fast and physical. We’re trying to bring that to this year also. We’re trying to get off to that fast start again and play for four quarters because we know that game is going to be won in the fourth quarter.
• On Chip Trayanum: “Chip is a great player, not just a great player but also a great person.”
• On the importance of getting off to a fast start this week: “They always express that it’s important each and every game. The goal is to get off to a fast start. But if it doesn’t go our way or we don’t do that, we have to win with our second-half mentality.”
• On having a big performance against WKU last week: “It felt good, man. But we have to keep going each and every week and keep building.”
• On Notre Dame’s defense: “They’re a great defense, they have some great players that can do some great things. It’ll definitely be a challenge for us, but we’re ready for it.
• On if practice this week has been as intense as it was last week per Ryan Day: “Each and every week we try to be consistent. The intensity of practice this week has definitely turned up a notch. We’re playing a top 10 team, so the intensity has to be turned up a little.
• On Kyle McCord: “Kyle handles pressure pretty well. That’s what I like about Kyle. He’s never folding, he’s never panicking. He’s always calm and relaxed even when things aren’t going our way. He’s a great leader.
• On if McCord has been more of a leader since being named the full-time starter: “Really I felt that in camp, his whole mood and the way he started carrying himself changed. He started feeling more comfortable. At first he was going through that battle, it was pretty tough on him, (he and Devin Brown) were battling it out, so there was a lot of pressure. But the last week of camp, I just noticed something different about him, man. He came in more confident, more relaxed, I just saw that grow each and every week. He’s getting more comfortable in leading this offense. He’s doing a great job, man.”

Safety Sonny Styles

• On his feelings entering Saturday’s game: “I’m pretty excited. Notre Dame, they’ve got a great football team. I think it helped getting some good experience in that Georgia game (in the College Football Playoff) I think that gives (me) a little bit of confidence because I’ve been in a big game before.”
• Playing against his brother Lorenzo was fun a season ago, but Sonny Styles is excited that they’ll be playing on the same team in the game this season. “It was a cool moment. Last year I wasn’t playing as much the first game, but it was still a cool moment, me and my brother sharing the field. But this year, I think it’s even more special.”
• Tackling a running back as big and strong as Notre Dame’s Audric Estime will mean the defense has to “wrap up” and practice a “smart swarm,” Styles said. “I think everyone’s got to come in, you’ve got to be physical with him.”
• On what stands out about Notre Dame’s offense: “I feel like they’ve got a good, balanced attack. They run the ball well, they take some shots. I think (Sam) Hartman’s a great quarterback, he makes some great decisions with the ball.”
• Styles is still mainly only working at nickel safety, he said, but added that he likes to “know” all three safety positions. He saw action at Ohio State’s boundary safety position against Western Kentucky.
• On how he’s preparing mentally for his role this week: “Just being physical at the point of attack. They’ve got some good tight ends, they block well, so you’ve got to be physical for four quarters and be consistent. Like I said, they’re probably going to go (for deep) shots (off play action), so eye discipline.”

Defensive Tackle Tyleik Williams

• Williams said he thinks Ohio State’s defense is “well ready” to go up against Audric Estimé and Notre Dame’s running game. “We’ve played teams like this before (in past years). Very good O-line, good running back. Good scheme, lot of counter, lot of inside zone. But we get on the film, I think it’ll be a good game.”
• He said Notre Dame’s offensive line does “a lot of eye candy, so you gotta focus on what they’re actually doing.”
• Williams said he is “playing hard and studying the game more than I did before,” which he thinks is making the difference for him to make a bigger impact this year.
• He says he’s still dealing with the knee injury he suffered in preseason camp, but “it’s not really bothering me.”
• Williams said C.J. Hicks told him to do a celebration after his fumble recovery touchdown, so he thought of the belly rub on the spot. He described his celebration as a “missed opportunity” but said he already has his celebration in his head for the next time he scores a touchdown.
• He said he thinks Ohio State’s defensive ends “generate a lot of pressure,” but opponents game plan against them with quick passes to prevent them from getting sacks.

Safety Josh Proctor

• Proctor feels as though the contest with the Fighting Irish could be a “stepping stone” game for him after being replaced by Lathan Ransom in Ohio State’s defensive lineup during the same games a year ago. “We all know what happened last year, so really I’m just looking forward to playing them again and getting back out there.”
• On his mindset with the events of last year in mind: “I’m just level-headed. I’m level-headed, I’m confident in myself. Just get out there and do my job, that’s all I want to do. I tell myself that every play.”
• On the biggest difference for him between this year and last: “I’m a lot different. Even from last year, just coming back from injury, having that uncertainty, not knowing what would happen, thinking a lot. This year (I’m just trying to) know my job, understand my job and let the rest fall in place. I don’t try to force anything, I don’t try to do too much, just do my job.”
• Proctor’s level-headed approach took a lot of self-reflection in the offseason, he said. “It’s progress I had to make personally. This whole year, I wanted to buckle in and know what I’m doing. Not necessarily worried about what’s going on outside and what people may say, just focus on me.”
• The newfound even-keeled approach Proctor has is combined with an aggression that’s always come natural to him, he feels. “I like to call it controlled chaos.”

Tight End Cade Stover

• Stover said Ohio State wants to put itself in the Notre Dame game with "every rep in practice." He added: "In that game, there's no do-overs. We want to make it like that in practice for us. Every single rep matters even if its practice."
• On Ohio State's practices this week: "I think we've had a good week of practice so far. There are still some things to clean up, but we are gonna get that done before Saturday. We have done good up to this point."
• Despite a new-look offensive line and a new starter at quarterback for Ohio State, Stover said he doesn't believe there's a difference in the lead-up between Ohio State and Notre Dame's 2022 meeting and the team's 2023 meeting. "I don't know. No, I don't think so. They had to break in a quarterback, too. They have good players. We have good players. We could play them in the parking lot, and it would still be a good game."
• On Kyle McCord: "He's done a really good job. Like anybody in the world, one you know that you're our guy, it's natural that you become more of a leader... Last week was really good for him and really good for the team. He is starting to hit his stride at the right time, and hopefully we are starting to hit ours." He added that McCord is an "all-around good person and an all-around good person to play for and play with."
• Stover said if Ohio State "can put the pieces together" offensively and "put them together at the right time," then the Buckeyes can "do some good things" that result in the team finding consistent success.

Offensive Lineman Donovan Jackson

• Jackson said Ohio State's offensive line is "focused on stacking days" ahead of the Notre Dame game. "We have some things we need to work on, but that's what film is for. It's a long season. As long as we come back and correct the mistakes we made (the day before), we will be better off."
• On the offensive line's performance versus Western Kentucky: "We feel like we got better than (last week). That's always the goal. There's been a point of emphasis this week of effort and execution – on how long you can strain for the man next to you. We emphasize that in the O-line room. It's of great importance."
• On Josh Simmons' development at left tackle: "He's always been a freak athlete. Now he has confidence in his ability. He's doing a lot better than he has before. He keeps stacking days." Jackson said he hopes to be a leader for Simmons as Paris Johnson Jr. and Luke Wypler were for him when he first started on the offensive line as a Buckeye.
• Jackson said Tyleik Williams has "come into his own" this season. "He's making plays. He's being the Tyleik Williams I know he can be. He's gonna keep getting better. I'm looking forward to seeing 91 fly across the field."
• On Kyle McCord: "I feel like the whole offense needs to band together as one. It will be a primetime road game, which is exciting. Having Kyle as a vocal leader will help us lock in." Jackson said McCord has always been a leader, even earlier in his Ohio State career. However, he had to take a more backseat role to C.J. Stroud because the Buckeyes' offense wasn't "his car to drive."
• Jackson said Ohio State's offense needs to be efficient with each play and drive. He said the Buckeyes don't want to leave the field with "any regrets" on Saturday.