Ryan Day Talks Open Week For Buckeyes, Coaches

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters on Tuesday to discuss the Buckeyes’ open week, what he saw from the film against Western Michigan, and more. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

Anybody who calls a game will tell you it’s easier to get organized up in the press box. Chip Kelly being up there makes things run smoother, especially with the tablets now. You have everything at arm’s reach, which you can’t really do on the sideline. Plus you have a great vantage point upstairs. “It’s just easier to call a game from up there.”
They ran some speed option last week which they haven’t really done much recently. There is more coming down the road that Chip Kelly has brought. More importantly, it fits the talent they have and what they do.
In an open week, how do you allow players to take advantage of NIL opportunities? They are calling this week “an improvement week.” Everybody else is playing, but OSU isn’t. So every player is being given things to improve on by their position coaches. That’s the number one thing this week. They have to stay in rhythm. The off-field stuff comes down to time management. The season is going on right now. It’s academics and football. The other stuff will happen, but it’s mostly out of season. There aren’t many time conflicts.
If you could structure your own schedule, how would it look? Every year is different. This year’s schedule is a lot different than the last couple because of the non-conference schedule. So this has allowed them to get some of the newer guys going earlier.
“We’re nowhere near where we need to be.”
Is program culture more important than ever? “I think if you want to have stability over an extended period of time, yes.” “Now probably more than ever.” When you are at Ohio State, understanding the tradition and what it means to be a Buckeye is a big part of the recruiting process or the transfer portal searching. You can’t just bring in somebody to be a mercenary. That’s not what Ohio State is. Ninety percent of the money numbers being thrown out went to retaining the roster. That’s the recipe. Recruiting great people who want to be Buckeyes.
There were some very good plays from the offensive line and the effort was there. There were examples from all of the starters on full-play effort. Things were cleaner, but it’s just a start. There are bigger challenges ahead. The second unit wasn’t perfect but it was better than it’s been the last couple of years. There were a long list of honorable mention “champions” who didn’t play the necessary 15 plays.
On the improvement week: You don’t usually have two bye weeks. Especially having one early in the season, these guys don’t want to rest right now. They won’t practice Friday or Saturday, but they will work this week. They don’t want to lose their edge. They have embraced the need to improve.
Denzel Burke’s targeting call: there were a couple of different opinions on that one after the game. “That’s all I can really say.” “I wish I could say more.”
Did you see Kyle McCord’s performance: saw highlights, he’s playing well. Happy to see that he’s doing well. “Quinn had a great win obviously this past weekend.” It’s the way of the world with transfers right now. They sell that in recruiting. “When you come to Ohio State, you’re going to get developed at a high level. At every position.” Even if you leave, it’s still time well spent for a player. You’re happy when guys go on to do well. Joe Royer is doing well now in Cincinnati. “We follow those guys and want to support them.”
Will Howard is new to Ohio State but he’s played a lot of football. You can feel his poise and command. “I feel it on the sideline.” He can take the practice and the meeting to the game. You have seen his ability to extend plays, and he can make some very accurate passes. There are definitely passes Howard would like to have back, but he’s playing well.
Are you comfortable with Jayden Ballard returning kickoffs? He had a really good offseason. He was a Gold individual in the offseason, which is a significant note. He has to take care of the football though. They believe in him but they will evaluate his role this week and make sure he’s the right guy back there.
Seth McLaughlin has been a pro. He calms everything down inside. Even when coaches are barking at him, he still has a calming presence. That’s what you want to hear as a coach. That’s when you know you have a leader who can pull everybody together. Adding Donovan Jackson back will make them even more solid.
Having tablets available makes it much easier to adjust on the fly or show guys what they did wrong or right. It’s a complete change to the past. It’s really helped the coaching on being accurate in what they are saying in the game.
Are you more demonstrative on the sideline now that you aren’t calling plays? When you’re calling plays, it’s hard to be anything other than calm because you have to get your thoughts together and your next series of plays together. There’s a lot going on. “When you’re not doing that, I can just be myself.” “I have enjoyed that part of it so far.” “I’m gonna fight for everything we have. Every possible inch.”
How do you still play depth against matchup games? They had over 80 guys play last week, which is good for morale. Each position is different. Larry Johnson will roll multiple guys at DE. He wants to roll more guys at DT. It’s up to the position coach to get guys playing at a starter’s level. Austin Siereveld is an example of that. Just because Donovan Jackson is back doesn’t mean Siereveld disappears.
They have Billy Homer on staff to evaluate the nation’s players for the transfer portal. It’s a big job but it also helps in future scouting. They have people evaluating players and teams nationally all the time in preparation for what might happen down the road.
Any conversations about making CJ Hicks more of a pass rusher? “Yeah, we have, but we need CJ right now to play linebacker.” They need to find a consistency for Hicks at linebacker. “He has to improve. He’s got to continue to improve. We’ve seen him do it. We know he can do it. It’s just a consistency thing.”
What is keeping you up at night? That’s why you say it’s not about the opponent, it’s about the standard. They focus on the process, not the result. They never worried about the score last week, they just kept playing. “It goes back to our practice.” If they can practice the way they did last week, “we can be hard to beat.” But they have to continue to do that. It’s competitive stamina.
What are you able to say on the tablets? They get video after every drive. You get to see the sideline, end zone, and TV copy.
What’s the coaching point for Denzel Burke after the targeting play? “I didn’t really give him much of a coaching point there.” He gave great effort. Ryan Day gave him a hug and told him he’d go to bat for him with the Big Ten, and he did.
Ty Hamilton has been reliable, durable, somebody that they can count on for a few years now. He’s put time and effort and work into this program. He was the player of the game on defense this week. You can’t say enough about him. He’s the ultimate team player. He doesn’t say a lot but you can always count on him being there. Those are the players that great teams need. If he continues to play like this, “you’re looking at an all-conference player.”
Jeremiah Smith is disciplined. “This is not somebody who needs to be told, ‘Hey, reel it in.’ He stays very focused.” He wants to be great and he knows what he needs to get done. Smith has always envisioned having this kind of impact and role as a true freshman. He’s young but wise beyond his years in how he approaches the game.