Pressure beats coverage, and while Ohio State had lapses in both areas in its loss to Oregon, Ryan Day doesn't feel the Buckeyes' pass rush is getting it done.
Rather than fire back at former Alabama coach Nick Saban for calling the Buckeyes' pass rush "antiquated," Day said his description is "accurate" in his Tuesday press conference so long as it isn't successful. And as he put it, "it's not working."
Day also dove into some of the other defensive issues Ohio State is facing and provided updates on the injury status of Josh Simmons, Will Kacmarek and Quinshon Judkins, whose hand procedure Day said didn't affect him at Oregon.
Following Day's time at the lectern, quarterback Will Howard met with the media to discuss the late-game moments in the defeat in Eugene and how he plans to keep developing his deep ball.
Ryan Day
- On his biggest area of concern defensively: "We didn't create any turnovers, that's the first thing. The second thing was the explosive plays."
- Day confirmed that left tackle Josh Simmons is out for the season.
- On Josh Simmons' play before his injury: "He really had made a lot of progress and was playing really, really well."
- On what gives him confidence in Zen Michalski at left tackle: "What you see every day in practice. A veteran guy who's been in the program a while and knows what he's doing. ... He's got some good guys next to him in Donovan and Seth. ... So much of the offensive line is the communication and the calls and making sure everybody is on the same page."
- Day declined comment when asked about Lathan Ransom suffering an injury in practice last week.
- On the cause of the defensive struggles: "I think we have the right people in the right spots. Then it comes down to scheme, I think we can put some guys in some better situations. ... Then it comes down to coaching, and we can definitely do a better job there."
- Day said he's been more involved in the defensive meetings with play calling off his plate. "Definitely been in there more the last few weeks than I have in the past."
- On Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola: "Whether it's decommitiments or transferring, it's part of the world that we live in right now. ... He's got an opportunity to be a great player, I think he's already playing at a high level."
- Day said Quinshon Judkins' hand procedure won't cause him to miss any time and added that it "didn't affect" the running back during the Oregon game.
- Day said it was "part of the conversation" to put Jermaine Mathews in for Denzel Burke when he was struggling but Ohio State ultimately rode with the senior. "We believe in Denzel and we think he's a great player ... he'll rebound and play well this week."
- On defensive backfield depth: "We probably have more depth at corner than at safety, but I feel like we do have enough back there to get done what we need done."
- On whether Jim Knowles and Larry Johnson are on the same page about how to get after the quarterback: "Yeah. I know there was a point early on when Jim got here about the Jack and things there. ... I've watched closely and I think that they're both on the same page. ... But it's our job as coaches to make sure we're putting everybody on the same page to be successful ... I think that's happened in the past week."
- On why Ohio State didn't run the ball as much in the second half: "Last drive probably skewed it a little bit ... but I thought we had a good mix of run and pass in that game. ... We do have to win the rushing yards though, so we have to keep hammering that."
- Day said the Buckeyes want to do a better job with deep passes. "We'll be launching some balls today."
- Day said again that tight end Will Kacmarek will be out "a while" after injuring his arm against Oregon. "Jelani Thurman's gonna have to step up now. Bennett Christian's gonna have to step up. ... I think Keenan (Bailey) has done a nice job building depth."
- Jaylen McClain and Malik Hartford would be next up at safety if there were injuries, Day said, but there is "flexibility" with Jordan Hancock and Lorenzo Styles
- On Nick Saban calling Ohio State's pass rush "antiquated:" "When it doesn't work, it's accurate. It's not working. ... There's different strategies to get after that."
- While nothing is positive coming out of a defeat, Day did like what he saw from Will Howard against Oregon overall. "It was a loss, but once you take that out, there was a lot of positives in the way he competed."
- On his faith in Knowles: "I know what the plan is moving forward. ... I've got confidence in all the guys on that side of the ball. ... I know what we need to get done and we're gonna get it done."
- Day sent Ohio State's final play against Oregon to the Big Ten for review to make the case that there should have been one second on the clock, but the conference agreed with the officials' ruling. "They said there was no time left. I was right next to the referee calling a timeout, you can see it on a replay."
Will Howard
- On the deep ball: "That's something we want to do and push the ball down the field. I don't feel we've done it yet, but we can do it."
- Howard said he's feeling "good" physically. "This bye week was good to get our bodies back a little bit, recover a little bit."
- On his feeling coming off a loss: "We're not going to forget about it, it's going to be in the back of our head and we're gonna use it. ... Some of the issues that would've gotten swept under the rug. ... I want to look back and say, 'This is the reason we won a national championship.' ... Everything is still in front of us."
- On whether he was satisfied with his performance on film: "I'm not gonna be satisfied with anything if we don't come out with a win. That's the only stat that matters."
- On the final play and not sliding down in time: "We said we wanted 15 yards, so I'm trying to get as many yards as I can. ... I thought I had enough time. ... Believe me, it's been nagging at me and I've been kicking myself in every way. But you can't let it affect the future."
- On Michalski: "I thought he did a hell of a job, he stepped in. ... He handled it really well and going forward he's got to be the guy. So we're trying to instill as much confidence as we can in him. ... I'm excited for him."
- Howard agreed that the loss might have lit a fire under he and his teammates. "Overall the mindset is, 'We can't let that happen again.' ... Definitely more of a pissed off, ticked off mentality. ... We didn't want to have to learn in this way, but we can't change the past and it happened so we've gotta bounce back from it."
- On whether he believed there was a second on the clock when he slid down. "I thought so. But they didn't feel like clearing the field. ... It's tough, but we always talk about leaving no doubt."
- On the atmosphere in Autzen Stadium: "It was up there, I'm not gonna lie. They brought it. ... I was impressed."
- While Howard wants to throw more deep balls, he's not going to force it when it's not there and said teams have been playing off and leaving more intermediate throws open. "It's all about taking what the defense gives you. ... If they want to stay back with two or three safeties and not have anyone in the box, we're gonna hurt you with that."
- On Nebraska: "They run a pretty interesting defense, a 3-3-5 defense. ... It's gonna be a challenge, they've got some young guys that are doing some things."
