Ohio State Postgame: Ryan Day Recaps Minnesota Win, Talks Michigan

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters following the Buckeyes’ 37-3 win over Minnesota. Day discussed Ohio State’s victory over the Gophers and then looked ahead towards next week’s matchup at Michigan. The highlights of everything Day had to say can be found below.

When did your thoughts turn to next week? “No comment.” The team did a great job of staying focused this week. In the locker room, they’ve moved on to next week.
Good to see them come out of the half with quick points. That was a point of emphasis this week.
Kyle McCord threw some good balls today. “We’ve got the weapons and he’s got the talent.” The weapons are all here and healthy.
Tommy Eichenberg was pulled back. He could have played. It was a fistfight and Day won. It took some late-night texts. It was hard, but Day told him it was too much of a risk and that they needed him at his best. It was Day’s decision. He was ready to go. He’ll be 100% next week.
Not gonna dive into this film all that much but they will look at it. Kyle McCord got some different looks than what they had prepared for. There was good play but also some things they could have schemed up better.
What’s the fine line of playing guys or taking them out, and were you swallowing hard when Kyle McCord got sacked at the end of the second quarter? “You’ve got to thread that needle.” The goal is to win the game and you can’t do anything less than 100%. You can’t go into a game trying not to get people hurt.
What was the thinking at the end of the half? “I should’ve just run it.” He knew the crowd wouldn’t like it but that’s the job of the head coach.
You’re seeing strides from the defense week after week.
TreVeyon Henderson is a homerun hitter. When he gets to the second level, he’s dangerous. The perimeter blocking was great, as was the blocking on the interior.
They are expecting to have Mike Hall back next week.
Were you getting the answers you wanted from Kyle McCord on the sideline? “Yeah, for the most part.” “I think he’s seeing it well. The communication’s been good.”
Huge to get Emeka Egbuka back involved and for him to finally have his burst back. He saw that in practice this week. “He’s getting as close to 100% as he can possibly be.”
Jack Sawyer has been playing great. Playing hard. 3.5 TFLs, which was excellent. His best football is ahead of him. He just keeps putting days together. He grinds like everyone else on defense.
Dallan Hayden can now play the rest of the season because the postseason doesn’t count towards the redshirt per Day.