Cotton Bowl Updates: Ryan Day Discusses Matchup Between Buckeyes, Longhorns

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters on Friday as part of the first official Cotton Bowl media availability. He discussed the Buckeyes advancing into the semifinal of the College Football Playoff, how his team is playing right now, the upcoming matchup with the Texas Longhorns, and much more. The highlights of everything that was said can be found below.

Tremendous amount of respect for Texas and their program.
Where has giving up play calling benefited you at the end of the year? This time of year, he’s had more time to be part of the football aspect of things. Having Jim Knowles and Chip Kelly allows him to step away and look at the team with a wider lens.
Will you be able to exploit Texas’ inability to run? You can look at their talent and know that OSU will have to be at their very best. “They’re always looking for balance.” Tremendous respect for head coach Steve Sarkisian and how he calls a game. They are going to work around the clock to come up with ways to combat the Texas offense. They can be very, very explosive.
How do you make sure the team plays with the same edge now that you’re the favorite? He told the team that the same guys are in the room as were in there a month ago. They don’t need any more motivation to go win a team, but this is another opportunity to go play one more game with your brothers. This playoff format allows them to learn more about the team and grow together and play their best ball at the end of the season. Will focus on execution and make sure they have the best plan next Friday night. “We’ve got to do a good job of starting from scratch again.” When you’re in the playoffs, each week is a season in itself.
What is the biggest advancement that Will Howard has taken: Even for somebody who is experienced like he is, you’re still at a different school in a different program in a different offense. Howard has learned about himself this year. He has put a lot of work in to learn the offense and be the best leader in the nation. He is playing good football, making good decisions, and throwing it accurately.
On starting quickly in the playoffs: “We’ve always wanted to have fast starts.” You want to set the tone early. They’ve gotten the ball to start each game and gone down the field and scored. But it’s also a four-quarter game. They need to do a better job of handling the middle eight. “There’s a lot of things we’ve got to get better at if we’re going to beat Texas.”
“The Oregon game is over. The only thing that matters is Texas.” The leaders have to set the pace. For young guys, this has been a long season, but the ones that stay locked in will benefit from it this year and moving forward.
Does it help playing in a place that is familiar to the team? There’s a lot of history there but that doesn’t have anything to do with anything. There are some great Ohio State fans in the Dallas area and throughout Texas.
It has probably been beneficial that the Buckeyes haven’t had a long layoff. They have momentum right now but it doesn’t mean anything if they don’t keep it. These games are coming fast.
The more Will Howard plays with this team, the more comfortable he gets with everything. Yeah, he’s played a lot of football, but schemes are like languages and the better you can understand it, the better you’ll do. “He’s got to be the best leader on the field.”
Thoughts on Quinn Ewers: “He’s one of the first eighth graders that I ever offered.” “I don’t know if that’s legal or not, but I did.” Saw him at a camp at the WHAC. It was disappointing to lose him but Day certainly understood Ewers wanting to play. There are still plenty of relationships with Ewers and people around the program.
Donovan Jackson has been an extraordinary leader. He came back to play guard and then be the top guard drafted, so moving to tackle has been a selfless thing to do. Now he has become a very good tackle and increased his value. It’s a great lesson for the young players. All of the throws that Will Howard throws downfield is because of the protection.