Quick Hits: Denzel Burke Says Ohio State’s Defense is “Chasing Eliteness” and Austin Siereveld Says He'll Play “Wherever They Need Me”

Ryan Day briefly met with reporters on Wednesday and revealed OSU may have both Brandon Inniss and Jayden Ballard return kicks against Marshall and that he believes "confidence is being built" on the offensive line.

RELATED Lightning Round: Ryan Day Sees “Confidence Being Built” on Ohio State’s Offensive Line, Says He’s “Not at Liberty to Speak” About Denzel Burke’s Ejection Against Western Michigan

Following Day’s “lightning round,” six Buckeyes participated in interview sessions of their own on the Woody Hayes Athletic Center indoor practice field: Arvell Reese, Denzel Burke, Josh Fryar, Lorenzo Styles Jr., Tegra Tshabola and Austin Siereveld.

Below you can find video, some quotes and all the need-to-know information from their media sessions:

CB Denzel Burke

“We're chasing eliteness.”– Denzel Burke on Ohio State’s defense

• Burke is excited to play Marshall because “they throw the ball a lot, so I definitely have some play opportunities to get out there.” He hopes to force a turnover.
• Burke thought the targeting penalty that got him ejected from the Western Michigan game was “a bullcrap call.” He believes targeting penalties around the country are “getting out of hand.”
• Burke said he wishes Ohio State had some harder games on the schedule to begin the season so that the Buckeyes could “get a real look at where we're at.”
• On Jermaine Mathews Jr.: “He's a great player. He's a dog. He's proven himself here at The Ohio State University.”
• On Lorenzo Styles Jr.: “He's grown a lot, man. He's a great player. And just to see the way he's elevated his game, it's been really awesome to see. Sky's the limit for him.”
• Burke said Aaron Scott Jr. has flashed in practice but “definitely has to be a little bit more consistent.”

LB Arvell Reese

“At linebacker, you've got to have the mindset that you want to make every tackle, so that's the mindset that I have going out there. I want to be at least near every tackle.”– Arvell Reese on his motor

• On what caused his early-season rise: “It really just took getting into the playbook and taking the time out of my day to learn the defense and sit down with coach and go over it.”
• Reese said that he is only playing Mike linebacker right now and not Will.
• Reese said he fully settled in at linebacker during the spring. “It just felt natural, like I knew what I was doing and I felt fast doing it.”
• On whether he prefers linebacker or defensive end: “I like linebacker more because I feel like I'm more free. I like edge too, but I feel like linebacker, I'm more free and I can make a bunch of plays.”

G Austin Siereveld

“Wherever they need me, if it's left (guard), right, wherever I need to, I’ll go in. Just block the dude in front of me.”– Austin Siereveld

• On what it’s like having two starts under his belt: “I'm more confident. I know what's going on. I can see what's going on with the defense. I know what's going on. I know what's coming. I understand the game a lot better than I did last year.”
• On the experience of playing tackle during preseason camp: “It took me back to my high school days, but back in high school we didn’t really run the ball a lot. We really didn't do any passes, but it was fun (playing tackle). Changed and made my feet better.”
• Siereveld said his time playing with the first-team while a lot of the offensive line room was struck by illness in preseason camp accelerated his development. “It did. I was jumped in there, I didn’t really know (what to do). It took me like one or two practices. But after those, I was good. My confidence grew.”
• On his mental state throughout his first game as a starter: “First game, obviously you're going to have nerves being a first-time starter. But then after the first couple of plays – I mean, you have nerves, naturally. But after the first couple of plays, I was good. I was just rolling.”

RG Tegra Tshabola

“He’s really calm in the storm. You never see real panic. Having a guy like that next to you when you haven’t played as many meaningful snaps. There’s no one else I’d rather have to my left and my right than Fryar and Seth. Those guys, they do so much for this offensive line and for me.”– Tegra Tshabola on Seth McLaughlin

• On how he feels after two weeks as Ohio State’s starting right guard: “I feel good. I’m challenging myself every day to improve, challenging the D-line to help me improve, challenging the coaches. The coaches are challenging me, pushing me every single day to get better.”
• On whether Ohio State’s offensive line feels “whole” now that Donovan Jackson is back: “Donovan Jackson’s a very good football player. When he’s on the field, he makes his presence felt. But, I mean, we’ve all been training like there’s no tomorrow just to improve and be the team we know we can be. … We put in the work during practice. We practice really hard. Coach Day really challenges us to practice hard. Our position coaches really challenge us to practice hard. … When you work hard for something, and you’re able to see what comes out of it, there’s no better feeling than that.”
• Tshabola on Marshall’s defense, the Herd’s front seven: “They’re real players. You can tell they’re coached well. You can tell they go hard. They’re real players over there, so we’ve been practicing to the best of our ability to respect that and prepare for that.”

RT Josh Fryar

“I try to keep every week the same. Whoever’s the starting five on the offensive line, I try to attack it the same. I don’t feel a difference. I think everybody’s going hard and we’re giving really good effort and just playing really hard.”– Josh Fryar on whether Ohio State’s offensive line feels “whole” with Donovan Jackson back

• On how communication has improved on Ohio State’s offensive line after two weeks: “Communication is key. I think it progresses. But at the same time, like with Austin (Siereveld) stepping in and then (Donovan Jackson) coming back, I feel like we’re gonna have those pieces together to communicate even more than we did in Week 2. And then we have the bye week to understand what communication is all about on the line – getting the calls, saying everything, talking to Tegra (Tshabola) or Austin or Donny or Seth (McLaughlin) or even Josh (Simmons).”
• On what Jackson brings to Ohio State’s offensive line now that’s back in the lineup: “Experience. … Just knowing what to do and when to do it, (knowing) the right calls, helping Seth out, helping Josh out, that stuff.”
• When asked to assess his performance after two games, Fryar said, “I can get better. I can play harder. Always not being complacent. Play super hard, play super fast and talk and communicate on the offensive line to make us better as a unit.” As for where Fryar can improve specifically, he said, “Talk more. Once I’m going, just finish people.”

CB Lorenzo Styles Jr.

“This is the most fun I've had since I've been in college playing football.”– Lorenzo Styles Jr. on playing for Ohio State

• Styles said the culture at Ohio State pushes him “to be my best self every single day.”
• Styles, who has played the most special teams snaps of any Buckeye so far this season, said he wants to be a leader on special teams and that the “relentless effort” he has to play with on special teams translates to playing on defense.
• On his younger brother Sonny Styles’ transition to linebacker: “I think he's playing decent so far. But he has to continue to improve. He's doing his job. But I want him to take it to the next level and really be that best linebacker in the country type.”
• Styles said he and his brother, Jack Sawyer and Ty Hamilton all “take a lot of pride” in being from Pickerington, Ohio.