Ryan Day Updates: Offensive Developments, Iowa Looming

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters on Tuesday to discuss this weekend’s upcoming game against Iowa, recap the Michigan State win a bit more, and answer personnel questions about his football team. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

Starting by thanking the Ohio State fans who traveled to East Lansing. “We are the standard for excellence” when it comes to fans. Excited to see everybody at the game on Saturday.
Congratulations to former Buckeye offensive lineman Chris Ward for going into the College Football Hall of Fame and the other Buckeyes being inducted into the OSU HOF this weekend.
Iowa is a huge challenge “for all of us.” Iowa has not changed their identity in a long time. “We’re going to be challenged in a lot of areas.” Iowa has an identity. It’s going to be a physical game.
How different is it to have somebody like Caleb Downs? He made some huge plays in the middle eight of the Michigan State game. His preparation is remarkable. His ability to play fast is part of his makeup.
Not there yet on deciding on one right guard or the other. They both graded out similarly. They’ll see how this week goes on who will start this week.
What stands out about Iowa’s defense? It doesn’t matter what year you watch them. It’s the same type of guys inside. Their pads are low. Their hands are low. They have great hands. “It’s a real challenge for our offense this week.”
Sonny Styles has made the transition pretty rapidly from safety to linebacker. Any time you’re doing things for the first time it’s a learning process.
The run offense is a constant discussion throughout the week. They work on their fastball but have to have changeups available. “Ultimately it comes down to what our players know and what they can execute.”
When your WRs are blocking and doing the dirty work like Emeka Egbuka, that’s the side of a really good team.
PFF grades aren’t necessarily accurate because they can’t actually know what assignments are.
On Emeka Egbuka back at kick returner: That’s a fluid situation. They weren’t really expecting to have any returns last week based on how the MSU kicker was kicking.
On black stripes being removed, when they really earn it, there’s a sense of accomplishment there. Air Noland had his stripe removed last week. He is focused on getting better and he has a team that cares about him. He has earned the respect from his coaches and teammates and that’s huge for a player.
“What are you working towards every day when you walk into the building?” This season is long but it goes quickly so you have to have something to show for it. That’s not always easy for a young player, but there are opportunities in practice and on scout team.
On the level of comfort of going for it on fourth down against MSU? Some of it has to do with where they are on the field. On one, they were just out of FG range that they felt good about, but they came out of a timeout and felt they had a good play. On the fourth and goal from the three, he felt a TD was more important than a field goal. They have some analytics that provides info but you still have to trust your guy and your team.
Why are you going for it more on fourth down this year? It’s about the situations and being aggressive. They look at it week to week.
How are defenses adjusting to Jeremiah Smith? That’s the tricky part right now because how much can a defense actually do to one guy because of everything else they have on offense.
Is Will Howard locking on to receivers? “I haven’t recognized that as something that continues to show up.” He could have moved on from the interception, no question. There’s time when he’s on progressions three and four. He’s doing well at recognizing when to move on to the next progression or other side of the field. It comes down to your eyes and where you’re looking.
Is this schedule about as good as you could build for a progressing team? After the season they could probably look at it more but in the middle of it it’s too hard to tell. It’s a different schedule but they’re not changing how they approach it.
Both fourth down throws were really well thrown against tight defenses. You want to give him those opportunities and it’s big to see him make the accurate throws. The protection was huge. He hung in there and made the throws.
Are you coaching more aggressively on fourth downs than in the past? “With this team and in my role, you can target things a little bit faster.” He is able to focus more on what really matters and how hard the guys are playing. “But it’s also this team. I love this team.” He puts two feet on the ground when he wakes up every day to help this team. “We’re all coaching aggressively.”
As coaches, they can’t have their players thinking too much. They have to be able to use their skill and athleticism and instincts.
“This is going to take everything we’ve got to win this game.” They will put the players in the game who give them the best shot to win this game. “Period.”
What is it about the Iowa defense that makes it so hard? They make you earn everything. They know what they’re developing. They usually have matured, older players. They understand the defense. The defensive coordinator keeps it simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. They know how they’re going to be attacked. They have staff continuity and they play complementary football.
Can you imagine coaching in your 26th year at one place like Kirk Ferentz? “No.”
You can’t get too fancy or cute when scheming against Iowa. You can’t outsceheme them. You have to play hard and execute.
They are always trying to keep from being predictable on fourth downs. “We didn’t always play great the other night” but they made the game-altering plays.