Ryan Day Updates: Big Ten Season On Deck

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters on Tuesday to reflect on Saturday’s win over Marshall and preview this weekend’s Big Ten opener at Michigan State. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

On the offensive line: guys are playing hard and running to the ball. They’re getting up to the second level better of late. The pad level is lower. Guys are rocking off the ball and the RBs are running hard. Not in a place to make any judgments because it’s too early, but things are headed in a good direction.
Both right guards played well. “We all know we’re gonna need these guys.” That’s for any position. They’re all team players. They all want to win. It’s not about statistics.
On the Jayden Fielding kickoffs: there was a tweak in his leg that he felt early on and struggled to make an adjustment. Day told him he needs to communicate that better with the team. But he should be good to go from here on out.
Staying downtown on Fridays gives them a better feel with fewer distractions.
How do you balance cohesion up front with building depth on the offensive line? Giving both Tegra Tshabola and Austin Siereveld an opportunity to catch their breath after a bit is a good thing. That’s how they practice, so the guys on the field still have chemistry with whoever is playing. The guy who is sitting can also take a look at the tablet to see what happened. “As of right now, Tegra’s gonna start.”
Devin Brown had a good third down conversion. He missed a couple of throws. Didn’t play enough to make a big evaluation on, but every play gets evaluated. They still want to move the ball down the field and score points. He is the No. 2 right now but everybody has an opportunity to compete at every position.
Carnell Tate’s accountability is tremendous. He has great attention to detail, both in blocking and route running. He has become a major part of the offense and on special teams.
“It’s always about us,” but going on the road in Big Ten play will force everybody to ramp up. “We need to have a great week of practice.” Jonathan Smith has done a great job of establishing an identity at MSU. They have a really good young quarterback who can beat you with his feet and his arm. They already won a game on the road in the Big Ten, which should give a young QB a lot of confidence. The defense is really well coached.
Do you want to see more downfield throws as the offense evolves? “We always want to be able to run it right at you,” but they also want to run it wide and throw it wide and throw downfield. Part of it is taking what the defense is giving you, so if they’re playing deep, then you throw it short or run it. The key is when a defense takes something away, can you get to the next thing?
Will Howard has made some great downfield throws in practice. “He can make them all. He’s done it in practice.” He has really improved since he arrived. Everything they’re seeing in practice and in the games equate to good signs.
Will Howard is always providing feedback on the offense and what he’s seeing. Whether that’s conversations in the building during filmwork or even text messages at night when everybody’s home. Howard has always been good in the film room so he has good questions and additions to the conversation with Chip Kelly.
The first time Ryan Day met Carlos Locklyn was on a Zoom call interviewing for the job. Locklyn basically interviewed them. He was really, really impressive. Schemes, teaching the techniques, all of it. Day knew right away that he was their guy. “Of all the things that I liked the most, it was his mindset and his mentality.” It is good to sometimes make hires that can bring different perspectives, ask different questions, “and splash the water” a little bit.
Josh Simmons has played much more physically this year. He’s finishing more. He has put more time in studying. He’s a year into the system. They are counting on him to be the left tackle they need to reach their goals.
Both RBs have been excellent in how they are sharing the load and supporting each other. They were both the player of the game this past week. “They know what a long season it is.”
Tyleik Williams is day to day. He’ll be out there today. “We’ll see how it goes.”
How did the DTs do without Tyleik Williams? There was good play but there needs to be more consistent play. This is an opportunity for the younger guys and they need to take advantage of it.
On the pass rush: It’s important that everybody understands that if an offense doesn’t want to give up any sacks, they can run an RPO every game and run it. You have to stop the run first. The sacks will come. Stats aren’t the end-all, be-all. Quarterbacks aren’t just going to take a 5-second drop back. “You have to defend what teams are trying to do.” The goal is first to stop the run, then disrupt the passing game. But there are different ways to disrupt the passing game.
On the T-formation: It gives them a little something. Gives them balance. “We’ll continue to build on it as the season goes on.”
What was the evaluation of the DTs after the Marshall game? “It was a mixed bag.” Tywone Malone had some good moments. Everybody did, but there are also clips where guys need to be better. When you’re a backup, just having a couple of good plays isn’t good enough. When they are in the game, they are counted on to be at a starter level. Was it too hot to get a good evaluation? No, because it was the same for everyone. “You either did your job or you didn’t.”
How much of an addition have the transfers been? “First off, it’s the culture fit and all of those guys have been excellent culture fits.” They like being on this team. “These guys, they just like being around this team, and to me, that’s the number one thing.” You have to make sure you sustain your culture when you bring transfers in. On the field, everybody sees how good they all are.
Do you feel good where this running game is right now heading into the Big Ten? “I don’t feel good about anything. That’s just my mindset. I don’t. That needs to be everybody’s mindset. I think we’re building a mindset though.” You can feel it when the RBs are running like they are. That part has been encouraging. More than anything, it’s how hard you’re playing down the field and finishing your blocks and finishing your runs.
Michigan State has done a good job reshaping their program with new players and new coaches. They caught everybody’s attention when they won that game at Maryland.