Presser Bullets: Ryan Day Says TreVeyon Henderson "Could Have Played" Saturday, Defense "Played Great"

An exhale permeated the Horseshoe in the closing minutes of the Buckeyes' game against Maryland.

Ohio State didn't take its first lead against the Terrapins until the final three minutes of the third quarter, though it eventually pulled away to win by a 37-17 tally.

Following the victory, Ryan Day addressed the media on Kyle McCord's performance, the health of both TreVeyon Henderson and Emeka Egbuka and how the Buckeyes responded in the second half.

Day said Ohio State "wanted to start fast," but he was happy with how the team handled adversity after a bad beginning. "Didn't quite get in-sync on offense ... but that is the game and you've got to respond, I thought we did respond well in the second half."
Getting off-schedule and needing long yardage on third down hurt Ohio State in the first half, Day said.
TreVeyon Henderson "could have played" Saturday but the Buckeyes decided to keep him out for his long-term health, Day said.
On the defense: "The defense did some great things in this game ... they were a step ahead in terms of the defenses we were in. ... The pick-six by Proctor was huge. ... We've got too many penalties on here ... I think our guys were playing hard and that's the main thing."
On Ohio State's struggles running the ball: "There was a lot of guys in the box, they were going to stop the run, but that opened up the pass in the second half. ... I've got to figure out what it is. Is it the personnel, the scheme or the coaching of it? ... If they're going to put that many guys in the box, we have to be able to throw the football. But at the same time, when the box is right, we have to be efficient."
While there are first-half throws that McCord "will want back," Day liked what he saw from his quarterback in the second half. "I think he would tell you that he felt better about the second half than he did the first."
On Emeka Egbuka's health status: "They're evaluating him now, it doesn't seem like something major."
Day thought the defense did a good job containing Taulia Tagovailoa, pointing to his sub-200-yard passing yardage total and two interceptions with a pick-six. "If you had said that going into the game, I probably would have signed on the dotted line on that one."
On the Buckeyes' 10 penalties, including a sideline interference called against him: "I'm going to have to run with the guys tomorrow for that one. ... Football's a tough sport, there's a lot of passion going on right there. ... We can't have that many penalties, that can't happen. We can disagree on a few of them, but we still can't have that many."
On Josh Proctor: "I just called him out in the locker room, because he's the best version of himself right now. ... I think this is a guy who's been through a lot, and you can't substitute experience and maturity. ... The physicality, he plays tough. There's several pictures in my mind of him showing up at the point of attack."