Ryan Day Provides Health Updates, Feedback After Watching Film

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters for his weekly Tuesday press conference. He spoke some of Saturday’s win over Akron while also answering questions about his team and where they go from here. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

On being the hardest-working team in America on Saturday: They celebrated the champions after the game. The guys who didn’t grade out, you have to identify what it was that didn’t allow you to become a champion. What made that happen? It could be a number of things, so you identify them, make the adjustments, and grow. The effort across the board was solid.
Cody Simon and Donovan Jackson are day to day. They’ll see how today goes.
On the helmet communications: “It’s different.” A lot more teams were huddling. It was good, but there is still an element of the no-huddle that people use. It went well in week one.
On attaining certain metrics this year: When you look at what the CFP looks at, every little bit is going to matter. Whether you’re a top four team or below that. You want to put yourself in the best position possible. There are things that come into play that can impact that. “We control our own destiny.” But the guys have to know when they go into a game late that every rep matters. Every snap matters.
How is the run blocking right now? There were good snaps. There were some plays where they got to the perimeter but didn’t make a defender miss. Other times there was a lack of identifying defenders for blockers. There were some good things as the game went on but need more in week two.
They have worked hard to be aggressive on fielding a punt. They have done a study that if a ball hits the ground, it costs you 10 yards. Brandon Inniss did a good job of controlling lost yardage. Gaining possession is the most important thing.
Will Howard can be a very good scrambler, especially once he gets going. He can extend plays and convert third downs. It changes how the defense plays against you. It gives receivers more time to get open also. He’ll do more dropping back than he’s done before at Kansas State. He needs to take care of the football. He had the one bad play, but also threw a ball away which was a good play. He moved around with a purpose.
As a group, the tight ends blocked well. They had two champions among the tight ends. There will be more production moving forward. Some good effort clips, including Will Kacmarek pancaking a defender. This was a big day for Jelani Thurman to get that game under his belt. He played through some mistakes and got better.
How much was the running game impacted by having two first-time starters at guard? “We’re not in the excuse-making business… We’re at Ohio State. Let’s go.” They both now have a frame of reference to build on.
Arvell Reese deserves more reps. He played well and it’s because of his preparation. There was a moment last week where his preparation was only okay, but then he eventually dug in and that allowed him to play fast. That’s a big part of playing linebacker. Day reviews their tips and tests every week and there’s a lot for them to know. Reese strained during the game and it was impressive to see.
The linebackers overall played hard. Sonny Styles moving to Mike in such a short timeframe, he handled it well. His communication was good and he had the defense on the same page. Everybody has their own thing they need to work on.
How did it go not calling plays? It was good. Chip Kelly had his mindset on what he wanted to get done. The calls came in quickly. They can still be cleaner in execution of the offense. They can get in and out of the huddle faster. They can be sharper in everything they’re doing, but the operation of the play calling was clean.
On Western Michigan giving Wisconsin a scare: Ultimately, it comes down to you, not your opponent. “I’ve been there before, on both sides of this.” It always comes back to your training. Western Michigan played well. It’s good for the team to see them against a Big Ten opponent. They have a good team.
They never got to the point of talking about getting a third quarterback in the game on Saturday. They wanted to allow Devin Brown to run the offense. Who would be the third guy? “Yeah, all those guys are working.”
What are the biggest areas the team needs to improve this week? It’s not just one area. All areas. There are always things to identify. For instance, punt returns can go 14 seconds. The guys busted their tails for 8-10 seconds, but how do you replicate the full 14 seconds in practice? So those are things that the players have to improve upon. Not gonna get into all of the other areas, but that’s one example. “When you have a bunch of those things, it adds up.”
Austin Siereveld could still be in the mix as a starter when Donovan Jackson gets back. He did look like a first-time starter at times. He wasn’t far off from grading out a champion. Even if Donovan Jackson is healthy, you’d still like to get Siereveld some reps. “He needs to keep playing. He is playing at starter level.”
How is your schedule different without play calls? Still very involved in all of the meetings. Meets with the defense on Sundays. Staff meetings every day. There’s time before practice to get his thoughts together, talk to players, check out the locker room, walk the building. On game days, when it comes to calling plays, he’s letting Jim Knowles and Chip Kelly call everything, but they’re having conversations throughout. Situations, player performances, game management, etc. It allows him to be more present with everybody.
Any pleasant surprises? The punt return was better. “I was disappointed with the first kickoff return.” That’s on the coaches. They had an opportunity to pop that one. They would also have liked to have gotten out to a faster start offensively.
How much difference does having the iPad have? “It’s significant.” It’s real information. The players can see it and the communication is great.
What did you see on the sidelines about your team that you liked? They have to understand that this is a long road to where they’re going. It’s easy to hear the noise, but you have to just focus on the right now. Be in the present. You’re not going to go out there and win the game in the first quarter. You just stay focused and keep working. When they come into the stadium, they have to have the mindset that they get to do this. It’s fun. You feed off of the crowd. It’s easy to look ahead and get into a lull. They don’t want that to happen. They want to get a fast start on Saturday and have great energy and be in the moment.
Did you see a veteran QB out of Will Howard? “Yeah, he’s played, you can tell.” He just hasn’t played in this offense before, so he’s still picking that up. The timing on his three touchdown throws were the product of timing and a lot of work. He handled himself well and had a command of the offense.