Quick Hits: Kyle McCord Says “Everybody’s Looking Forward To” Saturday, Marvin Harrison Jr. Says He’s “The Hardest-Working Player in the Country” and Jermaine Mathews Jr. Receives Praise

On Wednesday, Ryan Day held a 10-question press conference with the media on the Woody Hayes Athletic Center indoor practice field. The Ohio State head coach was followed by quarterback Kyle McCord, wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Xavier Johnson, tight end Cade Stover, offensive lineman Donovan Jackson, defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, linebacker Cody Simon and cornerbacks Davison Igbinosun and Jordan Hancock.

Among the many topics discussed after Ohio State's third practice of game week, McCord said “everybody's looking forward to” playing Penn State, Harrison called himself “the hardest-working player in the country,” Cody Simon said Saturday's game will “come down to playing physical” and Jackson said “it'll come down to execution.”

Videos from the nine players’ media sessions and bullet-point recaps of what the players said can be found below.

QB Kyle McCord

• On both him and Devin Brown fumbling last week: “Yeah, obviously, put the ball on the ground too many times last week. And obviously Penn State’s a really good defense. And we can’t do that. So that’s been a point of emphasis, just kind of being strong with the ball in the pocket.”
• On what this game means to him after playing high school football in Pennsylvania: “Knowing the type of opponent we’re playing, you circle this one on the calendar for sure. And playing with a lot of these guys in high school, playing against them, I think just makes it even more special. But I think just because they’re such a quality opponent, I think that’s why everybody’s looking forward to it so much.”
• McCord said Penn State was his “No. 2 choice” as a recruit, “but I think when Coach Day gave me the green light to commit, there was really no doubt that this was the place to be, given his track record.”
• McCord said he was at the Penn State vs. Ohio State game at Beaver Stadium in 2018, and watching Dwayne Haskins lead the Buckeyes to a comeback win in that game made him want to be a Buckeye. “I remember talking to my dad about it and I was like if Ohio State comes calling, I think that’s definitely a school to consider.”
• McCord said he thinks of Ohio State vs. Penn State as a rivalry. “It’s obviously not The Game around here. But I think everybody in this facility knows it’s gonna be a challenge, and it’s been a challenge every single year that we’ve played them.”
• On Devin Brown throwing and running for a touchdown last week: “I think that’s good, especially for a young guy to get some game experience like that, to get some confidence going, I think that was really good for him.”
• McCord said Ryan Day is “fired up 24/7, and I think that brings the best out of all the guys on the team. When you have a coach that is on you that hard and wants to see you succeed that bad, I think that just let you know how much he cares about you, how much he cares about the team, how much he cares about the success of the team.”
• On getting yelled at by Day during a game: “I think you have to listen to what he’s saying, and not how he’s saying it. Obviously in the moment, he’s gonna be hot, but it’s always a good message that he’s trying to get across. And I think just the way he says it is just you have to keep in mind the urgency of it. Especially at the school like Ohio State, you have to get those things changed now, and if you don’t there’s going to be a problem. So that’s one of the things that I’ve definitely grown just to be comfortable with is getting lit up by him.”

WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

• Harrison said he has been “very impressed” by Jermaine Mathews Jr. “He definitely has that dog mentality that you look for in the corners. I think him and Davison both brought that to the cornerback room this past offseason.”
• On Carnell Tate: “He’s one of the best players I’ve been around just from a talent, just how he takes care of his business, on and off the field. So I’m super excited to see, as he continues to grow, as his role increases in the offense.”
• Harrison said his ankle is “getting a little better.”
• He said Emeka Egbuka is dealing with an ankle injury, too.
• On Penn State’s defense: “They’re a great defense. Probably one of the best defenses that I’ve seen on film. I think from top to bottom, everything you’re looking for on a defense. Very well-coached as well.”
• On Penn State’s secondary: “They’re gonna play that man coverage. They’re gonna rely a lot on trying to be physical with you at the line of scrimmage, getting their hands on you know. They’re very talented, very skilled. So it’s definitely going to be a challenge for me and the rest of the receivers, but it just comes down to who has better technique at the end of the day.”
• Harrison said Penn State cornerback Kalen King is “definitely one of the best corners that I’ve faced in my college career. I have tremendous respect for him.”
• Harrison said he felt “a lot of emotions” with the drops he had last week against Purdue. “I take preparation very seriously. I think I’m the hardest-working player in the country as well. So for you to go out there on Saturdays and not get the results that you want, it definitely hurts the heart a little bit.”
• Harrison said he considers any pass thrown his way that he doesn’t catch to be a drop. “I think every ball thrown my way needs to be a completion.”
• He said he learned that he should have taken his gloves off because it was raining for the entire second half.
• Do you feel like you’re playing up to your standard right now? “I feel like I’m never playing up to my standard, if anything, because the standard’s perfection and you can never be perfect.” He said he’s always chased the standard set by his father. “That’s a Hall of Famer, you’re always comparing yourself to him.”
• Harrison said he considers Ohio State vs. Penn State to be a rivalry game. “I think for the goals that we’re trying to accomplish as a team, making it to the Big Ten championship, Penn State’s definitely one of those teams year in and year out that you’re gonna have to go through to reach that goal.”
• He said he didn’t have a favorite college football team growing up because he mostly watched NFL games.
• On the trash talk from Purdue cornerbacks last Saturday: “I don’t know if you’d call that trash talk. I think they were just, I don’t even know what they were doing, but they were just out there talking to be talking. I wasn’t really paying them no mind, though.”

WR Xavier Johnson

• On his versatile role at Ohio State: "I pride myself on doing whatever the team needs and helping in whatever capacity they see fit for me. That ability to apply to different places and do different things allows me to help the team in multiple ways. Wherever they need me, I try to step into that role, own that role and take that role as seriously as I can."
• On his increased role vs. Purdue: "I feel like I can help the team when I am out there. I do enjoy the things Coach Day does, and he does a great job putting the plan together. Stepping into that role, trying to execute the best I can and being out there is fun. I love the game of football. I love being out there with my brothers. Whenever I get the chance (to do that), I want to maximize it."
• Johnson said TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams, Chip Trayanum, Dallan Hayden and Evan Pryor all have "their own personality running the ball." When he steps in as a running back, Johnson said he "tries to learn" from them and see "the way they approach the game."
• Johnson said his personality as a ballcarrier is "somebody who can make people miss." He said, "If we were in a phone booth, you're not touching me. If you do touch me, I am going to break the tackle type of thing. I don't pride myself on making people fall. I pick a side and go with it."
• Johnson said "every time I touch the ball, I should score." He said crossing the goal line and reaching the end zone is something he envisions each time the ball is in his hands.
• Johnson said Day's animated and fiery personality showing itself this season has been positive: "When that side comes out, it definitely amps up the team."

CB Jordan Hancock

• Hancock said “it was an easy transition” moving back outside to cornerback after Denzel Burke left the Purdue game because that’s his natural position. He said he expects he will have to play both cornerback and nickel again this week.
• On Jermaine Mathews Jr.: “He works really hard. He’s a student of the game. He’s really fast and athletic. And he’s really twitchy and can cover routes. So we’ve got all the confidence in him, because he’s a dog. So he goes out there, we know he’s gonna do his job. And we have all the trust in him.”
• Hancock feels like Ohio State is deeper in the secondary than it was last year. “We have a lot of talented backups that could start anywhere in the country. Safety, corner, nickel, anywhere.”
• On Ryan Day coaching the team hard this year: “He’s been vocal on every aspect.” Hancock said “you can see the urgency and the intensity from Coach Day” at a different level than past years.
• Hancock said the defensive backs have to run after practice if they give up a deep ball. He said they take a lot of pride in not letting that happen.
• On the magnitude of this game: “Everyone’s gonna be watching. Anybody can make a name for themselves this game. So everyone should be excited. Everyone should be in the film room a little bit more, taking practice more serious, because any play can make your name public.”

CB Davison Igbinosun

• On where the secondary is at right now: “I feel good about it right now, but I feel like there’s room to improve and grow.”
• On how he would describe his game: “I’m tough, hard-nosed, I’m going to put my hands on you and be physical.”
• Igbinosun feels freshman corner Jermaine Mathews Jr. has “grown tremendously” since his arrival on campus this spring. “He came in with so much talent, but he’s only gotten better.”
• Top-10 conference showdowns like the Buckeyes have against Penn State are a top reason why he transferred to OSU, Igbinosun said. “I came to Ohio State to play in the big games, so I’m excited for this one, I can’t lie.”
• The big-game atmosphere won’t affect his approach, however. “It feels normal. This is, like, another game. I’m not thinking about it any differently.”
• On how he would describe Ohio State’s cornerback room: “I would say it’s BIA, Best in America.”
• Igbinosun confirmed that defensive tackle Tyleik Williams is part of BIA after batting down several passes this season.
• On how he rates himself so far this season: “I’m always critical of myself, so I feek like I can always do better.”

DT Tyleik Williams

• On his honorary inclusion to “BIA,” Ohio State’s cornerback room, since he’s now batted down four passes this season: “It feels amazing to be a part of two groups. I take great pride in my DB skills, so I’m showing that now.”
• On earning midseason All-American honors from ESPN and The Athletic: “It’s a great award. I’m not really worried about it right now, I’m just trying to get to Saturday and get ready for a big game.”
• Williams feels that Penn State’s offensive line works well together and presents a lot of size to move bodies at the line of scrimmage. “I don’t think there’s any real fishes on the line, they’re all good. They work together.”
• On what’s caused his leap in production this season: “I think I’m just working harder in practice and in the game. I took some breaks last year, but I’ve got a bigger role this year so I’ve got to show up.”
• On how he’s collected his pass deflections: “It’s just instincts. When I think the ball is coming out, I just put my hands up, try to block (the quarterback’s) view.”
• Williams has noticed more intensity this season from Ryan Day and Ohio State’s coaching staff. “I think they’re definitely more hyped up now. I think that’s what we need as players, we need a fiery coach. We don’t need a calm coach, we need a coach screaming. I think that gets us going.”

LB Cody Simon

• On Penn State’s offense: “When you watch them on film, they’re kind of like their teams in the past. They love running the ball, they love being physical. So it really just comes down to playing physical and stopping them at the point of attack.”
• On whether he’s playing the best he has thus far in his career: “I’m just blessed I’m in this position. I’m taking it one day at a time and I appreciate everything that’s going in my life, good or bad.”
• Simon feels he needs to stay locked in regardless of how much he is or isn’t playing. “Staying hungry, that’s the main thing. It doesn’t matter if I get one (snap) or if I play the whole game. My job is to be as prepared as anybody is on that field and when my number gets called, I do whatever coach tells me and do it with as much energy as I can.”
• Steele Chambers, the man he’s primarily rotating in for at linebacker, has been a big help for Simon, he said. “He shows me a lot of the ways, because playing behind him, it’s not an easy job. From the TV copies and the bird’s-eye view it may look easy, but there’s so many little things that go into it. He’s taught me so much and I’m still learning right now.”
• Simon said that the coaching staff has been cross-training him to play at either Mike or Will linebacker if needed.
• On what he expects from the fans Saturday: “I know when people are in the stands early, when the fans are in the stands early, that opening kickoff is probably the best there ever is. ... That’s what I’m looking forward to, people in the crowd early, getting ready and going crazy for that first kickoff.”

LG Donovan Jackson

• On the Penn State game: “When the schedule comes out, they’re are games that you circle, and this is one of them. It’s a matchup game, meaning it’s good-on-good. Talent won’t win this game. It’ll come down to execution. We’re looking forward to this game.”
• On if Ohio State can take anything away from last week’s win and apply it to this week: “We felt good being able to run the ball efficiently. But no, Purdue ran a three-down front, and Penn State runs a four-down front so it’s a totally different operation. We’ve got to keep stacking days and rely on the game plan and coaching we have.”
• On the balance of relying on both creativity and foundational running concepts, with creativity coming from breaking out the Devin Brown goal line package: “I would say from an O-Line standpoint, I don’t know who’s behind me. It was a nice surprise seeing (Devin Brown) in the end zone. But in terms of how we block, it doesn’t change anything that we do for the man behind us. Having different personnel groups makes us more versatile.”
• On if he felt the Devin Brown package brought a spark to the offense: “I’d say it certainly helped the offense having the versatility that he brings. But at the end of the day we’re just trying to punch it in the end zone regardless of who is back there. It could be coach Day himself running the ball, I’m sure he’d run hard. We’re just taught as linemen to get in the end zone and make sure we touch paint.”
• Jackson said short-yardage situations were a huge point of emphasis for Ohio State all of last week.

TE Cade Stover

• On Ryan Day coaching the team hard: “I think he’s done a really good job of giving us a good role model to follow and look up. He’s going to have our back like we’ll have his.”
• On the long hug he and Day gave each other shortly after the Notre Dame win: “We just have been through a lot together. We share a lot of the same characteristics mentally wise. We said to each other, ‘We’ve got your back here.’”
• On his blocking in addition to pass catching: “I think it goes hand in hand. You have to be able to do a little bit of everything out there. Being a complete tight end helps the team more than it helps anyone else. We’re hoping to keep that rolling.”