Ohio State's offensive line orientation worked against Penn State and the Buckeyes are sticking to it.
Donovan Jackson kicked outside to left tackle as Carson Hinzman took his place at left guard, and after a season-defining performance against the Nittany Lions and an emphatic all-run final drive to seal the game, Ryan Day said both will return to those same positions against Purdue on Saturday. Hinzman's performance stood out on tape to the Ohio State head coach.
On the defensive line, star 3-technique defensive tackle Tyleik Williams is "day-to-day," Day said, after suffering an injury at Penn State. Five-star defensive end prospect Eddrick Houston has moved down to defensive tackle in his freshman season, a position Day said he'll stay at in the short term and could even be his long-term fit.
Following Day's time, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles met with the media to discuss his unit's success against Penn State and was followed by Buckeye quarterback Will Howard.
Ryan Day
- On the left side of Ohio State's offensive line: "Both graded out champions and I thought they played their best down the stretch. ... New challenge thi s week, that game is behind us."
- On Kayden McDonald: "K-Mac really stepped up for us and we're hoping that he can continue to give us more and more snaps. ... There was a third-down play where he got a lot of movement on the center and that made a huge difference."
- Day said that Tyleik Williams is day-to-day.
- On Eddrick Houston: "I think he's got a very bright future ahead of him, I think he's a very good football player. ... He's gotta keep learning. ... He's got the size, the strength, the toughness to play inside."
- Houston's been playing defensive tackle for Ohio State after being recruited at defensive end, and Day said it's on the table that that's his position long-term. "You have that speed and quickness and he does have that power to hold the point of attack."
- Day said the team won't pay any attention to where it's at in the College Football Playoff poll.
- Day thinks Purdue is a better team than its 1-7 campaign might indicate. "Their record may not say it, but they've been playing really good football."
- On Howard's ability to protect the football: "It can't happen (the turnovers), we've got to take care of the football. ... We can't fumble the ball inside the 10-yard line, just can't do it. ... He knows that and we're going to keep hammering that home this week."
- On Hinzman: "We looked at him during the preseason, he was out with illness, he was playing backup center. We felt like, at that time, Tegra (Tshabola) gave us more at right guard. ... So we kept Carson at center. ... In this game, we felt like experience was the right thing to go with ... we're going to continue to go with Carson. We liked what we saw on film."
- On Jackson: "He wore those guys down and embraced his role, playing in a tough spot. ... He can be a good tackle for us. ... He's showing now that he can play both positions."
- On why Ohio State felt it should go to Jelani Thurman on 4th-and-1: "Those are not easy decisions, but in that moment, felt like we had run the sneak before. ... They did a nice job sniffing it out, Will kept it alive ... we didn't think it would get to Jelani. He was the last read in the progression. ... I think he can three catches and three drops on one play. ... Has a tremendous amount of talent, he's growing every day, he's maturing every day."
- Day said Howard does an excellent job of moving on from his mistakes and executing as the game moves forward. "This is something that Will's had. ... That's something that we all try to do."
- Good snaps are important but Day feels Seth McLaughlin has done a good job with them. "We want very, very accurate snaps. ... But I think he's been very accurate with them. I thought our offensive line, zero false starts, zero holding calls, that was very big in the game."
- On Chip Kelly's play calling: "I thought he called a good game. I thought he had patience ... and he understood that we needed to establish the run in that game and be physical. ... Those plays, they take a lot of work. ... Meetings, walk-throughs, corrections the next day. ... Then you've gotta get the right coverage."
- On differences in defensive line structures and stunts: "It's looked the way that we wanted it to look. We almost reengineered the defense. ... What I mean by that is, not scrap everything, but ... how do we put our players in the best position to be successful? How are teams scheming us up? ... We gotta keep building on it though."
- On how his involvement in defensive meetings helped fix things after the Oregon game: "Being in there and being a little more systematized ... giving a little bit of feedback, not a lot, I don't want to bog them down, a little bit of feedback of what I'm seeing as an offensive coach. ... Making sure they're all on the same page when I leave the room."
- Day said Jeremiah Smith is a veteran now with how much he's played and the maturity he's shown. "He is off to a great start ... he didn't flinch at all (at Penn State). ... He's not a freshman anymore in my eyes."
- On the importance of the 4-yard quarterback sneak that opened Ohio State's final drive. "That was it. We're backed up on the 1-yard line and we've gotta bang it out. We've gotta get that first first down. ... It's gotta be who we are now."
- On Caleb Downs: "He's all over the field, he's had a huge impact on our defense and had some huge tackles in the game, some huge plays in the game."
- While Austin Siereveld is still "right there" in terms of depth for Ohio State, Tegra Tshabola is still the choice at right guard. "Tegra's our right guard right now."
- On the validation of the offensive line: "A big step in the right direction. ... It's staying after it, being resilient, and that's what it's going to take."
- Ohio State is evaluating Zen Michalski's status, but it won't impact the starting five on the offensive line. "Right now we're gonna stick with what we have."
- On George Fitzpatrick and Ian Moore as offensive tackle depth: "They're ready. They're working hard."
Jim Knowles
- On where he got his dance moves showcased in Ohio State's postgame locker room celebration: "It was big in the 80s."
- On the defense's performance at Penn State: "That has to be our standard, that just has to be the expectation. So it builds confidence, not just in the players but the whole team."
- Knowles said the process of reengineering the Ohio State defense "It's just a process of going back to the basics. Alignment, things got out of whack in that (Oregon) game somewhat. ... You can get yourself out-of-whack sometimes trying to match people up and get people in the right places and be perfect. ... It's more important just to have guys with they're feet in the ground ready to go."
- On Downs: "He sees the play before it happens. He's got the talent, but he's got the vision. ... It just gives him another leg up."
- Knowles agreed that he went back to the roots of what made him successful as a DC at Oklahoma State. "There's a lot of truth in that. ... What works? What gives your guys the best chance to succeed?"
- Reflecting on the Oregon game: "What happened happened. You have to look at yourself and it's my job to have the answers. I know, systematically, what the answers are. So there's definitely a comfort zone to it."
- On guys pressing when they're coming close to plays but aren't making them, like Jack Sawyer. "That's human nature. Jack's a competitive dude and wants to make plays. ... But he's also a team guy and always have been. So you just tell him to keep swinging, the production will come."
- On whether putting oven mitts on Davison Igbinosun in practice worked: "Absolutely, I think it worked. ... He's still fighting all the time. A penalty every now and then for our corner ... that's part of the game, you just don't want three of them."
- Ohio State's final goal-line play against the pass was a product of veteran safeties, Knowles said. "They just jumped the right guys in that situation."
- On McDonald: "He's a guy that, particularly when you put him those situations where he's just head-up on the center ... he's shown he can change the game and change the line of scrimmage."
Will Howard
- Howard opened his press conference by displaying a signed sweatshirt he had signed by children who were part of Ohio State's Buckeyethon, which raises money for children with cancer.
- On his natural leadership: "Part of it is personality. I like to be the guy that runs things a little bit and I like to have that authority over a group. ... I definitely wasn't like that, maybe, my freshman year of college. ... This is bigger than me, it's not a one-person thing, it's not about me here. I don't care if I play my worst game, if we win the game, that's all that matters. ... Being a leader is just being yourself, I don't think you necessarily have to be anything or do anything."
- On sliding to drain the clock on the final play rather than trying to go for a touchdown: "Took some self-control for sure. But we talk all the time about that situation."
- On the importance of using his legs in critical moments: "In these big games ... my legs are going to become a big piece. ... Things happen and if a guy gets out of his gap or undisciplined or whatever, then I'm going to pull the ball. ... It makes us much harder to defend as a team. ... Being able to keep them honest every once in a while and me being willing and ready to use my legs in those big moments is big."
- Howard was floored by how the offensive line stepped up. "I can't say enough amazing things about those guys and the way that they stepped up and took on the challenge. Because they were hearing it, man. ... We looked at it and we said, 'We're gonna go physically impose our will on these guys. ... Those guys, they proved themselves right. They'd been hearing it, they wanted to prove everybody wrong, but they proved themselves right."
- Howard said blocks like Ohio State's running backs throw can "take the air out" of a defense. "It's very contagious. ... You know that you're going to get 5, 6 yards every carry and it makes you feel good. ... Overall, when you're able to run the ball and impose your will like that ... hard to stop."
- On what makes him good at moving on after mistakes: "I would say I was bad at it my freshman, sophomore year. ... When I finally realized how important that next play after that pick is ... I think my junior year I figured that out. ... It's really about how you approach it and how you respond from it."
- On Penn State being a crossroads game: "I don't know if it was the big game, big atmosphere. We preached during the week that it was a big game and that it could kind of make or break our season a little bit. ... That Nebraska game, we were a little flat coming off the bye week. ... We can't come out with no energy, no matter who it is."
- On his self-confidence that he's a good enough quarterback to win a national championship: "I'm very confident. ... If I were to sit here at this point in the season and say, 'I'm not confident,' I think that would be a pretty big problem. ... I know that I have what it takes to get it done. ... I came here for one big reason and that's to win a national championship. And that's still ahead of us."
