Ohio State is back in the lab after a dominant Week 2 victory.
Ryan Day appreciated his team's effort in practice and in its 70-0 win over Grambling State, coming off a massive season-opening victory over Texas, and some of the Buckeyes' youngsters got a chance to showcase their talents as the starters came off the field in the blowout.
One such youngster was linebacker Riley Pettijohn, who earned Ohio State Defensive Player of the Game honors as Day said he has a chance to be a "really good player" on 97.1 the Fan's Buckeye Roundtable show Monday. Day also touched on Caleb Downs' interception, the explosion and tempo of his offense against Grambling and the performance of his quarterbacks.
- On his team's performance against Grambling State: "Offensively, I felt like we got off to a fast start. ... We were executing right out of the gate. ... We came out with the right attitude, certainly after the big win against Texas. There was no letdown in terms of effort."
- Day wanted to experiment with some fast tempo against the Tigers. "We wanted the game to go the way it did in the first half. Come out and execute cleanly and have a bunch of plays, because if the game started to get a little sideways, we knew we were gonna try to get some of our guys who hadn't played in the game."
- Day said one of the benefits of getting so many young faces in a game like the one against Grambling State is that it builds confidence and energy for them in practice to continue developing as the season goes.
- On Riley Pettijohn and James Peoples: "It was good to get some of those guys out there and get some reps. ... Riley was actually our Defensive Player of the Game. He was playing downhill and physical and we think he has the chance to be a really good player for us."
- On Caleb Downs' interception: "He's a really smart player and has great football IQ. Puts a lot of work in and knew exactly what the play was when he came off the field. ... He's beyond his years."
- On getting the tight ends involved in the downfield passing game: "The vertical threat and the explosiveness, these guys are going to be real threats for us this year. ... We want to establish the run, but then stretch the field horizontally and vertically."
- On the performance of backup quarterback Lincoln Kienholz: "Lincoln graded out really well. ... I felt Lincoln had good poise. He had a good week of practice last week ... you can see his athleticism. ... I thought he handled himself like a pro."
- On the advice he gave Julian Sayin after his interception: "He played really well, the ball came out on time, he made some accurate throws. ... Certainly a learning lesson down there in the red area, but he learns quickly."
- Day pointed to Ohio's victory over West Virginia and the tight game with Rutgers as reasons not to take the Bobcats lightly. "I don't think it's gonna be hard for us to motivate our team."
