Ryan Day Updates: Buckeyes Still Searching For Answers On Offensive Line

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters Tuesday afternoon to discuss last Saturday’s win over Nebraska and look ahead to this Saturday’s road game against No. 3 Penn State. Day discussed injuries, personnel, coaching decisions, and more. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

Carson Hinzman is gonna get some reps in a couple of different spots this week. He’s mostly been practicing at center but he’ll get a look elsewhere.
They are still working through what the offensive line is going to be. They’ll move some things if Zen Michalski can’t go.
On the problems with the running game? The biggest thing was the third downs. When you can’t keep drives alive, you can’t control the game and build a running game. It wasn’t just Zen Michalski struggling, there were other guys as well.
Were there not as many perimeter quick throws as in the past? You try to gameplan on what you get from the defense. Obviously they didn’t execute and game plan very well.
They will prepare for both Penn State quarterbacks and what’s on the film. You have to know who’s in the game. They knew they were going to have to prepare for both quarterbacks. They can both run and throw, but they are a little different in skill sets.
What’s the conversation like when you’re trying to establish the running game: The No. 1 goal is to move the ball down the field and you can do that in different ways. You still need to establish the run but they didn’t convert third downs and keep drives alive. It’s unacceptable to go 1-of-10 on third downs.
On the decision to put Luke Montgomery into the game at left guard last week: That’s where they’ve practiced and he had more practice reps at that position.
Can you control the game just by throwing the ball? The bottom line is you have to convert on third down. Have to put the players in a better position to be successful. Have to convert. If you want balance, you have to execute better.
How do you get Emeka Egbuka more involved? “Convert on third downs and keep drives going.” When you don’t have many plays, the numbers are going to look the way they do.
He is spending more time this week on offense.
There is a chance that Zen Michalski could play. If he can play, he will start.
The opportunity to go to Indianapolis is on the line. The defense has confidence. They flew around and won the game in the fourth quarter. If they can get the offense playing the way they have in the past and add the defense to it, that’s what they’re looking for.
They have an opportunity to win this game in the fourth quarter. They didn’t get that done at Oregon. The guys have been in the situation before and now they have an opportunity to go win a top 5 game.
On the defense: “I thought we played with more precision. I thought we got lined up faster.” Played with better pad level. Everything about it was crisper than the Oregon game.
What was the one thing you wanted changed the most defensively from the Oregon game: I’m gonna leave that answer and those conversations in the meeting room. It’s their job to put the players in the best positions to be successful. They have to be able to play fast. The coaches have to make sure the players have the opportunities to go win the game in the fourth quarter.
Are you comfortable with the lack of defensive rotation: They need to get guys mixed in more, but when the game is on the line you have to go with your best guys.
Jeremiah Smith is consistent and practices like a very mature player. You get to this point in the season and the freshmen can start to fray a little bit. “That’s not the way he’s been.” He handled the Oregon environment well. He’ll be ready against Penn State too. He doesn’t like to miss reps.
If Zen Michalski can go, they’ll continue to evaluate where they’re at with him. He battled until he got injured. He didn’t grade out as a champion. He had some tough plays. They have seen better in practice. They have confidence in him.
How has Will Howard responded to some OL struggles? He hasn’t forced any of the action, which is good. He lets the game come to him. They need to make more plays on third down.
Excited to get a full week of practice out of Lathan Ransom, so they’ll see how that goes before knowing if he’ll be able to play. They have some flexibility in the secondary. Lorenzo Styles, Jr. and Jermaine Mathews both graded out as champions.
On the RG situation: Tegra Tshabola and Austin Siereveld are both playing solid but would like to see them take the next step.
On Arvell Reese: The NCAA realized it should not have been targeting. The player was ruled a runner, so it’s hard to be defenseless there. Excited to have him at the outset this game.
On returning players who have been leaders: Cody Simon has been an excellent leader. Everybody feels and hears Jack Sawyer. Lathan Ransom is a vocal leader. Emeka Egbuka is a great leader. Seth McLaughlin has taken on the responsibility up front.
If Donovan Jackson still Plan B at LT? He has practiced at LT in the past knowing that this could be an outcome. They will do the same this week. He’s a veteran guy who has played a lot of football. They’ll identify the things he does well and what he’ll need more reps doing.
PSU DE Abdul Carter is excellent. Whether it’s against the run or pass, you have to know where he is.
“Our guys are going to be fired up to play in this game.” “We’re in it now and we’ve got a lot on the line this week.”
Concern level on targeting review being wrong and OSU losing a fumble caused: “As you can imagine, there’s been a lot of conversation.” It’s gone on for a while. It’s hard to coach against what was essentially a perfectly executed tackle. Day gives the league credit for fixing it after the fact. “Nobody’s more frustrated than me.” But it goes back to the fact of leaving no doubt. It was a good challenge for the defense and they responded. That’s the biggest lesson. Something is going to happen on Saturday that is like this and the defense will have to step up and get a stop.
Last week was a frustrating game offensively, but when the game was in the balance, they put a drive together and won the game. The defense did the same. You have to execute in the fourth quarter and they did it enough against Nebraska. Would have liked to finish better with a four-minute drive to end it. They have to be ready for the same thing against Penn State.