Ryan Day Discusses Michigan Loss Fallout, Signing Day Successes

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters on Wednesday to discuss the Buckeyes’ haul on early signing day. He talked about the many Ohio State signees and what they’ll bring to the football program. Day also discussed the fallout from the Buckeyes’ loss to Michigan and how they will bounce back for the playoffs in a couple of weeks. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

Michigan Fallout

The defense played excellent. Really from the Oregon game on they’ve played excellent. The offensive side of the ball was not a good day across the board. Some of that had to do with the coaching and the game planning. They could have done a better job of getting the ball to the perimeter. But when you get to the red zone five times and only get 10 points, that’s not typical for them. When you look back on it, there are ways there are definitely they could’ve gotten it to the perimeter. Will Howard threw it 35 times or so, which is the second-highest total of the season.
How do you rally the troops now? “We’ve got a lot in front of us. As much as this hurts, we’ve got a chance to go play for a national championship.” They’re gonna get out on the practice field right now and move around a bit. It’s all out in front of them. It’s going to come down to the leaders. “We’ve had good conversations.”
Very frustrating to not score after the Caleb Downs’ interception.
Where do you go from here in the kicking game? “We wouldn’t have put him in the game if we didn’t feel confident in him.” Everybody has their own job to do.
Did you handle the fourth quarter two-minute drill properly? They follow the chart and the analytics. They had time to go down the field and score, but didn’t get it done.
Are the seniors excited about this final shot? “I think there’s a mix of emotions there…” but as they find out who they will play, the excitement will rise. You don’t just wake up and say on to the next thing. “Gotta get that first win in the playoffs.”
The ball was run inside too much, that was clear to see.
Were you not comfortable throwing after Will Howard got hit? “We go off of what the doctors say.” They felt he was okay to go into the game, so they have to trust that he can do that. That didn’t impact their play calling.
Why not more tempo? They had tempo plays going into the game. They had a good pace early on, but they bogged down. Yes, tempo would have helped them more in this game.
The number one goal has to do what best helps you win the game. You don’t just get stuck on one thing, but you have to make sure people understand how important it is to run the ball. But there’s more ways to get it done, and there are also more ways to win a game.
Why are you the right coach to get this team to reach their three goals? There’s not been one thing that has kept them from their goals. The culture is stronger than it’s ever been. There players are here. They had a bad day. “We have to move forward.”
Do you expect to be here next year? “Yes.”
Is there a sense of pressure to do something in the playoffs so the seniors leave with something? “Yeah, that’s it.” “When you lose this game it is completely maddening.” There is still a chance to do something special this season.
They were confident and loose before the game as they had been since 2019, but as the game went on it started to tighten up with some turnovers and mistakes.
So how do you keep the team from losing its confidence if something bad happens in the playoffs? Some times you have to dial up a play that can create momentum. When you have an advantage at receiver you have to utilize that.
Can you overthink the Michigan game? You can look at it a million different ways, which they have. But at the end of the day, you have to put your players in a position to be successful and then you have to execute. When you have some success early on, it can build some positive momentum.
“This is a wonderful place. I’ve got a great job.” Have never thought about leaving voluntarily. The loss crushes him but he wants to get it fixed.
Has Justin Frye done a good job recruiting and developing his position group? For all of the assts, there are things they’ve done well and not done well. He has shared his thoughts with Frye on his performance. He’s not going to get into it here. “There are certainly things he’s done well and things he needs to improve on.”
What communications have you had with recruits on your future? “They’ve been great.” Nobody is flinching. A lot of recruits have found their balance and not tapped into the extreme. Not been any need to assure them that he’ll be here.
Should flag planting be banned? That’s up to the conferences to decide.
Have you lost confident in yourself that you are the right guy? “No. If I was in your seat I’d be asking the same question, but no.” “I was in shock after the game. I really was. I never expected that to happen.” “There were some things that happened in that game that I’m responsible for and it can never happen again.” As much as you want to win that game, you still have to play it. “Nobody’s more frustrated than me. I know that we’re gonna get this right.”
What is your sales pitch to the fans? “There’s no way to defend losing four years in a row.” Don’t need a sales pitch. The fans are frustrated, he knows that. “I know what comes with this job.” “Gotta keep swinging at it. Gotta keep cracking it.”
Describe the fire in your belly that could erupt in the next four weeks? “It starts with the guys.” The players motivate the staff. “That’s why you wake up in the morning.” You also do it for the fan base and because you are competitive. “That’s what gets you up in the morning and drives you ever day.”
They are going to look at some changes on the offensive line. Not there on making a decision but they are looking at what gives them their best chance. Could be multiple guys.
What is the level of support from the administration and donors? Everybody is frustrated with the Michigan game but they have an opportunity to go win a national championship and that’s where the focus is right now. “There hasn’t been a ton of communication other than that.”
Try not to rank on the hardest losses.

Signing Day

This has a chance to be one of the best classes in the country. There’s been a lot of loyalty in this class. Having eight guys from Ohio is significant. But this is a new era in recruiting. There have been new offers thrown out to these guys yesterday and today. A lot of needs addressed.
On only three offensive linemen signing, how do you address that? That’s the one area where they have to be addressing in the next few weeks. Jayvon McFadden is gonna give them something at tackle. Carter Lowe is a swing guy. It’s not just about the high school guys anymore but you still have to hit your numbers and depth.
How much did Jeremiah Smith change the way you see a guy like Devin Sanchez to come in and make an impact right away? It depends on the position and the individual, but part of that is coming in early and this class has a lot of early enrollees. There are some guys that could have a big impact early on.
On quarterback Tavien St. Clair: First off, he’s from Ohio and that’s important here. He started camping as an eighth grader and kept growing and improving. You saw unique traits in him. He separated himself from the rest of the class. From then on he was focused on recruiting the class. You can see the leadership skills in him. He was here for almost every spring practice this year for the meetings and the field. “He’s excited to get here.”
How do you manage the expectations for Tavien St. Clair? They’ve talked about it as a family. Being quarterback from the state of Ohio at Ohio State is different. They’ll have a plan for him.
On the three first-year position coaches: “I’ve been really impressed with our linebacking corps.” Got two guys in right now and waiting on possibly one more this afternoon. James Laurinaitis brings a credibility with him. You can see it in recruiting. Carlos Locklyn has brought in some good guys as well. Lock wanted to build depth in that room. Matt Guerrieri landing three guys who are excellent players.
Camp offers are great because they come in and want to earn a scholarship, or they had already earned one and wanted to come in and compete and learn. Evaluating players live in camp, you rarely miss on guys like that.
Keenan Bailey worked hard on this class. Nate Roberts wanted to be a Buckeye all along. He’s from Norman, Oklahoma, so there were people still coming after him this week. Brody Lennon is another upgrade to the position as well.
On recruiting in the state of Alabama: Carlos Locklyn has ties down there, which helps. Caleb Downs has ties down there. They worked the state hard. “We hustled.” There’s good football in Alabama.
On the DTs: Gonna need the existing guys to step up. The incoming guys can make an early impact next year. Will they continue to go with a four-man front or will they change some things up? That’s why they went with some different body types up front.
Carlos Locklyn has known Turbo Rogers for a while. He can give them some hybrid looks, not unlike a Xavier Johnson in the past. When you look at the way things are going in NIL and with roster limitations, the more you can bring in versatility, the better you’ll be later in the season.
On the receivers: Quincy Porter is a bigger receiver. Loved his film going into last year, especially against Jeremiah Smith’s team the year before. He’s going to get stronger and faster. Dez Jones is a versatile guy who can line up anywhere. Phillip Bell has had a challenging fall but is very mature. The comp for him would be Emeka Egbuka. Bodpegn “is kind of the wildcard.” Did some great things at camp. You see some high end things for being so early in his experience as a receiver. He’s 6-4. Not sure if he’s a year one guy but he has a lot of potential.
Tavien St. Clair has been around a lot and it should allow him to be more prepared when he arrives.
Behind the curtain on the final hours of signing day: there are players you have question marks on, there are others you feel better about. There’s not unlimited funds and opportunities for everybody. “I think we put together a great class for where we are.” The numbers have gone up. “It’s just part of the game and we’ve got to adjust.”
Tavien St. Clair and Carter Lowe were leaders of the class on offense. Devin Sanchez and his parents were excellent through this whole process. Faheem Delane “was in the middle of that.” The Ohio guys stuck together. It just never ends on teams coming after players. Riley Pettijohn’s parents were great.
Carter Lowe can play a couple of different positions. Has good feet. Knows what it means to be a Buckeye.
How is OSU adapting to NIL right now? Governor Dewine has allowed the school to get into the deals more with the players. The number continues to rise so they have to continue to be aggressive in that area.
Who needs to be involved in capping the numbers? That would be a conference thing. The Big Ten and SEC are in talks about multiple ways to address those things to create guardrails.
How much more time do you spend on the transfer portal now? Every year is more and more. Ultimately you have to fill your roster.
Not sure what the roster limit is going to be right now.
What tells you in the sophomore season of a HS QB that he’s the future for Ohio State? You look at the ability, the competitive nature, the size. Sometimes when they’re young, it’s a little bit of a risk.