Ryan Day Provides Summer Updates On Buckeyes, Possibility Of Caleb Downs At Running Back

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters for about 15 minutes on Tuesday to talk about his football team and where things stand so far this summer. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

No updates on the quarterbacks right now. Been busy in June with the team but there’s not a lot of movement with any position right now.
There is joy in finding a “diamond in the rough” at these June camps. They have found a lot of guys in camp this month that they’ve been impressed with. The evaluations have got to be on point now more than ever. There is still a place for the late bloomer.
On the possibility of having an unlimited number of coaches per a prospective new NCAA rule: You have to consider al the guys who want to work in this profession and you don’t want to limit those opportunities, but college programs are in the process of recruiting to the team and not drafting, so that makes it different than the NFL.
Josh Fryar continues to make a lot of progress. He built confidence off of last year and also knows where he needs to improve. They feel confident with him playing tackle and guard. They are leaning more to keeping him at tackle.
How do you allow yourself to change with the game? Every year since he’s been a head coach there have been changes or major events, so you have to adapt. But there are things that you can’t change because some principles have stood the test of time. Input from the fans is one of those principles.
What questions does he still have in his mind? Offense, the quarterback needs to be squared away. The right side of the offensive line needs to be finalized. Receiver depth as well. Defensively, they need to figure out who the third, fourth, and fifth interior linemen are, and also depth at safety. Special teams, punter is going to be a significant battle.
Did you look for a transfer after spring ball on the offensive line? They’re not going to bring somebody in just to bring somebody in. They want somebody that can fill a role. They checked on a couple of guys but they also liked the progress they saw from the guys on the team. There weren’t as many guys in the portal after spring ball.
There is experience at running back, and they thought the freshmen played well in the spring. They will need to play this season. They even talked to Caleb Downs about possibly playing some running back this year. They feel like four strong running backs will be enough.
Can Caleb Downs play running back? “We’ll see, we’ll see.” They have talked to him about it in recruiting. They did pitch him an option in the spring on offense once. “It’s healthy” to do that a little bit in the spring.
The expectations this year are the same as they’ve always been since he’s been here. The pressure is the same as well. “We’ve been talented, but I don’t know if we’ve been this talented and this experienced.”
Having players play both sides of the ball gives them different vantage points in meetings and in film and that’s healthy for them. Makes them better players.
The defensive coaches are doing a great job right now in recruiting. Prospects are excited about playing in this defense.
What is the identity of this team? “We’ll see as we go.” Have to be able to stop the run, run the ball, and protect the ball. Have to do those things to win close games. You have to be able to play situational football.
On losing a recruiting staffer to Michigan, how do you react, could they take information: Only interested in talking about the people that are here. “The ones that are Buckeyes.”
How does he feel about the linebackers? “Good versatility.” You can see the length they all have. They do a good job of fitting the runs. They can cover in the zone but they can also blitz. They have worked on getting better at blitzing this spring and summer. They have some playmakers at the position. Cody Simon is the leader of the pack.
On how aggressive this defense will be compared to Jim Knowles’ first year and his second year? That’s the art of it. They have the talent but they are working now on determining who can do what, what answers they have to any problems, and what works for the players they have.
No injury updates right now. The guys who didn’t participate in the spring have had full summers and plan to have them have full seasons.