Ryan Day Updates: Buckeyes Gearing Up For Third Top 5 Matchup

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters on Tuesday to preview this weekend’s matchup between the No. 2 Buckeyes and the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers. He discussed his team, the difficulties that this matchup presents, and much more. The highlights of everything that was said can be found below.

Excited about a great week here. This week is gonna be a huge opportunity for the fans to show everyone what The Best Damn Fans In The Land looks like.
Looking forward to challenging the guys this weekend to have the best week of preparation of the season.
Every tempted to take the ball first on the coin toss? Yes, they try to make that decision based on the opponent and what’s going on. But they like to defer and get the ball in the second half.
Will Kacmarek will practice this week and they hope to have him available for the game.
They turned the play into the Big Ten where Jeremiah Smith had his ankle twisted. He’s good to go.
Everything is on the line this week. “I know our guys are focused.” They’re getting extra film work in.
On possible recruiting frustrations due to the noon games: The great news is there will be a great environment on Saturday. It’s an advantage for the recruits to see atmospheres like that. For those who are done with their HS season, it’s much easier to get here for noon games. For those who are still playing, it makes it more difficult. They try to manage it as best they can, plus the television presence makes it easy for those players to watch the games.
As an asst coach, you have to make sure you have a room that has depth and has production. It used to be how many players did you bring in through recruiting. Now it’s how many did you bring in and keep. You have to build a room according to the situation on hand. That also includes the portal to fill in holes. That’s each guy’s job.
Confident in the proper defensive corrections from earlier in the season? The coaches and players have identified the issues and this is going to be a good indicator of where the defense is right now.
Explain who Jim Knowles is as a teacher: “We all have ownership of what goes on.” There’s accountability all over the place. You can’t point fingers because that’s not good for the culture. You have to be honest about whether or not you have championship play. If you don’t, you have to fix it. You have to teach it better as a coach if your players aren’t grading out as champions.
On National Signing Day in two weeks: It’s been like this for a few years now. “It’s just kind of what it is.” You have to recruit every day but you also have a game that you’ve got to go win.
Will Howard’s NFL prospects and his improvements: He’s gotten a great handle on the offense and the receivers. His footwork is timing up with the routes better. He has a better understanding of third downs and red zone.
Are teams doing things to take Emeka Egbuka away? There are fewer plays and possessions now, but there are also games where the Buckeyes are simply running the clock out in a handful of the last few games. This team wants to win so everybody has to be unselfish and sacrifice.
They try to have a balanced attack going into every game on offense. They don’t try to focus on one player or one grouping. The coverage will dictate where the ball will go, but Chip Kelly/Brian Hartline can manufacture some things to get it where they’d like it.
Thoughts on Indiana: The first thing is their players don’t get enough credit. Curt Cignetti is doing a great job, but it’s the players who play. They are well coached and they take care of the football. They cause turnovers. Their best players play on special teams.
Do you pay attention to things Curt Cignetti says? “Everybody has to motivate their team.” “Ultimately, this is always about us.”
Any commonalities with the slow starts over the season? There is always an expectation to go down the field and score or get a three and out, but they’re playing against good teams. Always looking to get better at execution. “I see us right from the jump playing hard. I see us playing physical. Playing with an edge.”
What have you learned about Caleb Downs from when he was a recruit until now? You could tell he loved football and he was smart about it. You better be serious about it around him. Then you recognize the competitiveness. He’s always bugging coaches about getting back in the game. His passion for football is infectious.
This is going to be a great challenge for the offensive line. They now have a good idea of what to expect from Donovan Jackson, so they can plan around that as well.
Kurtis Rourke’s running ability hasn’t been seen this year, but are you preparing for it? He’s playing good football this year and has good athleticism. “We’ve got to make sure we’re playing him honest.” He’s very accurate in what he does.
Lathan Ransom brings a lot of energy to the table. He’s a leader. Execution fuels emotion. You’re seeing some of his best play right now. Cares a lot about his teammates. “I’m glad he’s a Buckeye.”
“Our best players have to play well when you’re in these types of games.”
It’s easier to prepare for an opponent that has had an extra week off when you have a QB who is as experienced as Will Howard. He’s seen everything, so when he sees something that he hasn’t prepared for this week, he’ll have a better idea of how to handle it.
Caleb Downs, Quinshon Judkins, Caleb Downs, and Will Howard have earned their leadership positions and worked for them.
Is Denzel Burke frustrated right now? “I think he’s going to have a great game this weekend.” Had a great conversation with him the other day. He’s excited about this matchup. They know he’s going to be challenged in this game and what has gone on in the past, but the bottom line is that the staff believes in everybody in the secondary.
How does this group of IU WRs stack up? “They’re very productive.” They’ve made a lot of plays. They run good routes and have good ball skills. “We’ve played good receivers before and these guys are on par with that.”
Mitchell Melton is going to practice today. They’ll monitor it as things go on.
They are operating on the belief that they cannot afford a loss the rest of the way out. They know they can’t lose if they want to make it to Indianapolis.
On the makeup of this team, in reference to walk-on WR David Adolph blocking a punt: That’s a guy who is making a difference on special teams. “We need those kinds of guys on the team.” That’s a big deal what he’s doing. Look at Xavier Johnson over the past handful of years. Those guys can make or break your team.
Do you have three primary receivers right now: It makes a big difference when a defense wants to take one guy away because you have two other guys that can do what they do. Then you have the RBs and TEs. The last two games they’ve attacked LBs with TreVeyon Henderson and Gee Scott, Jr.