Ryan Day Talks Penn State, Health Of Buckeyes

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media for his weekly Tuesday question-and-answer session. The Buckeyes face undefeated Penn State this weekend, so the Nittany Lions were a popular topic of conversation. Day was also asked questions about the health of some of his star players. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

They want to add things to the offense each week. It changes the picture for the defense as well.
Why was Kyle McCord throwing off his back foot so much on Saturday? There was some blitzing that caused some drifting. That happens at times. But it wasn’t always because of blitzing. He wants the QBs to take good drops and get their feet in the ground, but there were times he drifted too much.
How much did he recruit Drew Allar? He was an Ohio kid who had a great career. They had Quinn Ewers committed in that class, then when Ewers reclassified they made a call but Allar was strong with PSU.
Drew Allar manages the game well. He has a bright future ahead of him.
Every week Kyle McCord’s confidence gets better. They continue to face different defensive schemes week in and week out. The fronts are different, the coverages are different.
Dallan Hayden did some good things when the ball was in his hands. The offensive line opened some holes, but he ran hard.
Penn State creates turnovers and so that will continue to be a focus for Kyle McCord this week. Every play is going to be magnified, so turnovers are going to be key. But that’s the same focus every week.
You know this is a good defense because you saw these same players last year in person. It doesn’t matter if they haven’t faced any top offenses this season. They’re disciplined and productive.
On the injured Buckeyes: “Hopefully we’ll have all of those guys back Saturday.”
Ryan Day wants the crowd in the stadium early so that they can set a tone and create a hostile environment for Penn State’s offense. Any time the crowd is loud, it makes it more difficult to communicate. “The louder we can be…advantage Buckeyes.” That’s going to be something he’s talking about all week to whomever will listen.
Any time you don’t have somebody like Emeka Egbuka, you lose a significant part of your offense. When they lost Chip Trayanum they had to get a little more creative. Xavier Johnson graded out a champion. They never panicked when Trayanum went down.
Xavier Johnson became a great special teams player over his career, so he’s great fundamentally. He’s played running back, cornerback, and receiver. He’s physical. He’s smart.
Has the decision to redshirt Dallan Hayden changed? They’re going to do whatever it takes to win every game. That decision doesn’t have to be made right now. Dallan wants to play but he also wants what’s best for Ohio State.
Ball security has not been an issue for Dallan Hayden in practice.
Thoughts on Devin Brown’s red zone package? Is it here to stay? When you get down into those situations, the numbers start to work against you on offense. When you add the QB, it can change those numbers. But Devin can also throw the ball. They felt like with the weather going into Purdue, they wanted to get some work with it during the week of practice. It gives them a different wrinkle and they will continue to develop that package.
Once you get into October and November, you’re going to get at least three bad-weather games. So they’ll prepare for it. “We’ve got to be able to run our whole offense.” But they will adjust as needed.
The QB sneak has pluses and minuses, like everything.
The hope is that Denzel Burke is also back this week.
This will be the biggest challenge for OSU’s offensive line to date. They get after the quarterback at a high level. Both DEs are “NFL players for sure.” The tackles will have to do a great job against them. They do a lot of moving and blitzing. It’s been like that against Penn State for a long time.
Penn State has done a great job of creating turnovers and giving their offense the ball. The offense holds onto the ball, so taking care of the ball will be important. They will need contingency plans in place if possessions are fewer than expected.
You may not have seen many big plays from Penn State’s offense “but you know they have them.”
Are you more fiery this year because the team needs it? The team likes to be coached hard. This is a great team that can get pushed. They respond well to it. This is a tough game. “It’s my job to bring it every week. Every Saturday. And push as hard as I can.” “I think the guys like to see the passion.” It’s usually planned and done with a purpose. He doesn’t usually fly off the handle.
It was good to see Kyle McCord pull it and run the ball. If they can add that part to the game, that helps them a lot. They’ll continue to push him with that task at times.
Why does this team respond well to being coached hard? “I guess we’ve all been through a lot together. Maybe that’s it.” The fans want them to swing as hard as they can, so that’s what they’re gonna do. “This is a good group of guys. We all have scars.”
Is it still a mystery regarding how good this team is? You can say that about a lot of teams. “I have a good feel about who we are as a team.”
The Notre Dame game gives you a barometer of what to expect, but this game is so much different than that one.
Will Dallan Hayden get more reps in practice this week? The reps will be spread around, but Tony Alford does a great job of keeping everyone involved. That’s one of the reasons why Hayden was ready to go on Saturday.
Do you have more confidence now to go to Devin Brown at the goal line after seeing it? Yeah, that’s why you do it against Purdue.