Ryan Day Lightning Round: Buckeyes Prepping For Toughest Bout Yet

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters for his weekly “Lightning Round” interview session for 10 minutes following practice Wednesday night. He was asked about his team’s health, Saturday’s matchup with Penn State, and much more. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

• How are they handling this week? “Just like we have in the past.” You keep the routine, but you understand the importance and challenge of this week. “You prepare for every scenario that can come up.”
• In year three you want players to be taking on more of a share of reps, and Tyleik Williams has done that. This is another big week for him.
• They’re hopeful the hurt guys are going to be getting back this week. That’s where the depth comes in. They need to have people stepping up all over the field.
• “We always want to dictate the pace of play.” Penn State has done a great job of winning time of possession. Ohio State needs to do well on first down on offense and defense. Penn State is going to try to establish the run. “We know the challenge that’s ahead of us.”
• Penn State is very disruptive up front. They attack. You have to have a plan for that so that you can stay explosive on offense. This is a different style of defense than Notre Dame. Statistically this is the best defense in the country.
• It’s hard to tell if the Penn State defense is as good as he’s faced at Ohio State, but it’s as good as all of the other Penn State defenses.
• Jermaine Mathews has done a nice job when he’s stepped in. He doesn’t shy away from competition. If need be, they have confidence putting him into the game.
• Carnell Tate needs to be ready to go if Emeka Egbuka can’t. He’s continued to prove he deserves to play. “He continues to impress.” It’s about now when the freshmen who produce at receiver in the past start making plays.
• This is a huge recruiting weekend. Guys have had this circled for a while. It’s a great opportunity for families to see this kind of environment.

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