Ryan Day Updates: Buckeyes Looking To Close Spring In Strong Fashion

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters following practice on Monday. Day answered questions about Saturday’s upcoming spring game, recent practices, personnel, and much more. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

On the QBs on Saturday: He met with them. He made the comment that the only thing different about Saturday’s practice is that people were watching. But it makes you realize how important every rep is. That’s part of the coaches’ job is to make sure they realize it. They’ve been getting after it every day. They’ve each had good days and not-so-good days. Nobody’s that much further ahead than anybody. This is a big week for them.
On dealing with the Burrow vs. Haskins decision his second year: It’s more nerve-wracking when you DON’T have a quarterback. They had two great QBs that year. Every year is its own challenge, but you have three QBs all at different points in their career.
Is this year’s QB competition/decision nerve-wracking? “We’ll see.” Still in that learning/growth phase.
Austin Siereveld has had a very good spring. He’s a true swing player. Part of that is being able to handle it mentally. He’s been doing a good job of that. He’s to the point where he could start at either guard or tackle.
On Lincoln Kienholz: Absolutely in the thick of the race. He showed his athleticism on Saturday. That was the first time they ever made the QBs live. They needed to do it. “We’re trying to make the routine things routinely.” Got to do that in order to keep the offense on track on first and second down, then be smart on third down. They’ve seen the QBs make the spectacular plays, but they need to be more consistent on the routine plays.
Expectations for Jeremiah Smith in year two: Everybody on the team is in a different point. That was today’s message. Everybody has to get better. For Jeremiah, a lot of it is learning to be a good teammate and coming out of his shell more. He’s been adding more in the slot and increasing his route tree.
Quincy Porter has been productive this spring and made some tough catches on Saturday. He’s gritty and is making plays. That allowed him to be the first true freshman to lose his black stripe. If he keeps playing like this, he’s going to be on the field a lot this season.
They have worked with Jeremiah Smith on expectations on handling his fame on campus and off. He’s still a young man trying to find his way. They make sure he has what he needs.
Sophomore linebacker Payton Pierce “is thriving right now.” He’s a guy that understands football at a high level. Great tackler. He’s coming into his own. He was injured last spring but he’s had a full year to train. He’s going to have a big impact this year.
It’s fair to say that Tavien St. Clair has the longest way to go just based on his experience, but everybody on Saturday saw the talent he possesses. “The game’s just moving really fast for him right now.” Lincoln Kienholz and Julian Sayin are neck and neck right now.
Why make the QBs live? All three of them needed it for different reasons. Tavien St. Clair coming in and seeing the speed of the game, this was the only time they could do it because they’re not going to do it in the fall. Lincoln Kienholz hasn’t played in a live game since the Cotton Bowl in 2023. He needed game speed. He’s also bigger and stronger and more athletic than he was back then so they wanted him to get a feel for using those tools. With Julian Sayin, he didn’t play much last year and they wanted him to get that feel in the pocket and the depth he needs and the feel he needs to have. The hardest thing for a young QB is existing in the pocket and knowing where to go and when to go.
On Freshman CB Devin Sanchez: He’s going against great WRs every day. That was part of the recruiting pitch. He’s had some really good snaps, and others he’s grown from. Very competitive with a short memory.
Have you found the “sweet spot” in operating spring football? Coming off of last season, his only thought was allowing the team to take a step back. Then he got about a week and a half into spring and he realized that this team is young and they need about five more weeks of spring ball. This has actually been one of the most physical springs they’ve had. There are guys on this team who don’t need the work, but most of the team needs it. “We’re looking for a lot of guys to take the next step…”
The spring game will be broken up offense vs. defense. It will start out in thud tempo with no tackling, but then tackling will be allowed after a few drives.
They need the defensive tackles to step up more than they have. There is ability but consistency has been the challenge. They need to see more.
The spring game is a piece of the puzzle when it comes to evaluating QBs. “This is just the beginning.” “The good news is that all three can do it.” “The best we can do is put them in game environments.”
Will the QB competition go into fall camp: Maybe one of the QBs jumps out ahead this week and makes some separation, “but we’ll see where it goes.” Somebody would have to make a significant jump this week.
Do you think you’ll feel good about the QB position when spring is done? “We’ll feel good.” Will they feel great? Not sure. They have the guys to do it.
How pleased are you with the defense right now? You can see the velocity when you’re live. They are competitive and edgy. They have given great effort in every practice. You can build off of that.