Ryan Day Radio Show: Ryan Day Says Ohio State Will “Keep Building” Diverse Personnel Groupings and Formations Into the Offense, Put More On Julian Sayin’s Plate Week to Week

On the Ryan Day Radio Show, the Ohio State head coach praised the team’s effort in practice, emphasized the need to be the hardest-working program in the country and outlined the next steps as the Buckeyes prepare for their matchup with Ohio.

"It doesn't matter who the opponent is," Day said. "It's about us."

From depth players taking advantage of opportunities to Julian Sayin growing in confidence, from special teams needing sharper execution to the offense finding balance, Day touched on every corner of the roster with Paul Keels and Jim Lachey. Following his appearance, Ohio State tight end Will Kacmarek, a 2024 transfer from Ohio, joined the broadcast.

Ryan Day

On Ohio State's practices following the Grambling game

• "It was a good week of practice."
• "These guys work, I'll give them that."
• "We got to continually push and grind and get better in a lot of areas."
• "We got to keep pushing, but they don't mind working, and that's a good thing."
• "There was a bounce in everybody's step this week."

On Ohio State's mentality toward practice

• Day said Ohio State needs to be the hardest-working team in the country. "That's the goal."
• "Practice has been fast."
• "It doesn't matter who the opponent is. It's about us."
• "The way we practice and how fast we practice is gonna be critically important about where we go this season."
• "Everybody in the country wants what we want, but it's who's willing to do the work on a day-to-day basis."

On whether he's happy about the defense through two weeks

• "Never happy with anything," Day said with a laugh. "But there's definitely some positives and some things we need to work on."
• Day said Ohio State's position coaches break down snaps and deliver grades to each of the Buckeyes that play week to week.
• "The first thing we're always looking at is effort. That's something I think so far these guys have given great effort."
• "A big part of it has to go back to how we practice. If you're gonna practice with great effort, you're gonna play with great effort."

On playing depth against Grambling State

• "It was great."
• "The sideline was even into it late in the game."
• "The scoreboard doesn't matter. Every play is an opportunity. Some guys really took advantage of those opportunities."

On Bo Jackson and Riley Pettijohn's standout performances

• "Every opportunity to get on the field with a rep is an opportunity to prove yourself."
• "Some guys really take that opportunity and run with it."
• "When they do it, they're building trust."
• "It was good to see some guys get on the field and use the opportunity to get more reps."

On finding balance within Ohio State's offense

• "I felt like in the first game we established the physicality that needs to continue, needs to grow, needs to build. But we also want to get the ball spread around. When we're doing both of those things, that's when we're putting the most stress on the defense."
• "We have to identify what a defense is doing."
• "If you have the ability to run the ball when you need to, throw the ball when you need to, then you have the balance you're looking for." 

On Ohio State using more formations, personnel through two weeks

• "We have more flexibility in personnel groupings."
• "We've been mostly 11, which is good, we have a lot of good athletes here... but I think being able to get into multiple personnel groupings and then multiple formations out of those personnel groupings keeps defenses on their heels more."
• "We'll keep building on it."

On Ohio's defense

• "They've gotten a lot of people off schedule and forced a lot of teams into third and longs."
• "They do a nice job with their rush, they do a nice job with their coverage."
• "They have some guys underneath who do a nice job of recognizing how teams will try to attack them."
• "We got to stay on schedule. We got to make sure we play in our favor on third downs."

On Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro's dual-threat talent

• "They equate numbers, so they're gonna read somebody and run or they're gonna run the quarterback, which is a plus-one run, so numerically they have an advantage."
• "The second thing is the ability to escape or extend plays with his feet."
• "All of those things are a concern when you're playing against an athletic quarterback."

On Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz's performances

• On Sayin: "I thought he was accurate. The ball came out on time. His feet were good. He was accurate downfield. It was a good next step for him. We'll put more on his plate this week."
• On Kienholz: "I thought he had good poise out there. He looked comfortable. He had a few runs, made a couple of passes as well. Good. He's practiced well. I thought he had a good week of practice leading up to that. He had another good practice yesterday. That's good for the team, and that's healthy for the room."
• "The more Lincoln can do, the more we'll give him opportunities, too. Whether it's a package or something like that, we'll work through those types of things. But he's doing a nice job."
• "Both guys are athletic. They can extend plays. They have good quickness. Both are good athletes. You have to be a good athlete these days to play quarterback; you can't just sit there like a wooden soldier."

On Ohio State needing to improve on punt return

• "We've got to field a ball."
• "We want to pick that ball up right off the punter's foot and try to field everything we possibly can to save the ball from rolling."
• "We have to continue to do a good job holding up front. I think we've just been a few blocks away in some of our return stuff."
• "We want to dominate on special teams. I don't think we have yet. I think the efforts there, we just need to clean up some things."

On Caleb Downs

• "It's great to have his skill set."
• Day said Downs' communication is "probably the thing that nobody talks about enough."
• Day said Downs continues to shine as a leader for the Ohio State defense.

On Jarquez Carter and Zion Grady shedding their black stripes 

• "Coach (Larry) Johnson felt like that was the right time to pull their black stripe off."
• "That's a big deal around here."
• "Good to see those guys recognized for their play."

On Emeka Egbuka

• "Emeka is one of many who we're just so proud of playing in the NFL. I know all Buckeye fans are as well."
• Day said that Egbuka returned to Ohio State for his senior season and is now "ready" to perform as a rookie.
• "He's a good example of somebody who is a student of the game. His football IQ is off the charts. Every year he learned more and more about that. I'm sure he's bringing a lot to the table there down in Tampa."

On Carnell Tate

• "He's playing well right now."
• "He's playing fast."
• "Tremendous throw and catch on the touchdown play. That's two contested throw and catches in two weeks."
• "There's gonna be so much opportunity for him this year."
• "Another example of how we can stress out a defense by having someone like Carnell and Jeremiah (Smith) on each side, and then Brandon (Inniss) in the slot and then you have our tight ends and running backs."

Will Kacmarek

On facing his former school on Saturday

• Kacmarek said some of his old roommates at Ohio are still playing for the Bobcats.
• "Love those guys and can't wait to see them on the field."

On Ohio State's tight end room

• "We all know what we're good at and what we could get better at."
• "We kind of complement each other."
• Kacmarek said Ohio State's tight end room is "diverse" with their skill sets.

On keeping Julian Sayin clean

• Kacmarek said Ohio State emphasized protecting Sayin in the Buckeyes' matchup against Texas.
• "I think the O-line and tight ends did a great job protecting him, preventing a lot of unnecessary pressure he did not want to see."

On transferring to Ohio State in 2024

• "It was a dream come true."
• Kacmarek said he's still trying to process being an Ohio State tight end and winning a national championship with the Buckeyes.