Ryan Day Radio Show: Ryan Day Calls Demond Williams Jr. “Lightning in a Bottle,” Joins Matt Patricia in Comparing the Washington Quarterback to Kyler Murray

Ohio State's head coach labeled the Buckeyes' open date “Improvement Week,” framing it as a chance to reset and return to the fundamentals that have built the program into a perennial national championship contender.

The Buckeyes' focus comes at a critical time, with a four-game stretch looming that includes three road trips — starting with a West Coast clash against Washington. In his conversation with Paul Keels and Jim Lachey, Day downplayed the challenge of traveling cross-country, emphasizing that the matchup will come down to execution, not location.

“It’s more about us,” he said. “They have a good team, and it’s gonna be on the road. That’s more important than anything, than being on the West Coast.”

When discussing Washington's talent, Day joined Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia in comparing Huskies quarterback Demond Williams Jr. to Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, a Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma.

"He's lightning in a bottle. He's like Kyler Murray," Day said. "He's a very good player. He's got a strong arm. He's quick, he's fast and a really good football player. We're gonna have to have a really good plan for him."

Following Day's appearance, Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork joined Keels and Lachey to discuss Tradition Evolved, the SCORE Act, the NCAA transfer portal and more.

Ryan Day

On Ohio State's bye week plans

• "A lot going on."
• "We all go on the road tomorrow recruiting."
• "We're calling it 'Improvement Week.'"

On Ohio State's mentality during the bye week

• "It goes back to fundamentals."
• "It goes back to day one of preseason camp."
• "It goes to how you walk in the building every day, how you go to meetings, how you stretch, your hand placement, your pad level, your steps, all those things. It's a good opportunity to kind of re-bite on all those things."

On how Ohio State has handled reps in practice this week

• Day said Ohio State has limited some reps for players who have logged a lot of reps as Buckeyes, such as Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs.
• "Everyone is getting good work — it's just a matter of volume for a week like this, depending on who the player is."

On Ohio State's schedule coming out of the bye week

• "When you look at this four-game run right here, you're gonna be on the road for three of them. First one is a West Coast trip, and this is our first conference run here."
• "We're gonna get a good idea what type of team we are coming out of this run."

On Ohio State's younger talent proving themselves

• "We can point to a lot of things that have been good, but also things we got to get better at."
• "I do think we're playing with an edge."
• "Still a lot of meat on the bone," Day said before naming Ohio State's lack of success in the red zone against Ohio, running backs breaking tackles and the quarterback "making good decisions."

On Bo Jackson and Isaiah West

• "The more opportunities they have, the more they'll learn and grow and build."
• "You can see the talent, for sure."
• "Just learning how to become a college football player. The jump that these guys are making from high school football to college is significant."
• "It's good because they've got really good role models ahead of them."

On Ohio State's offensive line play through three weeks

• "I think the mentality has been right. I think the mindset has been right."
• "There's a mindset of physicality that these guys want to play with and they want their identity to be that way."
• "We got a big challenge going into conference play with some of the guys we're gonna play, especially in Week 1. They do a great job of finding themselves in a lot of one-on-one situations. We're gonna have to deal with being on the road, with comes with that, with the noise."
• "Big challenges ahead."
• "We're always looking to improve, to move the line of scrimmage, to get off at the second level, being in phase in the run game."

On Ohio State's tight ends adding versatility to the offense

• "Now you're seeing more attached sets. We can motion out to different things. We can break out when we have multiple tight ends because they can catch the ball as well."
• "It's giving us a little bit of versatility in our offense that maybe we haven't had in the past."

On how West Coast travel could impact Ohio State vs. Washington

• "A game is a game, just like in the NFL. To me, it's just kind of a mindset. The clock in Ohio is not changing. Buckeye time is not changing. If we're playing the game at 3:30 here, then that's just what we're doing, just playing at a different place."
• "To me, it's just another game. It's a little bit further away, but we make trips to Nebraska, we make trips to Wisconsin. It's a few hours further than that, but that's about it. That's the way we're gonna look at it."
• Day reiterated "a game is a game" and "we got to go play."
• "It's more about us, and they have a good team, and it's gonna be on the road. That's more important than anything than being on the West Coast."

On Arvell Reese earning credibility in the locker room

• "When you see guys make plays on the field, there's just instant credibility."
• "Arvell is a great example. Arvell may not have as much of a voice or do as much talking as some of the other guys, but when he speaks, people listen. Jeremiah is a little bit that way.
• "But when these guys are some of your hardest workers day in and day out, you grab a young player and you say, 'You see how he's going about his business? You see him running around at night?' No, he's not doing any of that stuff. Why? Because he knows what's important. That's the example that's been set for a long time here at Ohio State. These guys are certainly understanding that and hopefully taking it to the next level."

On Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr.

• "He's lightning in a bottle. He's like Kyler Murray."
• Day said his son, RJ, reminded him that he watched Williams play against former Ohio State commit and current Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola during a state championship game in Arizona a few years ago. "I remember him being like a baller," Day of Williams.
• "He's a very good player. He's got a strong arm. He's quick, he's fast and a really good football player. We're gonna have to have a really good plan for him."

Ross Bjork

On the atmosphere inside Ohio Stadium

• "We're learning some things."
• "We can always tweak and add and take away and modify."
• Bjork said he's been pleased with the lack of "downtime" and "dead space" during breaks in the action of football games.
• Bjork said Ohio State's Stripe Out was "a good thought" but could have been executed better.

On Ohio State's support for the SCORE Act

• "It's bumpy."
• "There's not a lot of certainty."
• "We need certainty, and the only place that can do that is really the federal government."
• "We'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks and what kind of momentum can happen here."

On the NCAA moving toward one transfer window in January

• "The best portal window is in the spring, in April and May — sometime late April, early May."
• "We were kind of the lone voice in that. Every other conference said, 'No, we need it in January.' They're really focused on one thing. They're focused on, 'I've got to have my (football) roster set for spring ball.'"
• "Now we have revenue share contracts. Those teams that play in the playoffs are disadvantaged because the playoff goes until Jan. 20 or so. I mean, last year, the (national championship) game was on Jan. 20. The playoff teams, as soon as you're done playing, if it's past the current window, they have a five-day window for our roster to go into the portal."
• "There are a lot of ripple effects of having it in January that we think can be better."
• "We'll see what happens with the dates once they get through it, but we've sort of lost the conversations in terms of the January versus spring, and now I think we just need to come back to center with what the right approach is."

On Ohio State having 36 varsity sports, expectations for those programs

• "We're really proud of the fact that we can host 36 sports."
• "We want to pursue championships."
• "If we're gonna have a sport, we want to win."