In his appearance on The Ryan Day Radio Show this week, Day told Paul Keels and Jim Lachey he liked what he saw from Ohio State in its 42–3 win over Minnesota, especially how the Buckeyes’ defense adjusted early and continued to play with confidence.
"I thought we made some adjustments early in the game. Guys played hard," Day said. "Bigger challenge this week (against Illinois) just in terms of a lot of different things, but I think the guys are, again, I've said it before, playing with more and more confidence."
Day praised his team’s development across the board, crediting the defense for its discipline and young players like Payton Pierce, Will Smith Jr. and Zion Grady for emerging in recent weeks. He also highlighted the leadership growth of Caden Curry, Davison Igbinosun, Carnell Tate, Luke Montgomery, and Carson Hinzman, saying several non-captains have “stepped up” to guide the team.
“We only had four captains this year, but we have a lot of leaders,” Day said.
As for the matchup in Champaign, Day said he expects the Illini to come out swinging.
“To me, this is like a top-10 matchup,” Day said. “When you look at what they’ve done, who they’ve beaten, what Bret (Bielema) has done since he’s been at Illinois — this is a very, very good team.”
After Day's appearance, walk-on wide receiver Nolan Baudo joined Keels and Lachey on the broadcast.
Ryan Day
On Ohio State's defense vs. Minnesota
- "I thought we made some adjustments early in the game."
- "Guys played hard."
- Day said Minnesota played with a "different style" than what Ohio State had seen in recent weeks.
- "Bigger challenge this week (against Illinois) just in terms of a lot of different things. I think the guys are, again, I've said it before, playing with more and more confidence."
On C.J. Hicks and Malik Hartford potentially redshirting
- Day said Ohio State is looking for more guidance from the NCAA on whether players will have five years of eligibility moving foward.
- "We're taking it on a week-to-week basis."
- "But we also want to take into consideration doing the right thing."
- "It's a tough spot to be in if you're one of those players right now trying to figure out what's next. If you play in one more game, you're done, you're career is done if the rule doesn't pass."
- Day said the redshirt situation has made making the travel roster more complicated.
On Zion Grady and Logan George earning reps against Minnesota
- "Great opportunity for them."
- "Great opportunity for a lot of guys on our team over the next couple of weeks but in particular this game right here to get a chance to get on the field and play."
- "When you have these opportunities, you got to take them and run."
- "When you know you are gonna get on the field and play, your overall approach is just a little more focused and concentrated."
On Ohio State's practice habits
- "You watch a guy like Caden Curry have all this production — well, that's what you see in practice every day."
- Day said none of Ohio State's players "surprise" him on Saturdays because more often than not, the players who perform well in a game have performed well in practice that week.
- Day said Ohio State's practice must be "crisp" on Thursday.
- "Tuesday was probably the best practice we've had all year. Wednesday, eh, but Tuesday was really sharp, so that was good. We got a clean practice in, and we're counting on that to carry over here for the rest of the week."
On Ohio State's offensive line
- "There are some guys in there who have played a decent amount of football now and have confidence. Going into a game, there's probably not a lot they haven't seen, so that's good."
- Day said Ohio State's offensive line has shown good composure through five games.
- Day said Ohio State must be prepared for Illinois to come out swinging. "To me, this is like a top-10 matchup. I know that they had that game against Indiana, but throw that game out because it was just one of those days. When you look at what they've done, who they've beaten, what Bret (Bielema) has done since he's been at Illinois, this is a very, very good team. This is a bigger challenge going on the road, so the offensive line has got to do their part in this thing."
- Day said Ohio State's offensive line must have good communication, composure and poise against Illinois' defensive front.
On Ohio State's running backs
- Day said CJ Donaldson has the most experience, but James Peoples, Bo Jackson and Isaiah West continue to gain valuable experience the more they practice and play in games.
- "The more they play, the better they're gonna be."
- "I think they all have high ceilings."
On Illinois' defensive front
- "They have multiple fronts, three, four and five down."
- "They have some guys who are multiple in terms of what they can do, sort of like our guys."
- Day said Julian Sayin and Ohio State's offensive line must have good communication to keep the ball moving down the field against the Illini's defensive line and linebackers.
On Ohio State's captains, leaders
- Day named Caden Curry, Davison Igbinosun, Carnell Tate, Luke Montgomery and Carson Hinzman as players who have "stepped up" as leaders even though none of them are captains.
- "We only had four captains this year, but we have a lot of leaders."
- "A lot of guys are stepping up. The more guys that are getting on the field, they build confidence in themselves and find their voice."
- "It's been good to see guys step up in those areas."
- Day considers Igbinosun a tone-setter for the Buckeyes.
On Julian Sayin
- "Well, I think the step forward he took in this game was probably the amount of downfield throws the accuracy he had on those throws."
- Day said he was impressed with Sayin's play recognition as well.
- Day praised Ohio State's offensive line for creating clean pockets in which Sayin can run the offense.
- "I do think you see a lot of guys on the offense building more and more confidence every day when Julian is back there, and that's because of how he's handling himself, how he's delivering, how he's performing, and he's getting more and more of a command on the field."
- Day said Sayin has "a good feel" for the pressure a defense is creating and knows how to navigate the pocket and make throws.
On Illinois' defense
- "Very opportunistic."
- "Always running to the ball."
- "Good at tackling."
- "Well-coached defense and, again, very opportunistic in (forcing turnovers). It's an area where we have to do a great job as an offense. We have to take care of the football in this game. ... We know on the road ball security is very, very important."
On Ohio State getting an opponent's best shot every week
- "They're gonna play their best game against you."
- "This is an opportunity for them to put a notch on their belt and get a win against a top team in the country. That's what you have to understand."
- "That's the way it always has been and always will be here at Ohio State."
On Bret Bielema
- "He's a very good coach."
- "Obviously, he has some history of winning some games in this conference."
- Day said that having an experienced quarterback in Luke Altmyer makes the Illini offense more challenging to face. Day said Illinois' defense also "executes well."
On CJ Donaldson
- "CJ can do multiple things. He's good in protection, he's good out of the backfield and he can get physical yards down there."
- Day said "the game shrinks and the field shrinks" in the red zone, so players need to be able to play in tight areas.
- "Being physical down there is important."
On Will Smith Jr., Ohio State's defensive tackles
- "Will really stepped up last week, and that was good for his confidence."
- Day said Ohio State's defensive tackles have done a good job of keeping offensive linemen from moving to the second level and reaching the linebackers.
- "Very, very important part of our defense are those guys right there."
On Payton Pierce
- "You're seeing him play on special teams, you're seeing him play in the game."
- "He's a very, very good linebacker."
- "Diagnoses things fast, can react very quickly... he's a very good tackler and a very, very productive player."
- "Sees it, moves quick... certain guys it just makes sense to them."
On Arvell Reese
- "Arvell brings a lot to the table."
- "His length, his power, his versatility — you're seeing him play at a high level right now.
- "Huge part of our defense."
Nolan Baudo
On being Ohio State's signaler during games
- Baudo called himself the "communication center" for Ohio State's offensive play calling.
- "I like it a lot."
- "I'm learning a ton."
- "It's big for me if I want to go into coaching or if I want to go into anything else."
On whether he would want to become a coach
- "Yeah, I saw that on Twitter a few weeks ago, and a bunch of people sent it to me. I always thought about being a coach, but once that kind of got put out there, then I really started thinking about being a coach. I've probably thought about it every day since that got tweeted out."
- "I like it."
- Baudo said his mom put him in a leadership camp when he was 7 years old. "I just like things of that nature, whether it be the Xs and Os of things or being the leader of a group. It's really interests me and has always been something I've wanted to do."
On being Carnell Tate's high school teammate
- Baudo considers Tate one of his best friends on the team.
- Baudo said it was "tough" when Tate left to play for IMG Academy as a senior. "But honestly, it ended up helping me because I was gonna get the ball more once he left," Baudo joked.
- Baudo said Tate leaving for IMG Academy helped him prepare for college and develop long-term and long-distance relationships "from a young age."
