Huddle Updates: Ryan Day, CJ Stroud, Buckeyes Talk 49-20 Win Over Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes moved to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in Big Ten play with Saturday’s 49-20 win at Michigan State (2-4, 0-3). Following the game, OSU head coach Ryan Day met with reporters to discuss the win and answer questions. He was joined by a handful of players as well. The highlights of everything that was said can be found below.

Ryan Day

• The offense starts off with Kevin Wilson. He and the offensive staff come up with great game plans. “We’ve got some really bright minds in there.”
• The offense didn’t start as well as they wanted, but the defense did a great job of getting a turnover and stopping the run. When the offense and defense is balanced, you can play some good football on the road. It got a little sloppy at the end but they just wanted to stay healthy going into the bye week.
• If this was a different game, TreVeyon Henderson would have come back in. He ran well, he ran hard. The tight ends work really hard on the edge to help the run blocking.
• Do you wonder what the offense could look like at 100% health? Yeah, but it’s rare in this day and age to be 100%. But it’s exciting to know that if they get healthy, they can put stress on the defense.
• They tried to be creative with the running game in this game, like the receiver runs and Xavier Johnson in the backfield. He’s a weapon for them. He ran hard. The receivers played well and took some shots.
• The interception was a miscommunication. Day could have done a better job helping them on that. But they brushed it off. Fun to watch the passing game out there. Marvin Harrison caught a ball at his ankles. The timing on the passing game was clicking. When you give CJ Stroud time, he can do some damage. He had one heck of a day on the road.
• Concerns about the cornerback play? “I keep looking at it and we’re there, we’re just not making the play.” Have to address why the plays aren’t being made, but they’re close.
• The safety play has been excellent.
• Is it fair to nitpick this team? Absolutely. He nitpicks it as well. The goal is to be the best in the country. Have to keep building and growing.
• He had a very surprised look on his face with Marvin Harrison’s final touchdown catch.
• When you’re in the rhythm of a game, easy catches get made just like tough catches. It’s just part of being a confident offense with confident players.
• Marvin Harrison this week was going through the practice script by himself, and Day sees it. He doesn’t want to embarrass him, but he will. He’s very disciplined and very skilled.

Tommy Eichenberg

• What makes them successful during a game? Practicing hard during the week and focusing on stopping the run.
• Mike Hall is really disruptive as a pass rusher. The offensive line focuses on him and it frees up other people.

Marvin Harrison

• “I just want to be great…” so he works as much as he can to help the team win.
• How did he catch that last one? Using his size and managing his catch point.
• Sometimes gets surprised by what he does, but he’s put in the work to make it happen.

CJ Stroud

• When you see the work Marvin Harrison puts in, he always has confidence to throw the ball to him.
• He could have put the final touchdown to Marvin Harrison higher.
• What happened on the pick six? The mindset is about getting to the next play. There’s no positive in thinking about what happened on the last play. Mistakes happen. It was a miscommunication. “I thought he was gonna slant it down.” The team had his back after that, that’s why he loves coach Day so much.
• Where else can this offense go when everybody is healthy? There is no limit. They need to get their veterans back in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Miyan Williams. He is bummed for JSN because he’s had to miss so much time. “I’m super-excited to get him back.” TreVeyon Henderson did a great job today.
• You have to be calm during the game, but you can be edgy after mistakes in a practice. You can get a little angry after a bad throw because you can rep it again immediately. You have to be pushed to greatness in practice. That makes the games easier than practice.
• The throw down the sideline to Marvin Harrison on the right side? Knowing that Harrison is a really good one-on-one matchup, he threw it up to him to give him a shot. He stayed in the pocket as long as he could with the blitz bearing down on him. That was a big-time down.
• It’s a blessing to be the first OSU QB to throw 6 touchdowns in a game three times. “It’s not just me,” it’s the linemen, the receivers running great routes, etc.
• The QB lineage here at Ohio State was one of the big reasons he wanted to come to Ohio State. “I look up to those guys.” He dedicated this season to Dwayne Haskins. He hopes he’s making those guys proud.
• He did not like Mickey Marotti at all early in his Buckeye career.
• He’s not a guy who shows a lot of emotion on the field, especially around his teammates. He grew up with two brothers and a sister who would get on him if they caught him crying.
• He’s hoping injured MSU safety Jaden Mangham is okay.
• Dwayne Haskins is with him. Haskins walks in spirit with him. He tries to honor those who have passed because he doesn’t want them to be forgotten.

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