In bits and pieces and hints, one can tell that Ryan Day's confidence in Julian Sayin is growing.
Off a poised effort in his first start, a win over No. 1 Texas on Saturday, Day said his quarterback "never flinched" on the field and was identifying things in the defense that impressed him. It wasn't the only first-time starter who impressed him.
Day raved about new safety Jaylen McClain, saying he got off to an "excellent start" playing alongside Caleb Downs, showing instincts and getting downhill with good tackling against the run. An offensive line with new faces at offensive tackle protected well and showed "grittiness," he felt. He added that Ethan Onianwa will remain an asset to Ohio State's offensive line, and that he's swinging between right guard at right tackle at this time.
- Day said Sayin graded out a champion on the postgame film evaluation. "We felt like he took care of the ball. Made some good throws. ... He never flinched."
- On the running back tandem of James Peoples and CJ Donaldson: "They're working together, just like last year. ... You'll probably see James get more carries this week, CJ get more carries next week, that's just how it goes."
- Day said there's "no real update" on Keyatta Jackson Jr.'s status after his injury against Texas, but that he's working to get back to the field this week.
- Film study made Day and his team see that there's still a lot of room to grow, even after a massive win. "We've got a lot of work to do. A ton. ... There's so many thing that we've got to improve on, and that's what we've got to do regardless of opponent. ... I think we were able to build some confidence moving forward with guys who haven't played a bunch of football."
- Day said he felt Sayin made a good read and a good throw on Ohio State's 4th-and-1 play on its first drive despite Jeremiah Smith being open down the middle of the field. "I thought he threw a heck of a ball. It was his first start ever, we've got to help him out."
- As he said before the game, Day wasn't worried about style points heading into Saturday. "Especially in a game like this, the No. 1 thing was to win the game. We wanted to establish an identity in terms of playing physical ... the execution's gotta improve. We need to be more explosive on offense, for sure. ... I do think, the last drive, when it was 14-7, at that point we need to be more aggressive. ... I'm part of that, so I'm being self-critical. ... We've gotta go win the game in that moment."
- On Will Kacmarek: "He was playing really physical in this game. Will has really established himself as a really strong, in-line tight end. ... We feel like we have some guys (at tight end) that we can build some different groupings out of and that gives us a changeup there."
- On his team's identity and whether it is close to being established after Saturday: "The first thing is what we saw in the preseason is the competitiveness, the grittiness. ... That's a great start. ... We've got miles to go. It's not gonna be good enough to get where we need to go. But it's something to build off of."
- On Jaylen McClain: "An excellent start. I think he works well with Caleb. ... He's a good tackler, he plays downfield, he sees things, he's fast. ... A really good start in a big spot right there. ... That's gonna build confidence going into the rest of the season."
- Ohio State's offensive line didn't allow a sack on Saturday, and Day felt his front five played well. "Was there some inconsistencies, yeah ... but I thought if you just watched our play, you watched how hard we played, there's something we can build from."
- On how heavily NFL development still factors into recruiting: "When you look at the development of our team, I'd put it up against any other team in the country. ... It's one thing to make it to the NFL, it's another thing to stay in the NFL. ... The feedback we get from our players is, when they get to these clubs, they're ready to go because of the structure that we have here. ... All those things add up to guys doing well once they're there. And you talk to NFL personnel, they know what they're getting when they draft a Buckeye."
- On what won Phillip Daniels the starting right tackle job: "It was consistency. I think Phil plays with an edge. ... Ethan (Onianwa) is still going to be a very important part of that position, he's kind of swinging between right guard and right tackle right now."
