There was an intense brevity about Ryan Day at his weekly Tuesday press conference.
A road trip to No. 3 Penn State has the potential to kill Ohio State's Big Ten championship ambitions. The Buckeyes went 1-of-10 on third-downs during a stagnant offensive performance in their 21-17 win over Nebraska on Saturday, but did see some marked improvements on the defensive side of the ball.
Day said the Buckeyes are still sorting through the best offensive line options, but there's also a chance Zen Michalski can go and starts at left tackle again. Lathan Ransom is much more likely to play as Day expects a full week of practice from the strong safety.
Following Day's time, coordinators Chip Kelly and Jim Knowles also met with the media to discuss improvements and concerns with both their units.
Ryan Day
- Carson Hinzman has been practicing along the offensive line but hasn't seen any meaningful reps. "He'll mix in at a couple of positions this week."
- Day said Ohio State is still sorting through the left side of its offensive line after a rough outing and another injury against Nebraska. "We're gonna work through it."
- On the run-game struggles: "The biggest thing was, obviously, the third downs. ... It was a combination of things. I don't think we always ID'd correctly, and Zen did get beat on a few of them, but he wasn't the only one."
- On preparing for both Penn State quarterbacks after Drew Allar was injured last week: "We'll prepare for both guys being healthy and ready to go. They both bring very different things to the table."
- On why Luke Montgomery was the man to go to at left guard after Donovan Jackson moved outside: "Just based on practice. ... Luke had been practicing at left guard the last couple of weeks and Austin (Siereveld) had been practicing at right guard."
- Day is concerned, first and foremost, with Ohio State's 1-for-10 mark on third-down. "We can talk until we're blue in the face about running and passing, but if you don't execute, you won't have balance."
- Day said he'll be spending more time on defense
- Day said there's a chance Michalskin plays this week and confirmed he'd still be the starting left tackle. "We'll see where he's at."
- On the mood in the locker room: "A chance to go to Indianapolis is riding on this game and our guys are excited." Day added that Ohio State will have a great shot at victory if its offense returns to form and the defense maintains what it did against Nebraska.
- There's a balance to defensive line rotation, Day said. "We want to rotate guys, but when the game is on the line like that, we have to get snaps."
- On Jeremiah Smith: "He's been better every week, the way he's practiced, the way he's handling himself. ... Up to this point, that's been excellent. The way he is on the field, he doesn't want to miss reps."
- On Michalski's performance against Nebraska: "There were definitely plays in the game where he got beat. He was battling out there. ... But we know what we see in practice and we've got to continue to support him."
- Ransom will play a full week of practice, Day said. "We're excited to get a full week of practice out of Lathan, so we'll see how that goes with him." Day added that he felt the depth at safety performed well in Ransom's absence.
- On the targeting call against Arvell Reese: "(The Big Ten) realized that it wasn't targeting. ... Exciting that Arvell is going to be with the team this week and fired up for him."
- Cody Simon, Jack Sawyer, Lathan Ransom, Will Howard, Emeka Egbuka and Seth McLaughlin are among the top player-leaders on the team, Day said.
- Donovan Jackson has played tackle in practice before, Day said, and the Buckeyes trust their third-year starter if that's the move to make. "This is a veteran player who's played a lot of football."
- On Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter: "He's excellent, and it's not just him, I think they have a lot of good players on the defensive line and the whole defense there. ... Our guys are going to be fired up to play in this game, and it's a great challenge for our offensive line."
Chip Kelly
- On whether he considers trick plays entering a game like this: "You're always looking for a weakness in the defense that you face. ... There are trick plays that sometimes fit in there, there are trick plays that don't fit in there. I understand that trick plays are fun to watch, but the negatives of trick plays can be really bad."
- On whether there's a bigger focus on the run against a defensive front that can rush the passer like Penn State's: "Sometimes people generate pressure by rushing four guys ... other peoples' version of pressure is bringing seven or eight guys, and there's an opportunity there. ... They can generate pressure just bringing their front four, that's one of their strengths."
- On Carter: "You probably don't see that athleticism, usually, in a defensive lineman. ... It's his size/speed combination and his ability to get off on the snap is what's going to make him hard to handle."
- Kelly said Ohio State's run game must bounce back. "We can't live with the way we ran the ball last week. ... We're gonna have to win the rushing battle to win games in the Big Ten."
- Kelly said Josh Simmons will be playing on Sundays and his athleticism and ability were huge pluses for the offensive line. "I think both, because Josh is a really, really talented player. ... You miss both of that with Josh."
- Kelly added that it's not as simple as just throwing all the time. "If they're gonna play coverage over the top, sometimes they can take one receiver away. ... We have to be better in short-yardage."
- The veteran leaders of Ohio State's team understand the magnitude of what's at stake on Saturday, Kelly said. "I think our team is extremely intrinsically motivated."
- On his confidence that OSU can win a national championship with its current offensive line: "I'm very confident. I watch these guys every day. ... I think we're really confident and excited about this challenge that Penn State presents for us."
Jim Knowles
- On potentially having Ransom back this week: "I think Jordan stepped up really well. ... Having Lathan back, the experience, the run-stopping capability, that helps us for sure. And then Jordan can go back to nickel."
- On how to prevent quarterbacks from stepping up in the pocket and scrambling up the middle. "When we do decide to bring pressure, we do have to be on our assignments and our gaps. ... Just keep working on our rush lanes."
- Knowles said opening up the playbook to get more pressure was a "big emphasis" last week.
- On whether he's comfortable with the defensive line rotation: "I'm comfortable with whatever Coach (Larry) Johnson deems appropriate."
- On getting stops in the fourth quarter. "You have to really go back to your basics and you have to be able to line up fast."
- On the movement of Davison Igbinosun through different cornerback alignments: "We feel Davison is better being up more and fighting at the line of scrimmage more, so the thought is to switch those guys to put them into different positions."
- On Penn State's offense under coordinator Andy Kotelnicki: "It's a lot different. There are multiple formations and shifts. ... You add in the quarterback run game, that's a lot different."
- Knowles said the proper punishment for targeting is "above my paygrade." "But we did free Arvell."
- On where he feels the defense is at after its poor showing in the Oregon game: "From that week, we improved our performance. But still, not good enough. We know that there are too many explosives, we have to eliminate those explosives. ... I like the resilience, though, to be able to stop them when we had to."
- On whether Ohio State is getting enough pressure rushing four: "You're never satisfied but I think it's always a work in progress, just getting those guys to do what they do best. ... It's just constant, constant growth process."
