Ohio State dominated Akron Saturday without two of its veteran leaders, one on each side of the ball.
At his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Ryan Day said that linebacker Cody Simon and left guard Donovan Jackson are "day-to-day" after missing the Buckeyes' Week 1 contest against the Zips.
Day also talked about the need to continue to improve on the ground and the positive things he saw from Arvell Reese, Jelani Thurman and some other standouts.
Following Day's time at the lectern, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly met with the media to discuss his Week 1 offensive takeaways and his own take on the ground game. Quarterback Will Howard rounded out Tuesday's press conferences with some reflections on how he's progressing in the Buckeyes' offense.
Ryan Day
- Day said it will be important for those who graded out champions against Akron to continue enhancing their play, and those who didn't to figure out why and make the necessary adjustments. "We're nowhere near where we need to be."
- On the status of Simon and Jackson: "They're day-to-day right now. ... Had a good weekend."
- On the helmet communication: "It's different. A lot more teams are huddling in Week 1 which I thought would be the case. ... I think it's a hybrid (between huddle and no-huddle)."
- Day said there's a lot of playoff analytics the team looks at to show the value of every play. "I think every little bit is going to matter. Whether you're a top-four seed or 5, 6, 7, 8. ... We control our own destiny in terms of every game that we play ... I just want guys to know when they go into a game that every rep matters."
- On the run game and run blocking: "There was good snaps, there was some plays where we got to the perimeter, we can maybe make that guy miss a couple times. ... There were some good things as the game went on, but we've got to continue to improve."
- On Brandon Inniss being more aggressive on punt return: "We worked hard in this offseason on special teams. ... One of the studies that we did, every time the ball hits the ground on a turf field, there's an average of 10 yards of roll. ... The first thing we've got to get the ball back ... the second thing we've got to do is field it."
- Howard worked hard on his scramble ability this offseason, Day said. "He's big in the pocket but he also has speed. ... When you can steal a couple third-downs in the game on scrambles, that makes a huge difference."
- On how he assesses the tight ends: "I thought they, as a group, blocked well. I think we had two champions there. There's gotta be more production out of the room going forward. ... Couple of really good effort clips, in particular Will Kacmarek blocking his man 7 yards down the field and pancaking him."
- Day added that Saturday was a big day for Jelani Thurman.
- On Arvell Reese: "The way that Arvell played, he deserves more reps, but I think it has to do with his preparation. ... There was a point in the week where he dug in and did a really good job with his preparation. ... He had to prepare at a high level, and once you do that, then the game can slow down for you. I mean, you see the athletic ability. ... Any coach in America would love to have someone like that."
- On the operation of play calling: "It was a start, long way to go. ... We still want to be clean across the board, couple little penalties here and there that we've got to clean up."
- Day felt more freedom on the field with play calling off his plate, allowing him to be there more for the defense and special teams.
- On the biggest points of emphasis this week: "It's so many things across the board, it's not just one area. ... Each guy has their things that they need to improve on. I'm not gonna get into all the details of it, but a bunch of little things across the board. ... The foundation hasn't been built."
- On Austin Siereveld's play: "He looked like a first-time starter in there who has real potential. Has power has strength. ... Once he got his feet underneath him, he played great. ... Even if Donnie is healthy, you'd like to see him get in there and get some reps. ... But he needs to keep playing."
- Day said his role in play calling offensively and defensively is to communicate what everyone is seeing on the field to Jim Knowles and Kelly in the booth.
- On Howard handling in-helmet communication: "To have a voice in your head is something to get used to. ... The good thing is, you can tell him why you called it. You can make sure he understands the situation."
- On what surprised him in a good way and what needs worked on: "I think the punt return was better. ... I thought the kick return could have been better. ... We would have liked to have gotten off to a faster start."
Chip Kelly
- On Howard's scrambling ability: "If you had watched him at K-State, you would have obviously seen that he can make plays with his arm and his legs. ... He's a versatile guy."
- Kelly said that Ohio State isn't waiting to "unveil" any concepts against future opponents. "That's the game plan that we put together to go against Akron. ... We were probably a little bit shaky early. ... You could start to see a rhythm developing there. ... Starting to get some consistent runs and consistent pass plays."
- Kelly said it's the first time he coached from the box since 2008. He got settled in and familiar with being in the press box in practice.
- Kelly said that Day had a lot of input on offense on Saturday, but also a lot of input on defense and special teams. "He really contributed a lot on Saturday offensively."
- On how Tegra Tshabola and Austin Siereveld performed at guard. "I thought they both did a really good job for their first extensive playing time there. ... It was a lot of guys' first time stepping on the field in the Horseshoe. ... I think once those guys got settled, we started to get into a pretty good rhythm."
- On Jeremiah Smith: "I've been around here since March and he's been doing a lot of really, really good things. ... Besides the first drop, I thought the rest of the game he played really, really well."
- On using the tush-push-style quarterback sneak in short-yardage: "As long as we continue to stay above 90%, then we'll continue to do it."
- Kelly pushed back on some of the praise he received from Day for his play calling after Saturday's game. "You've gotta be really self-aware when you're done. So to go four plays and out to start, that's not good. ... There's always things you can do better. You're always going to be critical. And it's about execution."
- On whether he has different play calls in mind for TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins: "We really don't. I really feel like both those guys can run between the tackles ... but they both have speed and get to the perimeter. ... I think with both those guys, you can call the same game plan. I think James Peoples falls into the same category."
Will Howard
- On the offense settling in as he did: "Being the quarterback, you have that responsibility of being the, 'We go as I go.' I want to have that responsibility. ... If I'm locked in, that should be a green light for everyone else."
- On where he felt best about his performance and where he can improve: "Once I got settled in, I think I was most impressed with my decisiveness. ... If you're on time and decisive with it, that can kind of make up for mistakes sometimes. ... That's the biggest thing, is ironing out those mistakes and figuring out how we can start a little faster. ... We want to be able to start fast and not have to work through adversity if we don't have to."
- On Western Michigan: "They did a pretty good job against Wisconsin last week, they played hard. ... They've got some pretty good players on the inside."
- On the play where he also turned the ball over with a backward pass to Henderson: "I can't put the ball in harm's way. ... It's just having the wherewithal of trying to make plays but not trying to put the ball in harm's way. ... In that situation, I've just gotta tuck the ball, go down and eat it."
- In-helmet communication went "pretty well," Howard felt. "I think it was pretty smooth Week 1. We were able to have a little dialogue on the headset."
- Howard was "honored" to be Offensive Player of the Game but is more focused on stacking ticks in the win column. "That was really nice, but I really don't pay attention to that stuff. ... I was worried about grading out a champion and getting a win."
- On whether he enjoys his press conferences: "I like talking to you guys and spreading the news of the Buckeyes and whatnot. ... I feel like being the quarterback, you have to be the representative. ... I'll be here, good or bad. ... I appreciate what you guys do for us, I really do."
