It’s game week, and the Buckeyes are ready to take on Illinois.
Day joined his weekly radio show on 97.1 The Fan on Wednesday to talk concerns in the secondary, Justin Fields' uncharacteristic interceptions, recruiting wins, the all-white uniforms, the team's plan for Thanksgiving and gave some final updates ahead of Saturday's game against Illinois
Day was also joined by offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson for the final portion of his radio show.
Here are some of the highlights.
Ryan Day
On practice this week
- "The plate is full this week."
- "We've got a lot to work on, a lot to get better at."
On Thanksgiving with the players
- Day notes that Thanksgiving is usually a special week because it's also Michigan week.
- Day said the players won't get to see their families this week.
- "Like you said, Thanksgiving is football when you're at Ohio State."
- Day said it will be a normal practice day, then have a team Thanksgiving meal at 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
- "These guys who won't get to see their family will have a big meal."
On Illinois
- "They're dangerous."
- "They're dangerous because they cause a lot of turnovers."
- "They run to the ball well, they strip it out."
- Day said their offensive line "might be the best one we've seen so far."
- Day said they don't turn the ball over on the other end either.
- "They're tough to beat."
On the backup quarterbacks
- "It's tough to tell sometimes when they're not out there and playing in real games."
- Day said he does feel they are both getting better.
- "The more those guys can get in a real game, the more I can get a feel for it."
On Justin Fields' struggles
- "We know going into that game it was going to be a high-risk, high-reward sort of deal."
- Day said he would have liked Justin Fields to take fewer chances, though.
- Day called it a "learning experience."
On stopping the Indiana running attack
- "They didn't gain a yard. They didn't run the ball at all in the game."
- Day credits the front seven for the dominant run defense.
- "Those are two veteran guys who I think are playing at a high level," Day said of Jonathon Cooper and Pete Werner.
On the defensive line depth
- "It helps in practice that they're all playing."
- "The more guys you can get in the game, the better off it is for moral, as well."
- Day said "it's good for the development of our team" to play depth in the game.
On the all-white uniforms
- "I had no input on that."
- "If you're going to wear white, you've got to play fast."
- "They're excited about it. It gives them a little boost."
On picking up the blitzes against Indiana
- "What you can't do is overreact."
- Day said if you make major adjustments, then you aren't prepared for a basic look.
- "It's part of the learning curve. It's part of figuring out these adjustments."
- "The more those situations we get in, the stronger we're going to be.
On the offensive line
- "Really the tight ends deserve a lot of credit too."
- Day said they made a few adjustments due to the different skill set at running back.
- "Josh (Myers), Wyatt (Davis) and Thayer (Munford) are playing as good or better as they were as last year."
On the weather taking away the passing game
- "We try to say we can throw bowling balls in monsoons," Day joked about the passing attack in inclement weather.
- "We're going to plan on doing it, we want to have that balance."
- Day said he does understand that sometimes wind means they have to run the ball more.
On the Illibuck Trophy
- "My plan was to do that on Thanksgiving," Day said of discussing the history of the trophy.
- Day said he wants to tell a lot of stories of Ohio State football on Thanksgiving.
- "We'll talk a little history."
On the secondary
- "There are certainly a lot of things on film they want to get fixed."
- "This defense is designed to avoid big plays," Day said, and called the big plays "Inexcusable."
- Day said "They're not proud of that," and they're going to get better.
On not allowing points off turnovers
- "The response was excellent by the defense."
- Day also praised Julian Fleming's forced fumble.
- "All three of those were really amazing."
On Garrett Wilson
- "He's very talented and I thought he had his best week of practice last week."
- Day said his practice habits have really improved.
- "That carried over to a big game."
- "If he can keep practicing well, the sky's the limit for Garrett."
- "The natural talent is there."
On the importance of practice
- "Practicing hard doesn't really guarantee you anything. It just gives you a chance."
- But without great practice, "You have no chance."
On Master Teague's performance
- "It was great to see him break one," Day said.
- "When he has momentum and he's running downhill, he's a load."
- "He's taking care of the football he's running hard."
- "The more momentum we can get for him, the better he's going to be."
- "He deserves that many carries. He's running hard."
On not kicking the field goal at the end of the game against Indiana
- "I'm disappointed we missed that field goal. We've missed too many field goals."
- "I'm not happy about that at all," Day said of the missed field goals.
- Day said he wanted to be aggressive, so he went for it on fourth down.
- "Touchdowns win football games."
- "Was I a little gunshy after the missed field goal? I guess."
- "We've gotta start making those field goals."
- Day called the missed field goals "unacceptable."
On Teradja Mitchell
- "It's getting to the point in his career where he needs to start having an impact."
- Day said it's up to him what he does with his opportunity.
- "He's got to now step up and be a part of this thing."
On recruiting wins
- "It's a lot of momentum for us right now."
- Day notes it's been hard because people haven't been able to visit.
- "I think people nationally are really excited about what we're doing here."
- "There's a lot of excitement around the program right now."
- "Scheme is a lot better when you have good players."
Kevin Wilson
On the fast offensive starts
- "We've had some solid practices and we've been able to create great energy."
- Wilson mentioned they've stalled after that.
- "I think we're getting back to Ohio State football where we have 600 yards and everybody's complaining about something. So we're rolling."
On offensive balance
- "To me, balance is when you have to run you can, when you have to throw you can."
- Wilson said it doesn't have to be 50/50.
- Wilson said he likes how the offense is playing right now.
